The St. Louis Cardinals are in an interesting situation. Many thought 2025 would be the year a full rebuild gets underway and superstar Nolan Arenado was expected to be playing for a more prominent contender.
Instead, St. Louis improved to 9-9 on the season on Wednesday and are just 1.5 games out of a clustered NL Central division. Of course, it's too early to assume the Cardinals will remain competitive for the full 162 game schedule, but as long as they are within striking distance, it's hard to imagine many changes being made.
Regardless of how the Cardinals are performing as a team, the fan base is not pleased with owner Bill DeWitt Jr. and the St, Louis front office. To express their frustration, fans have stoped showing up to Busch Stadium. Although they are getting their point across, their actions are tied to some unintended consequences.
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St. Louis Cardinals fans reverse boycott hurting small business
Numbers show that the St. Louis Cardinals are now 12th in Major League Baseball in fan attendance. This is a pretty big drop off after being 7th in attendance during the 2024 season. Even players recognize that Busch Stadium feels empty.
According to Nathan Vickers of First Alert 4, first baseman Willson Contreras had this to say to reporters. "We're here for you guys and we need you and your energy." It turns out that the players on the diamond aren't the only ones who need fans to come out.
Fans are also trying to make it clear that their lack of attendance does not represent frustration with the team itself but rather ownerhsip and decisions being made within the front office.
One of the most popular bars in Soulard, Big Daddy's, is seeing a decline in business compared to typical game nights in St. Louis. The bar provides a free shuttle service to Busch Stadium and according to the co-owner of the establishment, Jon Vieluf, the shuttle has not provided service for as many fans.
Vieluf claims that most Cardinals home games, the shuttle is providing transportation for around 50 fans but since Opening Day it has only been bringing in maybe 10-20 fans each trip. St. Louis does have their NHL team, the Blues chasing a Stanley Cup which could be impacting crowd sizes at Major League Baseball games but Vieluf is adamant that fans support all teams within the city.
"We depend on all the teams producing. Get out, support your team and your economy," Vieluf proposed to fans. Perhaps we could see attendance increase at Busch Stadium in the coming weeks if they see that their silent protest is starting to negatively impact small businesses within their beloved city.