Coors Field attendance will keep the Colorado Rockies from trading Nolan Arenado

DENVER, CO - JULY 13: Nolan Arenado #28 of the Colorado Rockies hits a first inning 2-run home run against the Cincinnati Reds during a game at Coors Field on July 13, 2019 in Denver, Colorado. (Photo by Dustin Bradford/Getty Images)
DENVER, CO - JULY 13: Nolan Arenado #28 of the Colorado Rockies hits a first inning 2-run home run against the Cincinnati Reds during a game at Coors Field on July 13, 2019 in Denver, Colorado. (Photo by Dustin Bradford/Getty Images)

My, oh my, the uproar over these Nolan Arenado trade rumors have gotten out of control.

It seems like every other day a new team is kicking the tires on whether or not the Colorado Rockies would be willing to part ways with their perennial All-Star, Gold/Platinum Glove winner, Silver Slugger and recently resigned to a enormous contract, face of the franchise. This time it is the Texas Rangers inquiring about the availability of Nolan Arenado.

It is time to stop this madness right here and right now. Teams will do their due diligence and call GM Jeff Bridich but there are three little words that sum up why the Rockies will not trade Nolan Arenado this offseason: BUTTS…IN…SEATS.

Say what you will about owner Dick Monfort but as a businessman, he knows that if the turnstiles aren’t moving at 20th and Blake he is not making money.

This is why over the last few years, the Rockies have spent multi-millions of dollars in upgrades (i.e “The Rooftop” and the new video board) to keep fans coming through the gates of Coors Field.

However, as the newness of these amenities slowly dissipate the only thing that keep fans coming out to the ballpark is star players and winning.

In 2019, coming off consecutive playoff appearances, Coors Field attendance kept pace with the previous two seasons, even though the Rockies lost 20 more games and were out of playoff contention by August. The main reason the attendance didn’t slip was the once-in-a-generation player at third base.

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For 27 seasons, despite the overall lack of success on the field, the Rockies have had star players that have brought fans out to Coors. Only once have they failed to surpass 2 million in attendance in a season.  That was way back in 2005 when the Rockies were in the midst of the “Todd and Toddlers” era. That season, the Rockies only won 67 games and it was also the first season Helton landed on the Injured List and the first season he failed to hit at least 30 home runs since 1998.

Even during the dark days of the “piggy-back rotation” experiment and the Walt Weiss-led seasons, fans continued to make their way down to LoDo. It was all due to players like Troy Tulowitzki and Carlos Gonzalez who were worth the price of admission and were must-see on a daily basis in purple pinstripes.

Without Nolan, the incentive to attend games at Coors diminish to the point where that 2 million mark could be in jeopardy once again. No offense to Charlie Blackmon but singing along to The Outfield’s “Your Love” isn’t as big of a draw as the chance of seeing a jaw-dropping play at third base or concourse-reaching home run on a daily basis.

So fans just ignore all of these Nolan Arenado trade rumors because he is not going anywhere (at least for this season). Dick Monfort didn’t become rich by selling off his money makers when he didn’t have to.

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