Although the night ended in disappointment and with tensions flaring, the Los Angeles Dodgers made franchise history by reaching 3 million in attendance at Dodger Stadium this season.
Per Elias Sports Bureau, it is the earliest date the Dodgers have drawn 3 million in home attendance. It bested the previous date by just over one week (Aug. 17, 2007). Friday also marked the fastest they reached 3 million in attendance at 62 games.
That record was previously held by the 2007 and 2015 clubs, which drew 3 million fans in 64 games.
Friday’s series opener against the Arizona Diamondbacks had an announced attendance of 49,358, bringing the Dodgers’ total for the year to 3,016,073 (averaging 48,646 per game).
They have now surpassed 3 million for eight consecutive seasons and a 33rd time since the franchise moved to Los Angeles. The Dodgers have led the Majors in attendance in each of the past six years and are tracking to do so again in 2019.
Last season, they were buoyed by hosting a Game 163 to decide the National League West champion and closed out the 2018 regular season with a single-season franchise record 3,857,500 in attendance.
The previous record stood for 11 years, when Dodger Stadium drew 3,857,036 fans during the 2007 season. At their current rate, this year’s Dodgers should break the franchise attendance record. Particularly with a marquee series against the New York Yankees coming during 2019 Players Weekend.
With fans turning out at record pace, Dodger Stadium has been witness to several memorable moments in 2019. The Dodgers lead the Majors with 10 walk-off wins, and there have been historic performances by Walker Buehler and Hyun-Jin Ryu, and thrilling hits from Cody Bellinger, Justin Turner and others.
Dodger Stadium has also seen the MLB debuts of Will Smith and Dustin May, plus early stages of the careers of Kyle Garlick, Tony Gonsolin and Edwin Rios.
While interest during the regular season has come to be expected in some part, the Dodgers additionally fared well in attendance at Camelback Ranch during Spring Training this year. The club played 15 designated home games and averaged 10,326 in attendance.
They finished their Cactus League schedule with 154,884 total attendance, which marked their third-highest at Camelback Ranch. The Dodgers’ average additionally was the second-highest since the team moved its Spring Training home.
