$200M going toward minor league stadium renovations. But will it bring fans?

Richard Bennett has worked as an usher for the Southern Maryland Blue Crabs since the team’s stadium opened in 2008. In that time, he has seen firsthand both the number of fans and the quality of the Waldorf stadium decline. Bennett saw the largest crowds from 2008 to 2010, but over the past couple of years, he said, attendance has been especially low. “It’s always been a struggle to tell people we’re back,” Bennett said. “That’s why we haven’t seen as many fans since COVID hit.” It’s not just the Blue Crabs, one of six minor league teams in Maryland, that are facing this challenge.