Let’s begin this with a look at some information that is posted on the official website. The key paragraph is found under the About page, then down to Cleveland County ALWS History. We will compare the “official” numbers of ticket sales totals and ticket sales dollars with the related figures shown on Form 990s with the IRS.
The first year, 2011, fans purchased more than 86,000 tickets; in 2012, the number of tickets sold soared to almost 102,000; and in 2013, fans bought more than 104,000 tickets. In 2014 ticket sales increased to 110,000; in 2015 that number grew to 117,000-plus; in 2016 ticket sales reached approximately 120,000; and in 2017 fans purchased 119,200 tickets. Ticket sales for 2018 set a new record at 128,157! Ticket sales dropped slightly in 2019 to 127,798. COVID-19 concerns and an abbreviated planning period resulted in 108,122 tickets sold in 2021.
— The ALWS website
[*Update* – The original ALWS site name/url was americanlegionworldseries.com. It is now alws.us.]
Here is a complete list of Form 990s available at this time:
[table “1” not found /]
The formula used below is the total amount of dollars for tickets sold divided by the number of tickets that were said to have been sold.
Beginning in 2011, according to the information found on the ALWS website, there were more than 86,000 tickets purchased. However, Form 990 had no single dollar figure for this particular year.
In 2012, as seen below, there were almost 102,000 tickets sold, which was an increase of 16,000 tickets. The ticket sales, according to Form 990 amounted to $68,346. Dividing total dollars by total tickets = $0.6700588235294118 per ticket.
In 2013, as seen below, there were more than 104,000 tickets sold. The ticket sales, according to Form 990 amounted to $26,527. Dividing total dollars by total tickets = $0.2550673076923077 per ticket.
In 2014, as seen below, there were 110,000 tickets sold. The ticket sales, according to Form 990 amounted to $78,607. Dividing total dollars by total tickets = $0.7146090909090909 per ticket.
In 2015, as seen below, there were 117,000+ tickets sold. The ticket sales, according to Form 990 amounted to $66,412. Dividing total dollars by total tickets = $0.5676239316239316 per ticket.
In 2016, as seen below, there were approximately 120,000 tickets sold. The ticket sales, according to Form 990 amounted to $74,005. Dividing total dollars by total tickets = $0.6167083333333333 per ticket.
In 2017, as seen below, there were 119,200 tickets sold. The ticket sales, according to Form 990 amounted to $86,460. Dividing total dollars by total tickets = $0.7253355704697987 per ticket.
In 2018, as seen below, there was a record 128,157 tickets sold. The ticket sales, according to Form 990 amounted to $67,055. Dividing total dollars by total tickets = $0.5232254188222259 per ticket.
In 2019, as seen below, the sales dropped slightly with 127,798 tickets sold. The ticket sales, according to Form 990 amounted to $78,848. Dividing total dollars by total tickets = $0.6169736615596488 per ticket.
Form 990s beyond 2019 is not available at this time. I did find a Form 990 listed as 2020, but after reviewing it, discovered it was the same as the Form 990 from 2019. The original Form 990s were for fiscal years beginning January 1st and ending on December 31st.
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