MWL1 Peoria Chiefs

Chiefs Set Franchise Attendance Record

Published on September 3, 2007 under Midwest League (MWL1)
Peoria Chiefs News Release


Peoria, IL- With a final day crowd of 3,800, on Monday, the Peoria Chiefs surpassed the franchise record for attendance in a season which had been set during the 2005 season. The new total of 259,784 breaks the record of 256,612 set two seasons ago when the Chiefs rejoined the Cubs organization.

"This was a remarkable season for the Peoria Chiefs and our community and we continue to be blessed with great support in Central Illinois," said Chiefs President Rocky Vonachen. "Having Ryne Sandberg here as our manager this season was obviously a huge boost for the Chiefs and the entire Central Illinois community. His presence, along with great weather all summer and outstanding effort and dedication from our entire staff made this record-setting season possible.

The 2007 season also saw the highest average attendance for the month of July in franchise history with an average crowd of 4,814 during 12 home July games. The 2007 season at O'Brien Field featured rehab appearances by several Chicago Cubs through out the year. Pitchers Juan Mateo, Wade Miller and Kerry Wood along with catcher Henry Blanco all spent time with Peoria. On July 24th with both Wood and Blanco in the lineup and Hall of Famer and Cubs legend Ernie Banks in attendance the Chiefs drew a crowd of 5,255.

In addition to breaking the attendance record, the Chiefs also set new marks for Season Tickets sold and Group Tickets sold. The popularity of group outings continued in 2007 as a record 75,000 ticket holders enjoyed the party areas. The turnout led to the official introduction of two new group areas the Pepsi Annex in the left field berm and Wrigleyville, on the concourse behind section 103.

The Chiefs tied the 2005 mark for most crowds over 5,000 fans with 16 such crowds. The top 10 crowds of the season were all over 6,000 and there were six sellout crowds during the season. The biggest crowd of the season was on May 17th when 8,622 fans attended the annual DARE Day game. The next four biggest crowds, ranging from 7,111 to 7,796 were on Saturday nights with post-game fireworks show. The sixth sellout was on Memorial Day with 7,076 fans in attendance.

Season tickets for the 2008 season are now available by calling 1-309-680-4000 or online at www.peoriachiefs.com. The 2008 Chiefs schedule will be announced early in the off-season with the full promotional schedule coming soon afterwards. Fans can follow along with Chiefs news all off-season long on the team website.

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