With the Kansas City Royals battling the Baltimore Orioles for the worst record in Major League Baseball this year, it should come as no surprise that the hometown team's average attendance is headed for its worst result since 2010, the Kansas City Business Journal reports.
The Royals currently have a .304 win percentage, on pace for the worst in franchise history. As a result, average attendance per game as of Sunday has dropped to 20,341, down 27 percent compared to last year. It's a far cry from the franchise record average attendance of 33,348 in 2015, when the Royals won the World Series, but closer to more historical averages for the team.
"I think Kansas City fans are reasonable and didn't expect this to turn into a (New York) Yankees juggernaut," said Patrick Rishe, director of the sports business program at Washington University in St. Louis. "But I certainly think they became accustomed to a certain level of competitiveness. So when you don't meet that standard, people turn off quickly."
Read the full story in the Kansas City Business Journal.
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