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Coming off their first losing season since 2007 and off to a slow start this year, the Cardinals are seeing a rare downturn in fan interest, as evidenced by attendance and ticket resale data.

Earlier this month, at the completion of the season鈥檚 first homestand, the Cardinals saw a five-game average attendance of 34,909, which covered all games on that homestand after the opener.

That鈥檚 the lowest five-game average attendance at Busch Stadium since 2012.

Compared with the same period at the start of last year, more than 5,000 fewer tickets were sold for each of those five games 鈥� a 13% drop on average per game.

To start this year, the Cardinals reported a sellout crowd of 47,273 on opening day and hit the 40,000 mark three more times within the first 12 games. Last year, there were six crowds of 40,000 or more in the season鈥檚 first 12 games.

Thanks to a bit of a rebound during the just-ended second homestand, the Cardinals averaged about 2,700 fewer fans this year (in announced attendance) than in last season鈥檚 first 12 games.

Announced attendance measures the number of tickets sold, not the number of fans who pass through the turnstiles. The number of tickets scanned is not normally released and can be far lower, especially in the case of bad weather or a rescheduled game.

Some notable attendance numbers:

• The Cardinals beat the Phillies on April 9 before the lowest-attended night game in the history of the current Busch Stadium (excluding pandemic-impacted 2020 and 2021 seasons), with an announced crowd of 31,972.
• The April 10 game had an attendance of 33,104, the eighth-lowest for a day game, but far fewer were actually present that soggy afternoon.
• Four of the 10 least-attended night games in stadium history have come this season.

Even with their lower-than-usual numbers, the Cardinals remain among the MLB鈥檚 attendance leaders this season. They rank sixth, down two spots from their final ranking last season and down four spots from 2022.

Their current No. 6 ranking, if it held up for the full season, would be the first time the Cardinals landed outside the top five since 2012.

Ticket resale numbers drop

Ticket resale data also indicates reduced fan interest. If season-ticket holders are selling, fans aren鈥檛 buying, at least not at the rate they did last season.

For the season-opening homestand this year, far fewer tickets were resold on the secondary market, and for less money, than in 2023. The two seasons are easy to compare, as both home openers fell on a Thursday, then the team played five more home games.

SeatData.io tracks ticket sales across major ticket resale platforms. According to its data for the season-opening homestand, 20,446 tickets were sold in 2023, while only 5,563 tickets were sold this year.

Also, in the five games after the home opener, 10% of the tickets resold went for less than $10. The figure was 4% for the corresponding games at the start of last season.

The trend continued into the second homestand. Both this year and last, the Cardinals hosted Arizona for a night game on the second home Tuesday of the year.

Last year, 1,522 tickets sold on resale platforms. This year, it was just 588.

Weather could be a factor in the decline. The home opener was one of the colder ones in recent history, while the April 10 game and this past Tuesday鈥檚 game were affected by rain.

Beyond attendance and ticket sales, the team鈥檚 home opener saw significant television rating declines, resulting in the lowest rating for a home opener since 2001.

Attendance is generally seen as a lagging indicator of fan interest, but the downturn in secondary market demand continues a trend seen last season.

The Cardinals have 69 home games left and plenty of time left to win fans over, but it may take some time and sustained success to turn things around.

For now, some fans are happy to take advantage of the bargains.

鈥淭he only good thing about bad baseball is cheap tickets ... and there are plenty of them,鈥� Cardinals fan Terry Ness of Richmond Heights said Wednesday outside Busch Stadium.

Christian Gooden of the Post-Dispatch contributed to this report.