The KBO, which marks the return of the 2023 season, is on the verge of breaking the 5 million mark. The trend is faster than the previous season before the novel coronavirus (COVID-19).
According to the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) on Thursday, a cumulative total of 4.99 million spectators attended 452 games through the third day.
If the 5 million mark is reached today, it will be 93 games since the 4 million mark was reached on March 2.
The number of games to reach 4 million to 5 million is the second fastest since 2015, when the 10-team system began.
The overall average attendance was 11,062, up 34% from the same number of matches a year ago. This is also a 3.4% increase compared to the 2019 season before the COVID-19 pandemic.
The team with the highest average attendance per game this year is the LG Twins.
LG drew a total of 795,141 fans for its 49 home games, an average of 16,228 fans per game. This is a record for both total and average attendance.
SSG Landers (14,755), Lotte Giants (13,258), Doosan Bears (13,025), Samsung Lions (11,040), and KIA Tigers (11,192) followed LG in terms of average attendance.
The Kiwoom Heroes, in particular, have seen a 76% year-on-year increase in attendance from an average of 4548 last season to 8000 this season.
The NC Dinos (70%) and Lotte and Hanwha Eagles (over 48%) have also seen significant increases in average attendance year-over-year.
TV ratings for professional baseball have also increased this season.
Through the previous day, the league’s average viewership rating was 0.864%, up about 6% from the same number of games last season.
“Although many games were canceled due to frequent rains since the spring of this year, fans are returning to the ballparks with a gradual return to normalcy,” said the KBO.
“As the season passes the halfway mark and moves toward its conclusion, 고스톱 we expect the second half to be even more exciting with each team battling for the top spot.”