In a dramatic uptick from 2024, Mets attendance at Citi Field this season is up nearly 30%, and the team is even making it more enticing for Long Islanders to buy tickets.
Buyers with a Long Island ZIP code can save 20% on tickets on the team website for most Sunday through Thursday games for the rest of June and July.
It’s called the “Long Island Exclusive” and includes a pitch on the Mets’ website that says, “Hey there, Long Islanders! We have an exclusive ticket offer just for you.”
Not that the Mets need much help putting fans in the seats these days. The team is enjoying a 29.55% increase this season. Going into Monday’s opener of a big four-game Citi Field series against Atlanta, the Mets are averaging 38,197. That ranked fifth in baseball as of Friday and is the most since the club averaged 38,941 in 2009, the year Citi Field opened.
In 2024, Mets attendance was down 9.5% as they averaged 29,484 at Citi Field, which ranked 17th out of the 30 MLB teams.
The Long Island Exclusive ticket offer, which began with games in May, excludes a July 6 Subway Series game against the Yankees. There is a limit of 14 tickets per purchase and the tickets cannot be resold, according to the Mets.
The Mets did not respond to questions about the Long Island Exclusive.
Richard Ridall, a professor at Temple University’s School of Sport, Tourism and Hospitality Management, said the Long Island Exclusive — which is sponsored by the streaming service Hulu — is “smart marketing” by the Mets.
“They created a sponsorship out of it, with Hulu their quote-unquote title sponsor,” Ridall said in a telephone interview. “So there’s certainly a deal that’s been structured there. They’re clearly trying to develop a market development plan, generate new customers with that area of focus. It’s smart marketing because as marketers you say, ‘OK, where are we strong? Where are we weak? Where’s our core fan base located? Let’s try to stimulate something.’ ”
The other benefit for the Mets: Fans who take advantage of the 20% offer are going to be spending money once they get to the stadium.
“Even though they’re reducing it 20%, it’s ‘Let’s make sure somebody’s here,’ ’’ Ridall said. “ ‘We get their data.’ People are paying for parking, they’re paying for concessions, merchandise. When they’re here, maybe they get excited and they’re purchasing future tickets while they’re here because the team’s performing so well at home or they had a great experience.”
There are multiple reasons why Mets attendance is up, including the team’s improbable run to the 2024 NLCS, which created hope for this season; the record surge of ticket-buying after the team signed Juan Soto to a 15-year, $765 million contract in December, and the team’s excellent play in 2025. The Mets have been at or near the top of the NL East standings for most of the season and started it by going 27-7 at home before getting swept by the Rays in a three-game series last weekend.
The remaining opponents for the Long Island offer are Atlanta, the Brewers, the Reds and the Angels.
The previous game that featured the offer was the Father’s Day game on June 15 vs. the Rays. That event was sold out as the Mets drew 42,804 on a 62-degree afternoon.
Michael Lewis, a professor of marketing whose work focuses on the intersection of sports analytics and sports marketing at Emory University’s Goizueta Business School, said: “I think for the Mets, their fan base is going through a good period. You’ve got an owner that’s pouring tons of money into the team. High-profile free-agent signings. I think the team’s in first place in the division right now. And so that kind of explains what’s happening.
“But on the other hand, when I think about what’s happening, I think about teams like the White Sox in Chicago or the Angels in Anaheim. Those teams that are kind of the second team in a major market.
“This kind of ZIP code-specific stuff, I think, is very smart. This is a way of essentially tying into a more localized geography, and that’s always going to be an important thing in fandom, that connection to the local population that really supports the team. So I think it’s a very smart thing to do even if it’s only going to have a relatively minor effect on boosting the ticket sales.”
Anthony Rieber covers baseball, as well as the NFL, NBA and NHL. He has worked at Newsday since Aug. 31, 1998, and has been in his current position since July 5, 2004.