Cardinals' Attendance Hits New Low in Loss to Guardians

The Cardinals continue to struggle in this area.

Apr 21, 2025; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; A St. Louis Cardinals hat and glove in the dugout against the Atlanta Braves in the first inning at Truist Park. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-Imagn Images | Brett Davis-Imagn Images

The St. Louis Cardinals lost their third consecutive game on Monday night, falling 9-3 to the Cleveland Guardians and dropping to the .500 mark for the third time this season. While Jordan Walker continued his power surge, other issues continued to plague the Cardinals.

The pitching staff remains a problem, and the offense has suddenly gone quiet. However, there is one other issue that is taking place for St. Louis.

Since the start of the 2024 season, attendance has declined at Busch Stadium. A stadium that was once packed to the brim has seen fewer fans show up to games over the past three seasons, and according to Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Monday night's attendance was the lowest it has been all season long.

Cardinals' attendance reaches new low

Mar 26, 2026; St. Louis, Missouri, USA; A general view during the national anthem before the opening day game between the St. Louis Cardinals and the Tampa Bay Rays at Busch Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-Imagn Images | Jeff Curry-Imagn Images

"The final result was a 9-3 loss to the Guardians at Busch Stadium in front of a tickets-sold crowd of 17,901, the smallest of the year thus far," Goold wrote.

Ultimately, the reported attendance only accounts for tickets sold, not necessarily the number of fans that attended the game. The fanbase has sent a loud and clear message to ownership, that the current state of the team is unacceptable and does not meet the typical standard of Cardinals baseball.

Of course, the team is rebuilding right now, and it may take a while for them to get back into postseason contention. They traded Sonny Gray, Willson Contreras, Nolan Arenado and Brendan Donovan last offseason for hauls of prospects.

While the Cardinals have a brighter future than they did previously, that doesn't mean that there aren't going to be some growing pains over the next few seasons, and that was evident in Monday's loss to Cleveland.

There is room to improve for St. Louis, and the last three games may have ultimately served as a reality check. Attendance will likely improve when fans feel as though there is something to show up to the ballpark for.

But the offense is quiet and the pitching staff has fallen apart the past three games, so it will be interesting to see what the Cardinals do to try and shake things up a little bit.

For now though, they can expect to see some very light crowds for the 2026 season and possibly in the next few years. There is a lot of room to improve for an organization that is finally rebuilding.