> That's not something you can just do with other major sports.

This is specifically the appeal of in-person MLB games; it's no problem to get a group together: school, church, friends, family, or what have you, and roll up to a game on relatively short notice and have a low-stress experience. In this way it's in the same category as a museum or theme-park sort of outing.

Is it economically optimal? Maybe not, but I also don't think the product is trying to attract the same audience that's willing to engage in a high-coordination and high-intensity event like an NFL game. I know both folks who love the spectacle and effort of the NFL experience and folks who like catching a baseball game with their group when they have a free afternoon, and they don't really overlap.