The home schedule ended the same way it began for the Reds — with overcast skies and wet weather. Yet the outlook was sunny from start to finish, at least where the turnstiles were concerned.

        Sunday's announced crowd of 35,623 brought the season's paid attendance to 2,577,351, the second-largest total in franchise history. It was eclipsed only by the 2,629,708 the Reds drew in their World Championship season of 1976.

        The arrival of center fielder Ken Griffey Jr. had a considerable impact on the gate. So did the lingering excitement generated by the Reds' 96-67 finish in 1999.

        John Allen, the Reds' chief operating officer, had hoped that the team could set an attendance record. He attributed the club's failure to do so to its second-place finish, which further suppressed the historically mediocre September crowds.

        “But I can't complain about (nearly) 2.6 million,” Mr. Allen said. “That's great.”

        This year's 82 dates at Cinergy Field — including the Opening Day tie against Milwaukee — included the following highlights:

        • An Opening Day crowd of 55,596, the largest in regular-season stadium history;

        • A crowd of 45,771 on June 29 against St. Louis, a Reds record for a non-Opening Day weekday.

        • An audience of 54,335 against Cleveland on July 8, establishing a club standard for a Saturday afternoon.

        • A three-game series franchise record of 159,065 July 7-9 against Cleveland.

        • Only one crowd of less than 20,000 all year.

Reds 4, Astros 3 Box, runs Statues will honor Nux, Klu, Robby, Lombardi Reds' attendance second only to '76 Graves joins Japan tour

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