Very and the Cleveland Indians are seeing that right now as the franchise that once set the league record for consecutive sellouts in a row is now barely out of the American League basement as the Wahoos are just slightly ahead of Tampa Bay and the worst ballpark in the majors.
How did this happen over time?
Well, I think there were a few factors.
First of which, Cleveland is a Browns town and the Indians started their huge attendance run when the Browns had left town.
Naturally, over time, the Browns were going to eat into the Indians interest, but it really does come down to simply this-there is a pecking order in interest, which usually is Browns, Indians, Cavaliers, although right now considering the current teams, the Cavaliers would be second in interest,
Imagine that- you have the best player in the world and the best team in 45 years of existence and you still rank second to a bad to mediocre football team...
Another factor is the stadium.
The Indians have put some money into freshening up the "Jake", but even though it doesn't seem like it-those stadiums such as those in Cleveland, Baltimore, Pittsburgh, etc are either approaching age 20 or have made it there already.
That means that the honeymoon of a new stadium has ended long ago and no matter how nice a renovation, the experience may be nicer for fans in the stadium, but it doesn't tend to make the casual fan want to come.
Cleveland has a very nice facility (I've been there), but it isn't going to be the magnet that it once was...
The team itself is the main reason, but there are some reasons within that reason.
First of all, despite some competitive teams and even a playoff appearance or two, the Indians haven't been looked at as a true title contender.
The Indians even at their best, have been a good, not great team and they have mixed that with some average teams as well.
The Indians also are perceived to have the cheapest owner in the market and an unwillingness to spend has hurt interest as well.
Now, let's be fair, Cleveland is a small market team and the lower revenue from the lack of attendance makes a lower budget a self-fulfilling problem.
Still, the Dolan family pales in comparison to the free-spending Dan Gilbert of the Cavaliers and even the oft-clueless Jimmy Haslam is looked at as more willing to spend than the Dolans.
The Indians rarely dip into the free-agent market and on their rare occasions that they have spent on free agents like Nick Swisher ( slowing bat) and Michael Bourn ( a player that depends on his legs losing a step) they have not been successful.
Cleveland also has issues with making stars over the last 10 years.
Don't get me wrong, Cleveland has had top-notch players, but other than maybe Grady Sizemore and current hopes for Francisco Lindor, the Indians have lacked players that combined ability with charisma and made fans want to come out to see them play.
Even when the Indians have been reasonably competitive, the fans still aren't coming and that could be due to the team not having an exciting star to watch.
It also could be that the Indians as a team just haven't been a ton of fun to watch.
The best two players (position) on the team right now are good players, but (in my opinion) they (Michael Brantley and Jason Kipnis) aren't the kind of players that you will pay to see,
As earlier noted, Francisco Lindor might become that type of player, but the Indians' draft strategy of drafting the safe bet has resulted in a lack of fun players to watch.
It likely is a combination of all of those above things and likely plenty of more,but the Indians need to wonder just why they cannot get fans to come to the ballpark and do some serious self-evaluation before the future becomes really dim...
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