The Colorado Rockies are drawing longer lines of spur-of-the-moment baseball fans this season, boosting attendance levels at Coors Field.

Between 8,000 and 10,000 people are showing up empty-handed at each game and buying tickets at the window, compared with only 3,000 to 4,000 last year, according to the team.

As of Tuesday night, the Rockies sat in fourth place in the National League West - not exactly cause for celebration - but a winning record at this point in the season has kept fans intrigued.

"It helps that they're playing well," said Patrick Larson, a 29-year-old salesman who picked up a pair of tickets an hour before the Rockies-Brewers game. "That'll get me out here a lot more."

Average attendance so far this year has risen a modest 6 percent to 28,520 from 26,933 last year. With those improved numbers, the Rockies rank No. 19 out of 30 clubs, a mediocre position the team is happy to occupy.

The New York Yankees are first in attendance, as one might expect; the Tampa Bay Devil Rays are dead last.

"The organization has worked hard to get to this point," said Jay Alves, a spokesman for the team who provided the 2007 figures. "The club is playing well - and the weather has been nice."

James Castleberry, a 24-year-old St. Louis Cardinals fan who has gone to about eight Rockies games this summer, pointed out why many fans do not purchase tickets ahead of time.

"You don't need to," he said, noting there's usually no risk of a sellout.

His colleague, Jared Buck, a 25-year-old baseball fan in a jersey bearing the name of former Rockies player Vinny Castilla, offered another reason.

"I'm a last-minute thinker," he said.

Attendance has dropped dramatically from the lofty levels seen in the mid- to late '90s, when the Rockies regularly filled 45,000 to 48,000 seats.

In 2005, the team hit bottom, bringing in fewer than 24,000 people a game, ahead of only Pittsburgh, Florida, Kansas City and Tampa Bay.

But the number of people walking through the turnstiles at the Blake Street ballpark started creeping higher last year, and the trend has continued. The Rockies are crossing their fingers.

On July 29, the Rockies sold 6,608 walk-up tickets, the most on a Sunday in Coors Field history.

"I think the young players we have are taking hold," said Alves, the spokesman.

To a degree, Rockies ticket sales depend on the weather and a little luck.

Paula Granger came all the way from Kemmerer, Wyo., not because she's a rabid Rockies supporter - though she does call herself a National League fan. She actually brought her ailing dog to a well-regarded veterinarian in Colorado and figured she might as well catch a game while she was in town.

Nearly 600 people attending a government-sponsored telecom conference at the Adam's Mark hotel in Denver opted to check out Coors Field.

An increased interest in the Rockies has helped the team sell more caps, shirts and other goods, too. Retail sales at the Dugout stores have risen about 10 percent this year from the same period last season, Alves said.

Ratings on FSN Rocky Mountain are up as well.

LoDo businesses are probably the biggest Colorado Rockies fans of all. Restaurant consultant John Imbergamo stated the obvious.

"To some extent, people have gotten used to doing business with smaller crowds," he said, "so any increase in attendance is a positive for us."

Rockies' numbers

• Average attendance in 2007: 28,520

• Average attendance same period in 2006: 26,933

• Typical walk-up crowd in 2007: 8,000 to 10,000

• Typical walk-up crowd in 2006: 3,000 to 4,000

10 percent more fans have shopped at Rockies Dugout stores this year.

patonj@RockyMountainNews.com or 303-954-2544

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