Recently, though, attendance has been slipping at Rich Stadium.

In the 33-day meet, attendance at Belmont slipped by one-half of 1 percent, from a daily average of 7,051 to 7,015.

By 1969, minor-league attendance had slipped to about 10 million.

The university opened a 15,050-seat arena in 1999, but attendance slipped.

As attendance slipped last year, the foundation cut the aquarium staff in half, to 15, and then closed the park last October.

But attendance last year slipped to 91 percent, which hurt.

The attendance slipped to 1,863,731 last year, the lowest since 1984.

Average attendance slipped to 22,000, and Winnipeg was the only team to turn a profit.

But attendance has slipped this year and aquarium officials say improvements are needed to keep attracting visitors.

Gene Roof managed the team to sixth place in 1991 with a 61-78 record as attendance slipped to 150,435.