Dayton Dragons
- Location: Dayton, OH
- League: Midwest League 2000-2019; High-A Central 2021; Midwest League 2022-
- Affiliation: Cincinnati Reds 2000-present
- Ballpark: Day Air Ballpark 2000-present
Team History[edit]
The Dayton Dragons, of the High-A Midwest League and briefly in High-A Central, began the longest sellout string in United States professional sports history in a city that hadn't had professional baseball for 50 years when they debuted in 2000. The Cincinnati Reds farmhands play their home games at Day Air Ballpark in Dayton, OH.
The Rockford Reds moved to Dayton from Rockford, IL, a season after new Dayton-based ownership dropped the Chicago Cubs' affiliation for that of the Reds. MLB's 2021 Minor League Reorganization moved them, and most of the MwL, up one level.
The Dragons were sold again in 2014, when they were still a Class A club - comparable to what is now Single-A. If the media-reported price of $40 million is even close, the sale - in the lowest of the full-season levels - set a record for all of Minor League Baseball.
The North American professional sports sellout record when the Dragons' streak began was 814 games, set by the NBA's Portland Trail Blazers between April 9, 1977, and November 16, 1995 - which of course did not involve daily play. The Dragons broke that string on July 9, 2011. At the end of the 2019 season, the last played in the Affiliated Era, the Dragons' streak had reached 1,385 games. After losing the entire 2020 season to the Coronavirus pandemic and facing a shortened 2021 campaign with restrictions on public gatherings, the Dragons announced they would "suspend" counting the streak. They resumed counting in 2022 and ran it to 1,441.
While that seems fair, there does not seem to be a controlling authority to recognize suspending it. It is, however, a matter of record that they did not sell every seat they were allowed to sell in 2021.
As the 2023 home opener approached, the team said Coronavirus fallout could stop the streak. Whether from COVID "hangover" making some balk at being in crowds or just less revenue, corporate renewals were off enough to put the streak in jeopardy. The club did sell out its home opener and, so far, continues to sell out every home game. Assuming the streak continues, and barring rainouts, it will reach 1,500 on Saturday, August 26th.
Year-by-Year Record[edit]
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