May 14, 2014
5/14: PED Suspensions Warranted, Say Nearly Seven in Ten
Marist National Poll
Major League Baseball is in full swing, but has last season’s player suspensions for using performance-enhancing drugs rubbed fans the wrong way? 68% of baseball fans nationally think the MLB has taken the right steps. In fact, one in five — 20% — believes the league hasn’t gone far enough. Only 8% say their actions have gone too far. Four percent are unsure.
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More Fans Expected to Head to the Ballpark
While half of baseball fans — 50% — say they did not attend any MLB games last year and don’t plan to do so this season either, there has been an increase in the proportion of fans who think they will go to more games this year. Nearly one in five — 19% — expects to go to more baseball games this season. 27% say they will attend about the same amount of games they did last year, and only 4% plan to go to fewer.
When Marist last reported this question in March 2013, 54% of fans said they wouldn’t be making a trip to the stadium. 13% reported they would be attending more games than in the past year while 28% said they would be attending about the same number of baseball games. Six percent, at that time, believed they would be making fewer outings to the ballpark.
Key points:
- Fans younger than 45 are the key. 32% of fans in this age group think they will be attending more baseball games this season. This is up from 19% last year. Among those 45 or older, 12% expect to make more trips to the stadium this year compared with 9% previously.
- While fans who earn $50,000 or more annually — 22% — are slightly more likely than those who make less — 17% — to increase their ballgame attendance, there has been a bump in the proportion of fans in both income groups who expect to do so. Last year, 15% of fans who earn $50,000 or more said they would be going to more games. 12% who made less said the same.
Although nearly half of fans — 49% — do not think the cost of a ticket to a major league game is a good value for the money, 41% believe it is a good bang for their buck. 10% are unsure. These findings suggest more fans find value in going to a game this season than last spring. At that time, 52% of fans said the price of a ticket was not a good value. 37% thought it was, and 11% were unsure.
How many Americans are baseball fans? 45% of residents follow professional baseball a great deal — 9%, a good amount — 8%, or a little — 28%. However, a majority — 55% — does not watch baseball at all.
Table: More or Less Games than Last Year