Could New York support a third team? New York attendance v. others 1903-2013.

Average attendance per home game in New York for:
- Giants, Dodgers, Yankees 1903-1957
- Yankees 1958-1961
- Yankees and Mets 1962-2013


Average attendance per home game for all other teams:



Seasons when NY averaged less than the other teams (NOT NY): 1905, 1910, 1946, 1958, 1979, 1983, 1984, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998.  1958 the first year when the Yankees had New York to itself was impacted by the high attendance the Dodgers had in Los Angeles.  NY v. (NOT NY):


New York 3 team attendance 1920-1957 ... and comparison to California.  Friday, June 20, 2014

For the 1920 season the AL team, by then known as the Yankees, acquired home run record setter Babe Ruth from the Boston Red Sox and immediately drew more fans than the Giants ... In 1920 despite winning the NL pennant the Dodgers were third in NY attendance with 808,722.  The Yankees became the first team anywhere to draw over one million: 1,289,422...

The Giants were last in NL attendance in 1956 and 1957, despite having won the World Series in 1954.  Even Willie Mays couldn't save them.  The Dodgers were still drawing a million but both teams needed a boost such as a new ball park.

1920-1957: Yankees led in NY attendance every year except:

Giants: 1925, 1935
Dodgers: 1939,  1941, 1942,  1943, 1945.
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Even in those seasons the Yankees were number two in New York attendance.  So in the 38 seasons from 1920 through 1957 the Yankees were number one 31 times.  Since 1999 the average per game attendance of the Yankees and Mets has exceeded that of the other teams every year.

1999	32,365	28,303	4,062
2000	37,036	28,879	8,157
2001	36,384	29,397	6,987
2002	36,676	27,229	9,447
2003	38,948	27,347	11,601
2004	34,606	29,536	5,070
2005	37,619	29,967	7,652
2006	42,720	30,179	12,541
2007	47,084	31,450	15,634
2008	50,155	31,017	19,138
2009	51,486	29,340	22,146
2010	42,518	29,422	13,096
2011	39,047	29,739	9,307
2012	37,076	30,456	6,620
2013	35,711	30,239	5,472
Year	NY	NOT NY	Dif

However, the difference does not suggest that New York could support a third team.  Dividing the peak of 50,000 in 2008 would yield about 33,000 for each of three teams.  But by 2013 that number had shrunk to about 36,000, closer to 23,000 per team and much less than the average for the other teams.  Plus, historically one New York team tends to draw considerably below the others.  After World War II from 1946 through 1957 the Yankees dominated with the Dodgers a solid second and the Giants in second only twice: 1948 and 1954.  The Giants won the World Series in 1954, the Dodgers in 1955.  Both left after 1957.

Obviously, this is a very simple view based exclusively on attendance.