Knights Break Franchise Season Total Attendance Record.

Corvallis Draws 33,043 for First 26 Home Dates

The Corvallis Knights of the West Coast League broke their all-time season total attendance record against Bend on Saturday, July 30th.

The Knights have drawn 33,043 fans in 26 home dates heading into their final homestand, which starts at 6:40 p.m. Friday against the Dukes of WCL Portland, and features four home games including Wilson Motors Fireworks Do-Over Night on Tuesday, August 9th.

The old record was 31,536, set over 33 dates in 2009, the last time the Knights advanced to the West Coast League Championship Series.

Team president Dan Segel set an ambitious goal of averaging 1,200 fans per game in the team's fifth summer in Corvallis since relocating from Gresham in 2007.

The Knights are on track to surpass that objective; they're averaging 1,271 fans per game, with several big attractions remaining.

"It's a testament to our fans, who we think are the best in the West Coast League," Segel said. "We will obliterate our old record, even though we had a week of bad weather in July that definitely hurt us.

"We try to put on a great show and provide affordable family fun and the fans of the Mid-Valley have responded accordingly. We can't thank them enough."

Either the total attendance, or the per game average, has increased every year the Knights have played in Corvallis. This year's highlights include:

- A sellout crowd of 2,930 for the July 3 Fireworks Show. It's the third year in a row that one of the newest summer traditions in Corvallis has attracted a capacity crowd.

- A crowd of 2,517 for the West Coast League All-Star Game, a record in the game's five-year history.

- A crowd of 1,927 for the June 25 Kids Dash for Cash Night against the Walla Walla Sweets. It was the largest non-fireworks crowd in franchise history.

- Eighteen crowds of 1,000 fans or more. That's a 50-percent increase from the old mark (12 in 2010), with four home games and potential playoffs still remaining.

The Corvallis Knights success has helped the WCL also establish a new attendance mark. The league has drawn 214,662 fans for its 201 league openings through July 31, an average of 1,068 per date.

The old record was 213,518, set in 2010; the new mark was established in 15 fewer openings. The totals do not include nonleague games.