In February 2013, when the Mariners announced their massive contract extension for Felix Hernandez, which is coming to its merciful end next week, two developments foreshadowed the move.
After a third consecutive losing season (75 wins, following seasons of 67 and 61), Mariners' average attendance in 2012 at then-Safeco Field fell to 21,258, still the stadium's all-time low. Considering that 10 years earlier, the average was 43,710, the Mariners had lost half their in-house audience.
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