CLEVELAND, Ohio -- After adding $30 million in new player contracts to their payroll for this season, the Indians are trying to woo fans by making cuts to another lineup.

They are reducing prices of many top-selling concessions items, including domestic beer and hot dogs, in some cases significantly below the major league average from last season. Hot dogs will start at $3 and domestic 12-ounce draft beers at $4 for all games this season at Progressive Field.

The Tribe also will increase its Dollar Dog Nights from nine to 15 dates this season.

"This ties back to the organization's commitment that fans are the focus of our every act," Indians President Mark Shapiro said. "We've asked them what they want from their ballpark experience and more affordable concessions is consistently one of the things we hear. We are trying to break down all the barriers to keep fans from coming to Indians games."

The Indians ranked 29th in attendance last season, averaging 19,797 fans -- a 12.88 percent decline from the previous year. Shapiro understands shaving prices on Sugardales and Yuenglings won't keep the turnstiles rolling when the club goes 5-24 in August as it did a season ago.

The Tribe enjoyed an aggressive off-season that saw them land Terry Francona as manager and lure Michael Bourn and Nick Swisher through free agency. The home opener against the New York Yankees sold out in six minutes and single-game ticket totals are up over 40 percent from last year after two days of sales. On Feb. 12, a day after the franchise signed Bourn, the Tribe sold more season tickets than they do in an average off-season month, a club spokesman said.

"Make no mistake, we know the largest lever fans pull is the one that corresponds to on-field performance of the team," Shapiro said.

But Kurt Schloss, vice president of concessions, said in studying fan surveys and listening to feedback, lowering prices on items such as beer and hot dogs was important to ballpark patrons.

The domestic 12-ounce draft beers sold from $4.50 to $5.25 last season, Schloss said, while hot dogs started at $4.50.

Using figures from the 2012 Team Market Report fan cost index, Progressive Field draft beer and hot dogs would be 34 percent and 27 percent respectively below the major-league average.

Other concessions also are being trimmed. Prices for bratwursts will fall from $4.75 to $4 and single-dip waffle cones go from $4.25 to $3.75. Reductions are planned for nachos, pretzels, popcorn and pizza, as well.

Soda refills, meanwhile, will be only $2.