The NFL Is Seriously Concerned With Empty Stadiums

[Eleazar]

The NFL Is Seriously Concerned With Empty Stadiums

By: Ryan Phillips | September 13, 2017


Week 1 of the NFL season had plenty of important stories worth following, but maybe the most entertaining was the mostly empty stadiums in Los Angeles and Santa Clara. Both the Los Angeles Rams and San Francisco 49ers had sparse crowds for their home openers, and that has not gone unnoticed by the NFL.


Ian Rapoport ✔ @RapSheet
NFL spokesman Joe Lockhart on the attendance in LA & SF: “Any time we empty seats that something we want to address.” Focused on sellouts.
10:29 AM - Sep 13, 2017


Ian Rapoport’s report (try and say that fast five times) above shows that the league is clearly worried about the optics of half-filled stadiums. And they should be. It’s embarrassing for the league.

This is what the 49ers crowd looked like at the start of the second half in Week 1:



And here’s what the Rams crowd looked like in the first quarter:



Here’s the thing, the NFL’s plans for relocating teams have been hilariously ham-fisted. Moving the 49ers to Santa Clara, 45 minutes from San Francisco was a moronic decision. Levi’s Stadium is also positioned so roughly 70 percent of the stadium bakes in the sun with no chance of shade.

Meanwhile, the Rams might actually have decent attendance once they move into their new stadium, but that’s a huge gamble. Until then, they’ll likely be dealing with sparse crowds at the Coliseum for the next three seasons. It’s terrible optics for the NFL to have empty stadiums and absolutely no atmosphere for games.

And we haven’t even gotten to the Los Angeles Chargers, who haven’t even been able to sellout a 27,000-seat stadium. No one wanted the Chargers in Los Angeles, and it has shown so far. Dean Spanos and his family have consistently claimed they are pleased with ticket sales and “excited” about what’s happened with the franchise in LA, but look at the following picture for the team’s first ever official game in Los Angeles:



That was taken just before publishing this piece. Everything in color there is a ticket on sale for the team’s Week 2 matchup with the Miami Dolphins. Many of them are “re-sale” tickets that were likely snagged up by brokers when season tickets went on sale. Those brokers will likely aim to sell those seats to opposing fans all season. That graphic is stunning because it comes from just one ticket selling website, and there are several others that each have hundreds of tickets available.

The fact that the Chargers can’t find 27,000 fans to fill their tiny soccer stadium home for their opener in a new city would be shocking if you hadn’t followed this move from the beginning. But, let’s be real: there is zero buzz around the team, fan outreach efforts have been widely mocked and San Diego fans have abandoned the franchise en masse after the way the team’s ownership treated its former city. No matter how much lipstick the NFL tries to put on that situation, it’s always going to look like a pig.

Empty stadiums are a huge deal to the NFL. Yes, the league makes its money off of TV contracts, but when fans aren’t at games it has a detrimental impact on the product. It sends the message that games are boring, uninteresting and that people don’t want to have anything to do with them in person. That kind of message hurts the product as a whole.

Not to mention, players don’t want to play in empty stadiums, so those franchises will suffer when it comes time to lure free agents. That could lead to some teams being buried at the bottom of the league year after year and creating a cycle that leaves fans even less incentive to show up.

This is a major problem for the NFL. Maybe owners around the league will finally realize that their big, bold stadium and relocation plans should actually have more thought attached to them.


http://thebiglead.com/2017/09/13/the...mpty-stadiums/

[Bewbies]

Originally Posted by 3rd&Long

AND, I'm told, the Falcons coughed up an additional $700 Million for a roof they can't or don't want to open in fear of not being able to close it again. Arthur Blank must be feeling that one deep in the sphincter.

I read it might be open this weekend. Shocking everyone here.

The Braves got a $650m stadium that opened this year, Falcons got a $1.6B stadium that opened this year, and the Hawks are renovating their newish stadium to the tune of $250M right now.

Tax payers didn't foot all of that, but a big portion. ****ing stupid.

[Chief Pagan]

Originally Posted by Dayze

the NFL is largely unwatchable for me anymore.

Hours and hours of commercials,

There is this thing called a DVR... An entire game can be comfortably watched in a little over an hour.

And if you insist on watching live, flip over to the Red Zone for a couple of minutes during commercial break.

Track down a college student and you can get Sunday Ticket streaming for $100.

