                                ROANOKE TIMES 
                      Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times

DATE: Sunday, July 14, 1996                  TAG: 9607150143
SECTION: SPORTS                   PAGE: C-6  EDITION: METRO 
                                             TYPE: LETTER

ATTENDANCE FIGURES DON'T QUITE ADD UP

In his ``Avalanche puts money in the seats'' column of June 26, Jack Bogaczyk compared this year's baseball attendance at Salem Memorial Stadium with last year's part-season attendance in the old Salem Municipal Field. To properly compare attendance figures at the two baseball parks without exaggeration, the average per-game 1994 full-season attendance at Municipal Field should be used as the reference point.

The 1994 Municipal Field attendance increased for the 12th consecutive season to a franchise-record 153,575, an average of 2,193 for 70 games. Then, this newspaper helped convince the public that Municipal Field was a terrible place to take a family for a baseball game and that a new baseball stadium was needed to save professional baseball in the Roanoke Valley. Predictably, per-game attendance for the 49 games at Municipal Field in 1995 decreased 34 percent to 1,441.

Starting Aug.7, 1995, a total of 167,547 fans have attended 64 Avalanche games at the new Memorial Stadium. Average per-game attendance has been 2,617. A proper comparison with the full 1994 season at Municipal Field (per-game attendance of 2,193) shows a 19 percent increase.

However, this newspaper has consistently compared Memorial Stadium attendance to the deflated part-season 1995 Municipal Field attendance. The improper comparison currently shows a misleading 81 percent per-game attendance increase from 1,441 to 2,617.

This newspaper needs to realistically present economic facts regarding sports activity in the Roanoke Valley. I hope that Jack Bogaczyk and your sports staff writers start by using the 1994 full-season attendance for realistic comparisons in future stories about Memorial Stadium attendance.

AARON SMITH

Salem

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Roanoke, Va. 24010

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LENGTH: Short :   48 lines

by CNB