Attendance figures in the Western Canadian Baseball League (WCBL) are up significantly this year, according to recently released rankings from Ballpark Digest.

The online publication - which tracks baseball stadium news and developments across North America - delivered summer collegiate data on Oct. 28th, including a breakdown of total team attendance, per-game averages and league figures.

Total regular-season attendance in the WCBL climbed from 305,425 in 2023 to 369,260 this summer. That marked a new record for the Western Canadian baseball circuit.

The league's overall attendance figure climbed to a new high of 417,558 fans over 345 regular season and playoff games, as well as the All-Star Game festivities in Okotoks.

The WCBL - which is based in Alberta and Saskatchewan - drew more fans than the Cape Cod League, Futures League and New England Baseball League.

Leading the way were the Okotoks Dawgs, who welcomed a total of 133,664 fans to their 28 home games at Seaman Stadium during the 2024 regular season. On average, the Dawgs had a crowd of 4,774 baseball boosters on hand, which was up from their 2023 average of 4,558.

The Dawgs, who won their third straight WCBL championship this year, finished third overall on Baseball Digest's list of summer collegiate rankings by both total and average attendance.

All 12 WCBL teams cracked the list of 160 teams, with the expansion Saskatoon Berries and the Sylvan Lake Gulls finishing in the top 50, while the Medicine Hat Mavericks placed in the top 75.

The Berries had a total attendance of 50,195 during 26 games in their first WCBL season, good for a 32nd-best average of 1,931 people showing up at NexGen Patch at Cairns Field in Saskatoon.

A total of 43,093 spectators - 1,593 each game - showed up at Gulls Field this summer to cheer on their record-setting Sylvan Lake team, which established a new high for WCBL regular-season wins in one year with 44 victories. That turnout placed the Gulls in 45th overall in the Ballpark Digest category of attendance by total.

The Medicine Hat Mavericks finished 58th overall in that same category, with 35,952 fans filing through the gates at Athletic Park to watch the Mavs play ball on 29 occasions.

Placing just outside the top 100 were the Lethbridge Bulls (101st with 22,383 total fans); the Regina Red Sox (102nd with 22,096 spectators) and the Fort McMurray Giants (103rd with 21,820 attendees). The Giants saw their average crowd at Legacy Dodge Field jump from 608 fans in 2023 to 839 in 2024.

Other WCBL teams on the total attendance rankings include the Edmonton Prospects (122nd); the Moose Jaw Miller Express (124th); Swift Current 57's (135th); Brooks Bombers (139th); and the Weyburn Beavers (140th).

The Ballpark Digest listings only include regular-season attendance figures from each club. The WCBL postseason attracted an historic high turnout of 42,123 baseball boosters. On average, 2,217 fans showed up for the 19 playoff games in eight cities.

Since 2022, total league attendance has grown by 38 percent.

The 2025 WCBL regular season schedule will be released later this week.