ST. LOUIS – The St. Louis Cardinals experienced a significant decline in attendance on Monday, marking the first time in Busch Stadium III’s history that single-game ticket sales dipped below 20,000, apart from pandemic-restricted games.

The Cardinals’ attendance for Monday’s series opener against the Pittsburgh Pirates? 17,675.

This is also the first occurrence since August 25, 1997, where single-game attendance (measured by tickets sold) fell below 20,000 for a Cardinals game.

The previous lowest total this season? April 2 against the Los Angeles Angels with an attendance mark of 20,309.

Even before this series against the Pirates, with both teams seemingly out of playoff contention without a miracle, attendance had already been decreasing. FOX 2 estimated that the Cardinals might end the season with their lowest attendance since 1995, projected at around 2.3 million. This figure is significantly lower than the 3 million season attendance the team has achieved 21 times since the beginning of the century.

Monday’s game further indicates that the decline in attendance is not solely due to the opponent or weather, as the latter provided ideal conditions for baseball, with mild temperatures in the 70s.

Currently, the Cardinals risk missing the postseason for the third straight year and have won only one postseason series in the past decade, falling well below their historical standards. The last two seasons have been marked by mediocre performances that haven’t clearly indicated a commitment to either contending or rebuilding, creating a gray area that might have eroded fan enthusiasm over time.

Fan dissatisfaction seems to be growing, evidenced not only by attendance numbers but also in instances where fans have voiced their discontent, such as booing Cardinals leadership, like John Mozeliak and the DeWitts, during Opening Day.

Earlier this month, the the team’s vice president of ticket sales, Joe Strohm, acknowledged to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch: “Fans have a right to voice their pleasure or displeasure, and we know there is work to get people back. We have to earn them back.” It appears the groundwork for that will begin in earnest after the 2025 season, when executive leadership shifts from Mozeliak to Chain Bloom.

The Cardinals ultimately won 7-6 on Monday on a walkoff home run from Alec Burleson, and the game also featured a heated ejection of Willson Contreras over a “Strike 3” call. The Cardinals improved to 65-67 in the 2025 regular season.