This past week, the Toronto Blue Jays traveled to Seattle for their annual encounter at Safeco Field. Once again, Canadian fans descended on Seattle in huge numbers. They attended the three games and basically turned the stadium into a home field for the Jays. Some Seattle locals weren't very impressed.
Comments seen afterwards complained of the exuberance of the fans. Some people thought that Safeco Field was too crowded. The Canadian fans were very expressive. Other notables included the appearance of a "Sea of Blue" in the stands from the large number of Blue Jays jerseys and hats worn by fans. Also, the Canadian national anthem was sung by thousands of attendees.
Interestingly enough, no complaints were issued by the management of the Seattle Mariners. In recent years, attendance for the baseball club has been sagging. Despite relatively better game results, fans have not supported the team at the box office. Attendance has averaged about 25,000 in the first 33 games of the season. This figure is a little lower than the 2016 average. On the Friday before the Blue Jays arrived in Seattle, attendance was 27,000, a little higher than the season average.
The first game of the series with Toronto, Friday, had 33,518 attendance. Saturday attendance was 45,480 and Sunday was 41,137. Each of these games had significantly more fans than the season average. Over the course of three games, the Mariners sold a total of about 39,000 more fans. This was about 13,000 more than the normal attendance, per game. At an average ticket price of $40, the baseball club would have received over $1.5 million in extra revenue.
This was, however, not a usual series. Ticket prices were hiked in advance. Accordingly, the Mariners would have banked even more for the three games. Add to that the revenue received at the vendor stalls for beer, hot dogs and other food items. Parking and souvenirs also generate income for the club.
The business of baseball relies on attracting fans to the ballpark. More fans means more money for the club. The Seattle Mariners management are quite happy to accept money from Canadians visiting just as much as they like money from locals. If Mariner fans don't like the influx of Jays fans, they can certainly do something about it. They could buy large quantities of the tickets themselves, shutting out the Canadians.
The Seattle Mariners are in a unique situation where they are located a relatively short distance from a large number of Toronto Blue Jays fans who live in Vancouver, BC. These fans face a fairly high price if they decide to attend a Major League Baseball game anywhere but in Seattle. As a result, many decide to attend when the Toronto Blue Jays come to Seattle. This happens once per year. The financial impact on the team has to be quite important. A few disgruntled home fans may not like the fact, but Canadian fans are likely to continue to visit, and financially support, the Mariners each time the Toronto club visits.