Crain’s: Baseball rivalry fails to sell out Shea

HA!...You ever been to Shea in September?

The Mets-Phillies rivalry this weekend is leading off with weaker ticket sales than the last time the teams faced off at Shea Stadium.

Only 47,000 tickets have been sold in advance of Friday night’s game with an average of about 51,000 sold for the total three-game series. That number is surprisingly low compared to July’s series between the rival New York Mets and Philadelphia Phillies when 55,000 tickets were sold for the first game by opening night. Ticket sales for that entire series averaged 53,000, a number driven by the Mets’ 10-game winning streak.

...“The numbers for Friday’s game are certainly lower than one might expect, but there’s also less disposable income for average fans right now,” said Wayne McDonnell, an assistant professor of sports management at New York University. “The start of the NFL season has a lot of New York sports fans excited this year, and others are probably waiting to see about post-season tickets and what they might have to save for October if the Mets make it [to the playoffs]. You also have to consider the state of the economy with lower to middle-income families sending their kids back to school.”