Chicago Cubs Wrigley Field Attendance Over Two Decades (2000–2020)

Weeghman Park was the original name given to what we now know as Wrigley Field, which got its new name in the late 20s, home of the Chicago Cubs.

The Chicago Cubs team was founded in the 1870s but did not gain popularity until the 1900s. In fact, the Chicago Cubs won their first World Series in 1907; it was a 2–0 win against the Detroit Tigers.

Although the Cubs have been around for more than a century, the graphic isolates data from 2000–2020.

The interactive graphic demonstrates the Chicago Cubs’ attendance at Wrigley Field throughout these 20 years.

The data stagers throughout these two decades. There is an average of 2.6 million to 3.1 million individuals each season shown on the graphic, until the year 2020.

In 2000, it is revealed that approximately 2.8 million people were recorded attending that year’s season. The attendance rate was decreasing as the years passed; however, in 2003, we begin to see a rise in attendees by 173,119 individuals in just a few years.

The increase and decrease of attendance is a common pattern in this data set. For example, in 2004 there is an increase and notable mention to show the first recording of a season having an attendance of over 3 million attendees.

Fast forward to 2008, this is the highest recorded number for attendance with 3.3 million people. 2008 was an exciting year for Chicago baseball fans. At this time the Cubs and White Sox were tied for first place and were competing for a spot in winning the World Series.

Of course, the Cubs failed to achieve the title of World Series Champions in 2008. In the chart, we see a steady decline in attendance for the next few years. From 2008 to 2014, we see a 648,087 loss in attendance.

It is not until 2016, that we celebrate a huge milestone for the Chicago Cubs. This year was the year that the Billy Goat curse was finally broken. In an 8–7 win, the Chicago Cubs won the World Series title against Cleveland Indians, with a total of 3.2 million people in attendance that season.

After 2016, the attendance was increasing; however, 2020 recorded zero attendance, due to COVID-19. Precautions were taken; therefore, no one could attend in person. The data went from approximately 3.1 million people recorded in 2019 attendance to zero.

Baseball season is among us and The Chicago Cubs owner is hopeful that 2021 can have some attendance recorded. There have been press statements revealing that Wrigley Field is aiming to welcome back fans on Apr. 1, while following CDC guidelines.