Jax Suns have 9th highest attendance in 2010 for Minor Leagues

[stephenc]

http://jacksonville.suns.milb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20100810&content_id=13269816&vkey=pr_milb&fext=.jsp

The 176 Minor League clubs that charge admission averaged 3,990 fans a game in 7,716 openings through July. The league leaders in average attendance per opening through last month were:

Lehigh Valley (9,171, International)
Sacramento (8,932, Pacific Coast)
Monterrey (6,731, Mexican)
Reading (6,456, Eastern)
Jacksonville (5,283, Southern)
Frisco (8,239, Texas)
Lake Elsinore (3,316, California)
Wilmington (4,586, Carolina)
Charlotte (2,806, Florida State)
Dayton (8,559, Midwest)
Lakewood (6,004, South Atlantic)
Brooklyn (7,258, NY-Penn)
Spokane (4,729, Northwest)
Greeneville (1,451, Appalachian)
Ogden (3,752, Pioneer).

[Coolyfett]

9th? out of 176 teams?? That seems too good to be true. 30 AAA clubs, 30 AA clubs..Are the 9th in AA or 9th in all Minor? If its all Minors thats is really impressive. They need to keep that snow ball rolling!

[Coolyfett]

After a closer look at that article...The Suns rank 9th for league leaders for July in attendence. Meaning of the 15 league leaders in Minors, the Suns rank 9th and are actually been beat out by 3 lower level teams....bummer. Id take the Mexican League out because they dont have college football, NFL or NBA to compete with US dollars. It would better if they were ranked 6th, 5th or 4th in league leader rankings...being they are a AA club. Jax is getting beat by some smaller markets.

[tufsu1]

well considering it is through July (and the summer heat is brutal here) I think 9th is incredible!

[videojon]

Still not bad. We joke about it here, but I'm sure some of these sleepy town teams TRULY have nothing else going on.

[Mattius92]

well for a stadium (which is the largest in the southern league) with 6000 regular stadium seating and 11,000 overall, 5,283 is pretty impressive. Baseball is Americas favorite passtime, and with the Suns current success and the great deals you can get at the Baseball Grounds, it is a pretty good investment of time and money.

[Non-RedNeck Westsider]

I've got a feeling that those numbers get inflated quite a bit because of "Thirsty Thursdays"  Those games are typically SRO, but whatever you have to do to get butts is seats.

Imagine the ticket sales at a Jags game if they had a $3 draft promotion, though I wonder..... Would the increased ticket sales be enough to cover the security required to handle the extra 35,000 drunken fans?

[subro]

I give the Suns credit, they run many different promotions to try and bolster attendance. Here is the latest...

http://jacksonville.com/opinion/blog/423471/gary-mills/2010-08-11/suns-add-filet-mignon-saturday-dining-lineup

Suns add filet mignon to Saturday dining lineup

Submitted by Gary Mills on August 11, 2010 - 2:08pm Dining Notes

Sure, part of the fun of going out to the ballgame is the peanuts and Crackerjack â€" and hot dogs, too. But filet mignon?

With their “Steak Me Out to the Ballgame” fine dining event Saturday, the Jacksonville Suns are offering fans just that. For $20, Suns fans can get an 8-ounce bacon-wrapped filet mignon, baked potato, salad and general admission to the game against the Carolina Mudcats. The dinner will be served from 5:30 to 8 p.m. in the Sundowner Lounge at the Baseball Grounds of Jacksonville.

Saturday is the first of four “Steak Me Out to the Ballgame” dates. The promotion will also be available Saturday, Sept. 4; Sunday, Sept. 5; and Friday, Sept. 10.

Reservations are recommended and available by calling the Suns box office at (904) 358-2846 or via jaxsuns.com.

[acme54321]

I heard on the radio that they are going to have a dog riding cowboy monkey at one of the next games.  If that's not awesome I don't know what is

[blizz01]

If that's not awesome I don't know what is Grin

Tanya Harding Mini-Bat Night - THAT was awesome......

[Coolyfett]

Jax being Ranked 9th in all minors would be Awesome! A good look for sports fan representation in Jax.  Hell if Jax could do Charlotte, New Orleans, Indianapolis numbers that would be good to. Personally all sports in Jax is under promoted except the team in gainsville. They get all the press even when they are losing. Sports coverage in Jax is horrible!! Not diverse at all. When it comes to sports writing Jacksonville might as well be Ocala or Palatka.