- The lowest attendance ever was achieved by the Reds and White Sox in 1919
- The Tampa Bay crowd of 19,704 fans was about 5,300 people under capacity
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The Tampa Bay Rays American League Wild Card Series opener against the Texas Rangers had a near-record attendance of just 19,704 at Tropicana Field on Tuesday.
That number was the lowest for a postseason game since the 1919 World Series, except during the coronavirus pandemic, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.
The 1919 game between the Reds and White Sox attracted only 13,923 fans and part of the reason for the low attendance was attributed to the Reds mishandling ticket availability.
Tampa Bay lost 4-0 Tuesday night in front of a crowd roughly 5,300 fewer than Tropicana Field’s posted capacity.
The game started at 3:07 PM and the start time was not set by Major League Baseball until Sunday evening, which likely had a negative effect on attendance.
The Tampa Bay Rays had their lowest playoff attendance since 1919
A photo posted by a fan who attended the match shows the vast number of empty seats
The Rays would lose the game 4-0 at the hands of the Texas Rangers in Game 1
The Rays routinely rank among the lowest in baseball in home games and drew just 1.44 million players this season.
Tampa averaged 17,781 for 81 home games this season, 27th among 30 Major League teams.
Tampa Bay announced plans last month to build a 30,000-seat ballpark to replace Tropicana Field, the domed stadium they have played in since the club’s inaugural season in 1998.
There is hope that the new ballpark could improve poor attendance in the future.
The Rays will also host Game 2 of the series on Wednesday, which will also start at 3 p.m., and the team is certainly hoping for a stronger turnout from the home crowd.