A warm wind is blowing in the box office of professional baseball. On April 30, a total of 92,790 spectators entered the five baseball fields, recording a season cumulative audience of 1,265,436. The average number of spectators per game was 10,545, a 30% increase from 7,623 during the same period last year. 

Due to the spread of Corona 19, professional baseball spectators were restricted or banned from fostering support for two years from 2020. Although several tightly closed bolts were released last year, the average number of spectators per game was 8,439 (accumulated 6,076,074), which was less than 10,000.

Ahead of the start of this season, the theory of a baseball crisis spread. At the 2023 World Baseball Classic (WBC) held in March, the baseball team was eliminated in the first round after a poor match, and criticism as ‘frogs in the well’ was fierce. In particular, the crushing defeat against Japan (4-13) was like adding fuel to a burning house. A team official said, “It was a crisis even when we won the 2021 Tokyo Olympics, but the atmosphere is not better after this tournament.” did.

Was it raining? The cumulative number of spectators in the opening week was 376,454. This is a 35% increase from 279,511 during the same period last year. On the 26th of last month, the number of spectators exceeded 1 million after opening 101 games. It is the 5th fastest trend ever since the system of 10 clubs where 5 games are held a day has settled down. Although it fell short of the record of 90 games in 2019, the lowest ever in this category, it is evaluated as a remarkable crowd mobilization considering concerns before the opening. Most of them have been restored to their appearance before the corona era.

The ‘three big box office hits’ LG Twins, Lotte Giants, and KIA Tigers are playing a role as a catalyst for mobilizing spectators. As of the 1st, Lotte runs 8 consecutive wins for the season and ranks first, and LG and KIA also rank 3rd and 5th, respectively. An official from Team A said, “It is also important that the good weather for baseball is maintained recently and that the new and old leagues are well harmonized by the discovery of large new players. It is no exaggeration to say that he is leading the mobilization of the league crowd.” 

Lotte increased the number of spectators by 21% during the same period compared to the previous year. KIA and LG increased by 39% and 37%, respectively. In particular, Lotte is showing off explosive home crowd mobilization, such as selling out the home game against Kiwoom Heroes on the 30th (22,990 seats), which ran for 8 consecutive wins in 13 years. This is why there is already a lot of interest in the KIA-Lotte 3 consecutive games to be held in Gwangju from the 2nd.메이저사이트

An official from Team B said, “It seems to be helpful that the interest in baseball has not ceased throughout the offseason. With the active transfer of ‘, the power has been leveled evenly. The number of spectators has increased due to the combination of various factors.”

The number of professional baseball spectators recorded 7,286,008 in 2019, the season just before the corona outbreak. The average number of spectators per game that year was 10,119. From 2020 to last year, crowd mobilization was uneven due to the corona. The outlook for this year was also bleak. However, once the race begins, the fans are constantly on their feet. Average spectators per game surpassed 2019. It turned on the green light to break through 7 million spectators in 4 years. An official from Team C said, “It is important to live up to the uptrend in the beginning and live up to the expectations of the fans. There are more spectators than expected, but I can’t be relieved just because it was fine in April.”