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Twins figure out one weird trick to instantly increase attendance: $5 tickets

The Minnesota Twins are the biggest surprise in baseball. A year after winning 78 games, the Twins have jumped out to a hot 23-12 start. After being written off a little over a month ago, the Twins are legitimate contenders to win the American League Central.

Problem is, you wouldn’t know it by watching their games. The Twins have seen one of the largest attendance drops in baseball, according to USA Today. That’s not due to weather, either. Those figures are compared to last April, which featured more postponements and a lower average temperature around the country.

In an effort to reverse that trend, the Twins have come up with a bold, new strategy to get fans back to the ballpark: $5 tickets.

The Twins had a flash sale of $5 tickets that included the rest of the team’s home games in May. After the team sold 20,000 tickets with that plan, they made even more tickets available for those games.

The initial $5 sale included upper deck outfield seats. Even though it’s not the best area of the park — and there’s a threat of cold weather — Twins fans still jumped on the deal. The second sale, which ends Thursday, includes Ballpark Access tickets for those games. Those will get you into Target Field, but you won’t have a seat.

Major League Baseball has struggled with its attendance in recent years. The league saw a four percent decline in attendance last season, and that figure has dropped slightly once again in 2019.

Twins fans Target Field.
Twins fans are eager to support the team's $5 ticket option. (AP Photo/Bruce Kluckhohn)

The Twins’ success with their flash sale could be the solution to that problem. The cost of going to games is often cited as the No. 1 reason fans would rather stay home. The Twins put that to the test and will be rewarded with more fans in the park.

Now that the Twins have shown lowering ticket prices can work, the bigger question is whether other teams will adopt that strategy.

If other teams truly care about building their brand and getting fans out to games, following the Twins’ lead would be a good starting point.

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Chris Cwik is a writer for Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at christophercwik@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @Chris_Cwik

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