What is Going on with the St. Louis Cardinals Attendance?

Matt Dominique | June 27, 2025

If you are an avid MLB fan you probably have noticed the situation in St. Louis regarding fan attendance. Usually considered a baseball hotspot, Busch Stadium in St. Louis has had trouble filling seats in 2025. Even when facing their arch nemesis Chicago Cubs this week, the Cards had trouble putting butts in seats. So, what’s going on in St. Louis?

There are multiple factors converging all at once to create the lackluster attendance numbers. Unlike the aforementioned Cubs, St. Louis fans don’t typically fill the stands when they are having an off year. Their attendance numbers have been high because they put a winning team on the field year after year. In 2023, they had a losing record of 71-91. This was their first losing record since 2007. It’s easier to fill the stadium when you are consistently winning.

Fans have voiced their frustration in the Cardinals approach to build a team from younger players in recent years instead of going after the hottest free agents in the off-season. These are fans who are used to showing up at the park, guzzling beers and having a better than average chance of leaving the venue happy because their team won.

The Cardinals’ 2025 season started with a record-low attendance for a non-COVID game (21,206 against the Angels on April 1), signaling a sharp drop in fan turnout even after a strong Opening Day (47,395 fans). Through May 19, 2025, the Cardinals averaged 28,464 fans per game, projecting to about 2.3 million for the season, which would be the lowest for a full, non-COVID season in 41 years.

Attendance has steadily declined from 2022 (40,994 average) to 2023 (40,013) to 2024 (35,872), with 2025 on pace for a further drop (28,464 through May).

Management has been trying to stimulate ticket sales with live shows before and after the game as well as $5 entry for people wanting to hang out in the common areas.

Ultimately, team management can either cave to disgruntled fans and start going after big name big money talent or they can stay the course and hope to deliver a winning performance by building with young players they acquire either through the draft or trade.

The team has a winning record as of me writing this (44-38) and are 4.5 games back in their division. You can bet if they make a run for the division lead that fans will start showing up more consistently.