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And yet the team has been reasonably successful over the past decade. Counting this year, the Indians have been .500 or better in six of the past 10 years, and barring some unforeseeable collapse this year will be the third playoff appearance for the Tribe in the past decade. custom hockey jerseys cheap But despite those successes, the team has been in the bottom third of Major League Baseball attendance in every one of those 10 years.

In the case of Cleveland baseball fans, the interest is still there, but just not enough interest to buy tickets. custom hockey jerseys cheap Proof of that is that the local TV ratings are up about 50% over last year. But Cleveland has the smallest US metro area with three of four major league sports teams (NFL, NBA, MLB and NHL), and the Cleveland metro area’s average household income is the fourth lowest of the MLB team markets (ahead of only Pittsburgh, Miami and Tampa Bay). For economists, it’s simple: fewer people with less money means less spending. And with the success of the Cavaliers, and the popularity of the Browns no matter how bad they are, the Indians may be the odd team out in Cleveland.

Since 2010, only two metro markets in MLB have lost population: Cleveland and Pittsburgh. But population loss and a bad economy are only part of the reason the Indians might not be drawing; it is also hemmed in by sports market geography. Three other major league baseball teams are within 250 miles.

There are no reasons the Indians should not be drawing well this year under the basic criteria for the business of baseball. Besides the team being very good, the Indians and the city have invested about $40m in stadium upgrades in the past two years, including a new scoreboard, better restaurant options and more plaza areas that allow fans to move and watch the game from great sightlines. 49ers jerseys for sale cheap In fact, a popular ticket option started two years ago gets a fan a standing-room-only ticket and a beer for $13, and bar areas inside the stadium to sit in. Progressive Field is 22 years old, but has none of the fan dissatisfaction issues that the stadiums in, say, Tampa Bay or Oakland have.
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“The fact is that this team is still popular, and we see the support in the TV ratings and people wearing Indians gear all over town,” said John Adams, cheap authentic football jerseys who has been pounding his drum in the Cleveland Indians bleachers for 43 years. “But the poverty rate here is real, and people are struggling. The comeback they are talking about in Cleveland is that we are staying afloat and not sinking. But for a family of four to spend a few hundred dollars going to a baseball game is just not doable for many here right now.”

The population numbers are daunting. The city of Cleveland itself has dropped from 500,000 in 1990 to about 385,000 today. In 1970, the Cleveland metro area had 2.3 million people; cheap ravens jerseys it now has 2 million. The only baseball markets that have lost population during that time are Pittsburgh and Detroit, but Detroit has about 4 million people and is still big enough to accommodate four pro sport teams. Even when the Akron-Canton and Youngstown populations are added to the mix, the Cleveland market has still diminished.

For comparison’s sake, look at Dallas-Fort Worth. In 1970, DFW was similar to the population of Cleveland with 2.4 million, but now has 7.1 million people. DFW only had the Dallas Cowboys back then, cheap ravens jerseys but its growth brought in teams from MLB (Rangers), the NBA (Mavericks) and the NHL (Stars). Cleveland still has three franchises – and even had an NHL team in the mid-70s. But the Cleveland population loss is even bigger when you look at the national trends: the US has had a population gain of about 50% since 1970.

The team has also been overachieving in some ways, with few big-name players and a bottom-of-the-league payroll. Manager Terry Francona has gotten very good numbers from what many consider average players, cheap tom brady jersey and they are vying for the best record in the American League and home-field advantage throughout the playoffs (the Texas Rangers are one-and-a-half games ahead for home field). In many ways, like the city it calls home, the Indians are a hard-working, blue-collar team that one would think would appeal to the masses in north-east Ohio. you can buy the jerseys on http://www.cheapjerseysverygood.com/ online web.

There are other factors at play. The Dolan family bought the Indians after the successful 1990s, when they went to two World Series in 1995 and 1997, but attendance declined soon after and payroll spending went down significantly. Baseball is also is having trouble with younger fans; the games are too long for many and have too little action for others.

The success of the Cavaliers with LeBron James hasn’t helped, either. “To some degree, the Indians are now behind the curve [that] the Cavs’ success has brought about,” said Robert Boland, a professor of sports management at Ohio University. “Businesses have to buy Browns and Cavs tickets in advance because they will be gone if they don’t. The Indians tickets are always there, so the business community feels they can buy them when they need to. But businesses and fans buy fewer tickets if they think they can get them at the last minute.”

Can the Indians reverse the trend? The best blueprint might be the New York Mets, cheap authentic baseball jerseys which had a losing record in 2014, went to the World Series last year and are in playoff contention this year. Mets’ attendance was 26,500 in 2014, and this year is at 34,500, an increase of 30%.

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