With the Atlantic League season completed, it’s time to tally attendance for the 2016 season. We end our listings of independent-baseball attendance with a ranking by average attendance.
Listing independent attendance by average is perhaps the most accurate barometer of a team’s ability to draw. We will follow up later this morning with a listing of all MiLB, summer-collegiate and independent teams. Summer-collegiate and affiliated attendance have already been posted.
This doesn’t include all independent leagues. We cover those leagues who publicly announce attendance figures. The Pecos League, for instance, doesn’t announce public attendance figures.
Here are the attendance figures of independent baseball teams, as listed by average, with a comparison of 2015 attendance figures. All stats come directly from league websites and last year’s Ballpark Digest attendance rankings.
| TEAM | LGE | TOTAL | GMS | AV. | 2015A | +/- | |
| 1 | St. Paul Saints | AA | 413,482 | 49 | 8,438 | 8,091 | 0.04 |
| 2 | Long Island Ducks | AtL | 352,728 | 67 | 5,265 | 5,269 | 0.00 |
| 3 | Somerset Patriots | AtL | 360,755 | 69 | 5,228 | 5,191 | 0.01 |
| 4 | Winnipeg Goldeyes | AA | 231,206 | 48 | 4,817 | 5,284 | -0.09 |
| 5 | Sugar Land Skeeters | AtL | 300,331 | 67 | 4,483 | 4,426 | 0.01 |
| 6 | Kansas City T-Bones | AA | 213,165 | 50 | 4,263 | 4,938 | -0.14 |
| 7 | Lancaster Barnstormers | AtL | 247,943 | 66 | 3,757 | 4,073 | -0.08 |
| 8 | Lincoln Saltdogs | AA | 169,750 | 47 | 3,612 | 3,432 | 0.05 |
| 9 | F-M RedHawks | AA | 180,345 | 50 | 3,607 | 3,742 | -0.04 |
| 10 | Schaumburg Boomers | FL | 172,996 | 48 | 3,604 | 3,061 | 0.18 |
| 11 | Gateway Grizzlies | FL | 163,679 | 48 | 3,410 | 2,926 | 0.17 |
| 12 | Gary-SS RailCats | AA | 163,519 | 48 | 3,407 | 3,517 | -0.03 |
| 13 | York Revolution | AtL | 237,433 | 70 | 3,392 | 3,823 | -0.11 |
| 14 | Southern Illinois Miners | FL | 153,940 | 46 | 3,347 | 2,859 | 0.17 |
| 15 | New Britain Bees** | AtL | 214,626 | 65 | 3,302 | 3,186 | 0.04 |
| 16 | S. Md. Blue Crabs | AtL | 201,883 | 63 | 3,204 | 3,591 | -0.11 |
| 17 | Wichita Wingnuts | AA | 150,929 | 49 | 3,080 | 2,895 | 0.06 |
| 18 | Rockland Boulders | Can | 149,632 | 41 | 2,934 | 3,053 | -0.04 |
| 19 | Bridgeport Bluefish | AtL | 183,921 | 66 | 2,787 | 2,916 | -0.04 |
| 20 | Quebec Capitales | Can | 146,946 | 53 | 2,773 | 2,559 | 0.08 |
| 21 | Traverse City Beach Bums | FL | 121,500 | 45 | 2,700 | 2,878 | -0.06 |
| 22 | Sioux Falls Canaries | AA | 125,591 | 50 | 2,512 | 2,814 | -0.11 |
| 23 | Ottawa Champions | Can | 127,618 | 52 | 2,454 | 2,228 | 0.10 |
| 24 | Florence Freedom | FL | 88,438 | 42 | 2,106 | 2,273 | -0.07 |
| 25 | Normal CornBelters | FL | 91,193 | 45 | 2,027 | 2,088 | -0.03 |
| 26 | Joliet Slammers | FL | 90,458 | 45 | 2,010 | 2,036 | -0.01 |
| 27 | Washington Wild Things | FL | 80,503 | 41 | 1,963 | 1,806 | 0.09 |
| 29 | Evansville Otters | FL | 82,412 | 42 | 1,962 | 2,733 | -0.28 |
| 29 | River City Rascals | FL | 82,061 | 42 | 1,908 | 1,903 | 0.00 |
| 30 | Sussex Co. Miners | Can | 90,237 | 49 | 1,842 | 1,187 | 0.55 |
| 31 | Lake Erie Crushers | FL | 81,835 | 47 | 1,741 | 1,795 | -0.03 |
| 32 | Trois-Rivieres Aigles | Can | 78,948 | 47 | 1,680 | 1,865 | -0.10 |
| 33 | Windy City ThunderBolts | FL | 76,870 | 46 | 1,671 | 1,562 | 0.07 |
| 34 | New Jersey Jackals | Can | 74,335 | 45 | 1,652 | 1,578 | 0.05 |
| 35 | Sioux City Explorers | AA | 68,278 | 50 | 1,366 | 1,647 | -0.17 |
| 36 | Texas AirHogs* | AA | 44,282 | 45 | 984 | 1,108 | -0.11 |
| 37 | Laredo Lemurs | AA | 41,955 | 47 | 893 | 1,302 | -0.31 |
| 38 | Joplin Blasters | AA | 31,001 | 48 | 646 | 1,538 | -0.58 |
| 39 | San Rafael Pacifics | PA | 16,075 | 39 | 412 | 542 | -0.24 |
| 40 | Sonoma Stompers | PA | 13,370 | 39 | 343 | 152 | 1.26 |
| 41 | Vallejo Admirals | PA | 5,712 | 39 | 146 | 174 | -0.16 |
| 42 | Pittsburg Diamonds | PA | 2,608 | 38 | 69 | 101 | -0.32 |
*Team played last season as two franchises: Grand Prairie and Amarillo
**Played last season as Camden Riversharks
AA = American Association
AtL = Atlantic League
Can = Can-Am League
FL = Frontier League
PA = Pacific Association
RELATED STORIES: 2016 Independent Attendance by Total; 2016 Independent Attendance by League; 2016 Affiliated Attendance by Average; 2016 Affiliated Attendance by Total; 2016 Affiliated Attendance by Level; 2016 Affiliated Attendance by League; 2016 Summer Collegiate Attendance by Average; 2016 Summer Collegiate Attendance by Total; 2016 Summer Collegiate Attendance by League