If you guessed 22,505, you would be correct (officially).
If you guessed 347, you would be right in the real world.
...Wait a second. You are telling me that the official attendance at the game in the picture was 22,505? Really? What the hell?
Yes, really.
Sports has a history of reporting the number of tickets sold, not the number of people of there. Could they get that number? Sure, just look at the computer-entry system or count the stubs or something. But many sporting events have fewer people show up than actually bought tickets.
That happens all the time. For example, the Boston Red Sox were famous for their consecutive sellouts spanning many seasons. But that is simply not true as far as "butts in seats". One can get a Red Sox ticket, just not from the Red Sox themselves. No, they have to turn to re-sellers.
And reselling is a hot item. The average price for tickets to Fenway is $52.32, but on the resell market they average $89.
So it's that simple. I get asked about this all the time at work, the official attendance. Or the "sold out". Often, a section will be sold out, but a quick glance at the stadium shows plenty of open seats. Well, those tickets have technically been sold (or put on hold for groups or something), so they are not available to the general public. However, that doesn't mean those people will show up. The money is still in hand, just no people. Common common practice.
So if you ever hear the word "sell out", take it with a grain of salt. There are tickets available, maybe not from normal sources or available to you, but they are there.
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