Mets attendance declined for a third straight season, with the team drawing a total announced crowd of 2,352,596 in 2011. That figure was the team's lowest in seven years, since Art Howe's final season as manager.

The 8.1 percent decline this season comes on the heels of a 19.2 percent dropoff from the inaugural season at Citi Field to Year 2 in 2010.

Attendance dropped 21.6 percent from 2008 at Shea Stadium to 2009 at smaller-capacity Citi Field.

The last time the franchise experienced that many successive years of declining attendance came from 1988 to 1992. The organization also experienced four straight years of declining attendance from 1970 to 1974 and from 1975 to 1979.

The recent downward trend coincides with three straight losing seasons. It also comes at a time in which Major League Baseball announced attendance had risen by 0.5 percent overall across baseball this season compared with 2010.

The Mets had reduced ticket prices by an average of more than 14 percent for the 2011 season.

While it's rough math, a 14 percent reduction in ticket prices coupled with an 8.1 percent decline in attendance suggests ticket revenues this season were roughly only 79 percent of the 2010 intake.

Sandy Alderson has announced the payroll will go from roughly $140 million this season to the $100 million to $110 million range next season. He has suggested the decline is tied to revenue decreases.