Diamondbacks' Chase Field Looking Empty: Did Arizona Take Its Fans for Granted?

Did the Diamondbacks take their fans for granted? Early attendance numbers indicate that is a definite possibility.

Last Saturday, the second home game of the season, the Diamondbacks had the lowest attendance of any team for that night. The next day they followed up with the lowest attendance for a Sunday game in franchise history.

Monday only 15,746 people showed up, the third-lowest attendance in franchise. So far they have only been above the 20,000 mark twice, the home opener and the following night, which was a Saturday—and the Saturday night game was only 20,719.

So why would fans not be eager to get to the ballpark?

One reason may be that the team has lost over 90 games the past two seasons and last year was just shy of 100 losses, yet it entered the 2011 season with a payroll about 25 percent lower than last year.

The Diamondbacks had an opportunity to possibly get Paul Konerko to fill the glaring void at first base, only to have him re-sign with the White Sox for about $2 million more than what they were offering. Michael Young was available, and they inquired, but no real effort was made.

Then there is the new pricing for the 2011 season. Essentially the pricing for the games is as follows:

Gray games: Midweek games against low-draw teams.

Sand games: Midweek games against high-draw teams.

Blue games: Friday or Sunday against low-draw teams.

Red games: Saturday games against the low-drawing teams.

Green games: Friday or Sunday against high-draw teams.

Yellow games: Saturday night games against high-draw teams.

Are fans somewhat put off by the fact that the team is charging them more depending on the day of the week that they go?

When you put it all together, most likely it is a combination of everything, and the bottom line is that fans in Arizona are just not excited about this team. Perhaps the early attendance numbers will serve as a wake-up call that people won’t show up unless you make it worth their time.

A few months from now, should the team remain competitive, there’s a good chance that more fans will turn out. Right now, however, at the end of the year it certainly looks like less people will have shown up to watch the Diamondbacks in person than any other year in the team’s history.

The bright side is that in 2012, in an effort to boost attendance, we can expect more postgame concerts featuring big-name acts such as Hall & Oates, with the melodic tones of "Maneater" reverberating through Chase Field. Oh-oh here she comes indeed.