Skip the pre and post game shows and all the other shows hyping this or that and the actual games are more enjoyable.

[OldSchool]

Originally Posted by BigBeauford

Also a lot of Millenials are no longer playing football and/or don't give a shit about football.

Soccer is the new cool thing. Basketball has also enjoyed a rise in popularity (I think).

[Just Passin' By]

Originally Posted by Bewbies

I read it might be open this weekend. Shocking everyone here.

The Braves got a $650m stadium that opened this year, Falcons got a $1.6B stadium that opened this year, and the Hawks are renovating their newish stadium to the tune of $250M right now.

Tax payers didn't foot all of that, but a big portion. ****ing stupid.

At least you got a Chic-Fil-A that is closed for those Sunday football games, though, right?

[DaneMcCloud]

Originally Posted by Mile High Mania

Dumbasses with too much money.

There's no such thing as "too much money"

[DaneMcCloud]

Originally Posted by 3rd&Long

Then we know both the Raiders and Rams vacated LA in the 90s because of poor fan support.

Complete and utter bullshit.

It was stadium deals, dummy.

[DaneMcCloud]

Originally Posted by Bewbies

When you turn on your tv and they're talking about football they're always talking about concussions, sitting during the national anthem, or a team holding a city hostage for money.

Nobody wants to spend a ton of time or money on that shit.

Simple Solution: What the game muted.

I've been doing it for years.

The announcers miss most of the action, anyway, because of their incessant babbling.

[DaneMcCloud]

Originally Posted by Cochise

I've never understood why people would pay that kind of money to watch the game on a TV screen from inside the stadium. Or in a suite, even.

Because it's a different type of environment, usually business related.

I've been to several suites across the country and the one thing in common was that host was more interested in doing business deals than watching the game(s).

[Otter]

Originally Posted by OldSchool

I think the worst thing that the NFL did was ever acknowledging any political BS. Think that brought a sour note to the NFL and is also pushing a significant amount of people (mainly SJW millennial/college age types) away from the NFL.

Huge issue as well. Sunday NFL games were a time to have a couple beers with the guys and watch men hit each other. Now, it allowed the asshole uncle who won't shut up about politics at the family picnic to have a loud say on what dictates the flow.

If the NFL hasn't slayed the goose that layed the golden egg yet they're above the belly button on that cut. And yes, geese have belly buttons in my posts.

[Bewbies]

Originally Posted by DaneMcCloud

Simple Solution: What the game muted.

I've been doing it for years.

The announcers miss most of the action, anyway, because of their incessant babbling.

It is really amazing how terrible the announcers are now. Unless you get the #1 announcing team (and even then it might climb to ok) mute is a superior option.

I was more referencing ESPN etc in coverage of the NFL. I watch, and the coverage doesn't bother me, other than watching the best professional sports league we have kill itself via a billion cuts.

[Bewbies]

Originally Posted by Just Passin' By

At least you got a Chic-Fil-A that is closed for those Sunday football games, though, right?

There are so many events in that place Chick-Fil-A will still serve a ton of sandwiches.

The rest of this year there's something like 3-4 events per week in there.

[DaneMcCloud]

Originally Posted by Bewbies

It is really amazing how terrible the announcers are now. Unless you get the #1 announcing team (and even then it might climb to ok) mute is a superior option.

I was more referencing ESPN etc in coverage of the NFL. I watch, and the coverage doesn't bother me, other than watching the best professional sports league we have kill itself via a billion cuts.

The only announcing team that I don't mute is when Al Michaels is involved.

Last night, it was Collinsworth and Tirico and while I don't mind either, I prefer to watch the game muted.

But Al Michaels is a living legend that always has such great perspective.

[Otter]

Originally Posted by DaneMcCloud

The only announcing team that I don't mute is when Al Michaels is involved.

Last night, it was Collinsworth and Tirico and while I don't mind either, I prefer to watch the game muted.

But Al Michaels is a living legend that always has such great perspective.

See Dane, we agree sometimes!

[3rd&Long]

Originally Posted by DaneMcCloud

Complete and utter bullshit.

It was stadium deals, dummy.

Always nice to be welcomed to a board with such well reasoned out candor

[ChiefsCountry]

That 49er picture was right after halftime kickoff. It says 15:00 on the game clock. I'm sure most are still pissing and getting concessions and working their way back to the seats.