Cardinals Fans Send Early Message to Ownership on Opening Day

Cardinals fans still aren't quite satisfied.

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 St. Louis Cardinals opened the 2026 season in style, rallying from a 7-1 deficit to defeat the Tampa Bay Rays by a final score of 9-7 and earn a win on Opening Day for the second consecutive year. Top prospect JJ Wetherholt homered for his first career hit, and Alec Burleson delivered the big blow with a two-run shot to cap off an eight-run sixth inning.

Busch Stadium was packed, as it normally is on Opening Day. However, that didn't stop fans from sending a message to ownership.

According to Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, there were still some empty seats at the home opener.

Cardinals fans send message to ownership

Mar 27, 2025; St. Louis, Missouri, USA; A general view of Busch Stadium during the fifth inning of opening day between the St. Louis Cardinals and the Minnesota Twins. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-Imagn Images | Jeff Curry-Imagn Images

"The Cardinals' opening day attendance of 45,037, though a sellout, was the lowest not impacted by COVID or stadium construction since 1995," Goold wrote. "A handful of scattered seats were still available to purchase on the team's website in the moments leading up to first pitch."

While the game was still a sellout, Busch Stadium is usually sold out long before first pitch on Opening Day, so some fans showed just how frustrated they are with ownership. Attendance has declined at Busch Stadium over the past three seasons, and depending on the trajectory of the 2026 season, that trend may continue for St. Louis.

They drew 2.25 million fans last season, a decrease of over 600,000 fans from 2024. That decrease was larger than the Rays and Athletics, and over 20 percent. They ultimately were 19th in Major League Baseball in attendance.

They opened the season with a bang on Thursday, but there are still 161 games left on the schedule, and there is still a lot of time for things to change. If the Cardinals can't build off of their Opening Day win, then the trend of lower attendance numbers will likely continue.

St. Louis last reached the postseason in 2022. Since then, they have had two losing seasons, and they finally hit the reset button last offseason by trading away some of their veteran players.

2026 is not expected to be a year in which St. Louis contends, so some fans made sure to send an early message to ownership. It didn't take away from the excitiement of the win, but it's clear that fans are still frustrated with ownership due to the current trajectory of the Cardinals, even though a rebuild was needed.

It will be interesting to see what attendance numbers look like the rest of the way forward. A lot depends on where the Cardinals are in the standings, but if they struggle, then fans will continue to send a message to ownership.