Nice work: the New Hampshire Fisher Cats (Class AA; Eastern League) set an attendance record for a three-day stretch, drawing 23,312 fans to Northeast Delta Dental Stadium.
Combined with attendance figures from Wednesday and Thursday, the new mark of 23,312 set Friday night bested the previous high for a three-game set of 22,619 established from May 26-28, 2009.
Like the previous record, the new figure was recorded during a three-game series with the Portland Sea Dogs, Double-A affiliate of the Boston Red Sox. This series, running July 4-6, began with the fifth-largest crowd in team history, 8,544, and was highlighted by Red Sox outfielders Jacoby Ellsbury and Carl Crawford making rehab appearances with the Sea Dogs. On Thursday, July 5, Ryan Sweeney joined Crawford for a rehab assignment before Ellsbury returned with Sweeney for the series finale on Friday night. The series was marked by warm weather, clear skies, and three nights of Atlas Fireworks starting in the 4th of July.
“We thank our great fans for their continued support during this fun week at Northeast Delta Dental Stadium,” said Fisher Cats president Rick Brenner. “We hope they enjoyed great baseball and spectacular fireworks during this holiday week.”
The series in 2009 saw a similar rehab appearance as Red Sox pitcher John Smoltz started the series opener for the Sea Dogs. That night drew the single-largest crowd in team history of 8,903.
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