The Chicago Cubs are once again seeing crowds like in their glory days, but fans aren’t buying into what the ownership is pushing. Even with packed home games and global attention, Tom Ricketts’ claim that the team’s goal is just to break even is leading to frustration.
Fans Question Ricketts’ Spending Logic After Tokyo Dome Crowds
This season, the Cubs are seeing some fantastic home attendance numbers. Baseball analyst Bruce Levine mentioned on X that the team is “on pace to draw 3 million fans (close to 37,000 average) for the first time since 2019,” noting that the Cubs have surpassed this mark 12 times in their history.
Cubs on pace to draw 3 million fans ( close to 37,000 average) for first time since 2019.They have drawn more than 3 million 12 times. Attendance at the Tokyo Dome counts for the two home games they had there against the Dodgers.
— Bruce Levine (@MLBBruceLevine) June 21, 2025
Jake Misener of Cubbies Crib echoed this, writing, “Heading into Sunday’s disastrous series finale against the Seattle Mariners, the Chicago Cubs were on pace to eclipse 3,000,000 fans in home games this year, something they haven’t managed since the 2019 season.”
ESPN records that the Cubs are ranked seventh in MLB home attendance this season, ranking below major teams such as the Los Angeles Dodgers and the New York Yankees. This shows a slight drop compared to their sixth inning position in the previous year, in which attendance averaged at 36,000, less than 10,000 in a single match.
The Cubs added some international excitement with their two “home” games against the Dodgers at the Tokyo Dome in March, attracting over 42,000 fans each, which contributed to their season total. Misener pointed out, “It comes with a bit of an asterisk thanks to the two games in the Tokyo Dome to open the season back in March counting toward their home total on the year.”
The main issue revolves around Ricketts’ claim regarding the Cubs’ financial approach. During a chat with 670 The Score on January 18, 2025, Ricketts responded to fans’ concerns about spending, stating, “They think somehow we have all these dollars that the Dodgers have or the Mets have or the Yankees have and we just keep it. Which isn’t true at all. What happens is we try to break even every year, and that’s about it.”
As reported in Sports Business Journal, fans loudly booed when Ricketts defended the payroll plan, one of the lowest in MLB, and when team President Jed Hoyer refused to say whether the team would sign free agent Alex Bregman. Many perceived this tone of Ricketts as dismissing the things the fans want, particularly when you consider the years with high attendance.
The Cubs, with their legendary Wrigley Field and loyal fanbase, generate a great deal of revenue in terms of ticket sales, snacks, merchandise, and broadcast rights. This implies that the team may spend their revenue to address the expenses or save it instead of reinvesting it, prompting the fans to query what the team cares about. It was reported that the Cubs generated roughly $68 million in operating income in 2023.
A user commented, “God, I hate Tom Ricketts. I wish his dad had never founded TD Ameritrade, and he didn’t own the cubs.”
“And there are owners of professional sports teams (cc Tom Ricketts) saying they hope to “break even” as their excuse to not spending in FA or organizational infrastructure. GTFO.” Said another user.
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Attendance in Cubs between 2004 and 2011 was impressive, with at least three million fans per year at Wrigley. They had gotten that success back between 2016 and 2019, but in 2020, there was a pandemic, and the numbers fell significantly, as there were none in 2020 and approximately 1.97 million in 2021. The attendance started increasing again in 2022 and 2023 years and this season reflected the full recovery.