Blue Jays enjoying 2016 attendance bump as momentum builds

The Toronto Blue Jays are averaging 37,661 fans for their 2016 home games

Business is [still] booming for the Blue Jays. Despite an uneven April and May in the standings, fans have been filling the Rogers Centre through the team’s first 34 home games.

Toronto’s average home attendance of 37,661 ranks them seventh in baseball, just narrowly behind the Los Angeles Angels, New York Yankees, and Chicago Cubs. This also represents an increase from the Blue Jays’ season-long average draw in 2015 of 34,504, which ranked them eighth league-wide.

These numbers will rise and fall as the season swings between quiet summer weeknights and a packed playoff run, but for the moment, it does represent a strong continuation from the spike in fan interest brought on by 2015.

2014 Average Attendance:   29,327 (14th)
2013 Average Attendance:   31,315 (13th)
2012 Average Attendance:   25,921 (23rd)
2011 Average Attendance:   22,445 (25th)

The Blue Jays can further benefit from a spike in attendance this season specifically as they’ve introduced dynamic ticket pricing to maximize their potential profits based on the market demand for individual games.

Essentially, this dynamic pricing means that the Blue Jays now adapt their ticket pricing on a game-by-game or series-by-series basis. Tickets for a Friday night game against the New Yankees will be priced higher than a Monday night game against the Philadelphia Phillies, for example.

The relationship between the Blue Jays’ revenue and their player payroll has been in the spotlight since the 2015 playoff run. To the dismay of many fans, a spike in attendance has not directly resulted in a payroll spike or higher free agent spending.

Next: Blue Jays Morning Brew: New podcast, news and notes

Under a new president and organizational structure, however, it is understandable that the club’s financial strategy has not changed in stride with three outlier months. Another full season (or two, or three..) of this spiked interest and attendance can move that from outlier to “normal”, though, and at that point, perhaps a more direct line can be drawn between profits and payroll.