A sellout crowd of 12,579 filled The Diamond to watch the Richmond Braves and postgame fireworks on July 4. Another crowd of 11,360 nearly filled the ballpark for a similar experience on July 5.

The next day, one Richmond Brave poked his head out of the dugout about 45 minutes before the game, observed small clusters of fans here and there in the stands and noted the attendance was back to normal.

Normal meaning not much for a lame-duck team that is scheduled to relocate to Gwinnett County, Ga., after this season.

With more than 70 percent of its home schedule complete (47 openings, plus five lost to weather, out of 72 total), Richmond continues to be in the International League cellar with an average paid attendance of 3,875.

That figure is down almost 1,100 fans from the same point last year.

In many of the R-Braves' games, the number of people actually at The Diamond has been significantly less than the paid number. In a doubleheader on July 8, for instance, the paid attendance was 2,780. The actual attendance was 1,951, according to figures released by the Braves.

Richmond resumes its season tonight in Buffalo, N.Y., after a three-day all-star break. The Braves will be back at The Diamond on July 25. They have 20 home games remaining.