Mexican Baseball League's recent growth in attendance now rivals soccer clubs

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Robinson Canó spent 17 seasons playing Major League Baseball in front of all kinds of baseball fans, but he feels there's something special about his recent stint with the Diablos Rojos of the Mexican Baseball League. He's not alone. Mexico's summer league will open it's 100th season on Thursday aiming to keep an impressive growth in attendance that began after the Mexican national team's surprise run at the 2023 World Baseball Classic and now is already surpassing some first-division soccer clubs. After finishing third in the 2023 tournament, many casual fans, some of them soccer enthusiasts disappointed after Mexico's national team was eliminated in the first round in the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, turned their attention to baseball and many of them appear to have stayed for the long haul. "We are constantly striving for growth and this season is not going to be different," league president Horacio de la Vega told The Associated Press. "Our growth has to do with the fact that we are not selling just baseball, but a whole experience." In Mexico City, the "baseball experience" happens in the $160 million Alfredo Harp Helu Stadium, a venue that opened in March 2019 and seats 20,000. Even though the ballpark is small compared to MLB standards, the carnival-like atmosphere stands out. "This a special city, where the fans come to each game weather it is day or night," Canó told the AP. "As a player, it is a big motivation to see the park full of fans supporting baseball." The 42-year-old Dominican, who appeared in eight All-Star Games, played in the United States for five franchises, among them the New York Yankees. He was a key player to lead Diablos Rojos to the championship last season and he recently agreed to return for a second one. Thorough his career, Canó has played for the Dominican Republic's Estrellas Orientales and participated in several Caribbean Series, a team tournament played each year in different countries around Mexico and Central America. "The atmosphere in Mexico is somewhat like the Caribbean Series, but in there you are playing for your country and it is short tournament," Cano said. "Here, it's a long season and yet the fans are still there every night." Las season, the Diablos Rojos topped the average attendance in the league with 11,694, followed by Toros de Tijuana (11,354) and Sultanes de Monterrey (9,092). Soccer clubs Pachuca (10,713), Santos Torreon (9,421), Mazatlan (9,522) and Ciudad Juarez (8,980) have worse attendance despite playing in bigger stadiums. The team with the best attendance in the Mexican soccer league is Monterrey with 43,544. "We have a great group of owners even though they are rivals on the field. Off it they work as allies and share all kinds of things, from how to clean bathrooms, how to have better food courts and even to sell beer," De la Vega said. Mexico City has three soccer stadiums: Ciudad de los Deportes, Olimpico Universitario and Azteca, but none of them has great facilities. There are no elevators, escalators or even food courts. Azteca is currently closed for renovations and might have them for the 2026 World Cup. The same thing happens in most of the other Liga MX stadiums. The most fan friendly venues are Estadio BBVA in Monterrey and the Akron in Guadalajara. Both were chosen to host games in the next World Cup. "We have been growing steadily and this being a special season we are aiming at a record 5 million fans in total attendance," De la Vega said. After the World Baseball Classic in 2023, 4.734 million fans set the league attendance record for a season. Last year, the number dipped, but only by 93,000 fans. And the fans are getting younger, too. According to Othon Diaz, the Diablos Rojos president, nine years ago 53% of the team's fans were 55 years or older and now 74% of them are under 45. Also, they averaged 3,000 fans per game and now it's up to 11,000.