Team's sellout streak stretches 11+ years
Fifth Third Field, home of the Midwest League Dayton Dragons, has sold out every game since it opened in 2000.
July 8th, 2011
10:00 AM ET

Team's sellout streak stretches 11+ years

Ohio - the Cradle of Coaches, the birthplace of the NFL and the home of the Pro Football Hall of Fame - is known for making football history, but baseball and sports history are expected to be made Saturday night in Dayton.

When the Dayton Dragons' game against South Bend becomes official in the fifth inning, the minor-league team will set the record for consecutive sellouts by a professional sports team with an astounding 815.

The Class A Midwest League team will break the record held by the NBA's Portland Trail Blazers, who sold out 814 straight games from 1977 to 1995.

The Dragons have sold all 8,000-plus seats for every game since the Cincinnati Reds farm team arrived and Fifth Third Field opened 11½ seasons ago. In the first three years of the streak, the entire season sold out before Opening Day, according to the Dayton Daily News.

That's more than 6.5 million tickets sold in a town where the unemployment rate stood at 9.3% in May and was above 10% as recently as February, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

These are some committed fans. The streak even endured a 24-game home losing streak last season.

"It's the whole atmosphere," season ticket holder Mike Belcher explained to CNN affiliate WDTN. "Dayton Dragon games have the full entertainment package. It is not just a baseball game."

 Post by:
Filed under: Baseball • Ohio • Sports
soundoff (13 Responses)
  1. RUFFNUTT

    NOW THAT is some team spirit.. they must have good owners

    July 8, 2011 at 10:02 am | Report abuse |
  2. CARL GLASS (OWNER KANSAS CITY ROYALS)

    i remember making promises of getting good players and providing good entertainment. i was going to make the royals a first class baseball team, but i found out i can make more money by charging 5$ for a hotdog. and 8$ for a baby beer. 14$ for parking in my crumby parking lot, and 4$ for peanuts.

    good bye zach grienkey, you turned out to be a good player.. we only need cheep no-name players to maximize profit.

    July 8, 2011 at 10:18 am | Report abuse |
  3. Paul

    Awesome. Even in tough economic times people still support their home town heros.

    July 8, 2011 at 10:58 am | Report abuse |
  4. Esmé

    Oops...I thought this was going to be a completely different story by the headline...
    Instead I found an article about a team whose fan base are second to none.
    Well done!

    July 8, 2011 at 12:31 pm | Report abuse |
  5. Dayton-ian

    Obviously, Dayton has amazing fans. Go Dragons!

    July 8, 2011 at 1:28 pm | Report abuse |
  6. Dayton-ian

    They are very well supported by the community, businesses and all.

    July 8, 2011 at 1:29 pm | Report abuse |
  7. RUFFNUTT

    i bet you those are good family friendly games

    July 8, 2011 at 2:10 pm | Report abuse |
  8. byrce

    Huh, the NBA has been selling out their fans for way more than 11 years!

    July 8, 2011 at 2:33 pm | Report abuse |
  9. HRH banasy

    Cool. Just...cool.

    July 8, 2011 at 2:37 pm | Report abuse |
  10. gung hoe

    Living in flint michigan where minor league hockey is second to
    None we used to pkay different dayton teams different year they couldnt keep a team no fan support happy to see they found a sport they can get behind

    July 8, 2011 at 2:41 pm | Report abuse |
  11. dslguy

    Congrats on the streak as it is very impressive, good luck and may it continue.

    July 8, 2011 at 4:12 pm | Report abuse |
  12. Mmmmm

    Maybe Dayton Dragons can put a dent in local economy by hiring its fans.

    July 8, 2011 at 6:37 pm | Report abuse |
  13. MsAniJ

    I actually live in the downtown area within walking distance of Fifth Third Field. What keeps this streak alive is that the games are inexpensive and family friendly. A wonderful way to spend any summer evening , and I'll be going to tomorrow night's game as well!

    July 8, 2011 at 6:42 pm | Report abuse |
« Back to main