SBC Indy Down 1,300 Messengers Over 4 Years

What story does these numbers tell?

I was curious about the difference between the 2004 SBC Indy and the 2008 SBC Indy. Here are the best numbers I could find, you write the story.

• 2004 – “about 8,500” via 2004 BP News story
• 2008 – “7,196” via 2008 BP News Blog

So, there were roughly 1,304 fewer messengers in the same city, only four years later. That’s around a 15% drop in attendance.

Any theories?