User:Professional baseball, which beat women's hearts and bad news, will see 10 million spectators for the first time ever
Professional baseball, which has dominated the hearts of women in their 20s and 30s, has overcome the heat wave and the bad news of the Olympics, and is on the rise to the highest ever number of spectators. It has set a new record for the largest number of spectators in history, and is now surpassing 10 million for the first time in its history.
The cumulative total of 8,475,664 spectators entered the 573 games that were played through Saturday, setting a new record for the largest number of spectators in a single season. The number exceeded 8.4 million in the 2017 season.
During 720 games in the 2017 season, it attracted 8.4 million spectators, and this year, it exceeded 8.47 million spectators in 573 games.
There were also a number of records that stood out in the hot heat.
The total number of sold-out games in the 2024 season was 161 through Wednesday, breaking the previous record since the 10-team league. It exceeded 68 games in 2015 on May 19, before the mid-season.
In particular, the Hanwha Eagles sold out in 41 out of 60 home games, including 17 consecutive home games, setting a new record for the most sold out games in a season. It broke the record of 36 games recorded by the Samsung Lions in the 1995 season.
With 80 percent of the team's schedule completed, three teams have already surpassed the one million mark. The LG Twins (1070,664), Doosan Bears (1048,321) and Samsung (1038,689) attracted more than one million spectators.
Since the 10-team system, the largest number of clubs with 1 million spectators in a season was in the 2017 season, with four clubs (LG, Doosan, KIA Tigers, and Lotte Giants) recording more than 1 million spectators.
KIA (948,704), SSG Landers (907,156), and Lotte (894,318) are also looking at 1 million spectators, which is expected to break the 2017 season record.
Analysts say that the increase in female spectators in their 20s and 30s had a decisive impact on the success of professional baseball.
According to a survey of gender and age tendencies for ticket reservations for the All-Star Game held on July 6, 39.6% of women in their 20s and 19.1% of women in their 30s accounted for 58.7% of the total. to the proportion of Compared women in their 20s and 30s (48.4%) in the All-Star Game last year, it increased by about 10%.
According to LG's ticket sales, which ranks first in home games this season, women in their 20s account for the largest portion. According to LG's Ticket Link, which serves as an agent for ticket sales, about 23 percent of ticket sales are women in their 20s, accounting for the largest portion.
A Samsung official said, "Female spectators used to follow their family members. It was not very noticeable that they were looking for the tickets on their own. This year, however, more young female spectators are visiting the stadium by booking tickets themselves."
The culture of baseball stadiums has also changed due to the growing number of young female spectators. They draw photo cards like idol fandom, and express their individuality through unique uniforms and cheering tools. They do not just watch games.
Marketing aimed at female spectators in their 20s and 30s also contributed to the increase in spectators. Doosan and Lotte have teamed up with Crayon Shin-chan and Esther Bunny to launch various products, attracting attention from female fans.
It overcame the all-time high popularity, heat waves, and bad news at the Olympics. The number of spectators in both July and August increased compared to last year.
An average of 11,311 people entered 83 games in July of the 2023 season, while an average of 14,832 people entered 97 games in the 2024 season. In August, the average attendance in 113 games in the 2023 season was only 12,86, but the average attendance in 97 games reached 14,832 this year.
The current trend is not likely to be easily dampened.
The competition is fierce to rank fifth, the lowest in autumn baseball. The gap between fifth-ranked SSG and eighth-ranked Lotte is 2.5 games. There is also fierce competition between second-ranked Samsung, third-ranked LG, and fourth-ranked Doosan.
KIA, Samsung, and LG, which are considered popular clubs across the country, are all in the top ranks, and Lotte is also raising its hopes for the postseason, which is considered a boon to the box office.
With about 20% left in the regular season schedule, expectations for 10 million spectators are growing day by day. Attention is focusing on how far professional baseball will continue to attract spectators.
