Football The NFL Is Seriously Concerned With Empty Stadiums - Page 2

Eleazar · 09-15-2017, 12:52 PM

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/

saphojunkie · 09-15-2017, 01:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Prison Bitch

It's prob time for Goodell to bash Trump pulblicly, like he did adter the election. That's good for business, taking political stands as a CEO. Viewers love that!

On second thought, he can burn in hell.

It's always a good time to bash that ****ing ****.

Dayze · 09-15-2017, 01:42 PM

maybe people are just tired of watching boring football / product, and paying through the nose to do so.

i haven't been to a game since the Chiefs home playoff loss to the Ravens, and used to go to probably 3 games a year.

the home experience is just way way better IMO.
at least it's better when you factor in the cost to go to a game. and I would imagine the Chiefs are on the low-end of costs to attend a game. (no idea though).

**EDit....NM, Cochise pretty much covered the point I was trying to make.

Mile High Mania · 09-15-2017, 01:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PAChiefsGuy

Idk man.. Golden State Warriors are always selling out but like you said 49ers and Rams suck.

- the 49ers have only had 5 seasons over .500 since 2000
- LA Rams are 5-12 since relocating, their last season over .500 was 2003
- Chargers have had 9 wins three times since 2010
- last year was the first time the Raiders had been better than .500 since 2002

There's been a metric ton of shitty football in California for a very long time.

saphojunkie · 09-15-2017, 01:45 PM

They're going to have to lower ticket prices, period. It's simple economics. It seems to me that they could get ahead of the curve and lower ticket sales preemptively. Why wait for the market to sour so much that you are forced to lower them, and enthusiasm has waned?

Enthusiasm is still relatively high. You could make your desirable product more accessible, and maintain your momentum. Or you can bleed it dry and shutter your doors in 20 years.

PAChiefsGuy · 09-15-2017, 01:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mile High Mania

- the 49ers have only had 5 seasons over .500 since 2000
- LA Rams are 5-12 since relocating, their last season over .500 was 2003
- Chargers have had 9 wins three times since 2010
- last year was the first time the Raiders had been better than .500 since 2002

There's been a metric ton of shitty football in California for a very long time.

Right...

MMXcalibur · 09-15-2017, 01:47 PM

Staying at home and watching the games is so, SO much better.
I'm headed to the Chiefs/Chargers game in LA next week and had to pay out the nose for it ($170/ticket).

I won't be doing that next year.

Dayze · 09-15-2017, 01:48 PM

last night, my wife (who is playing fantasy football for the first time ever with some work friends) said "Joe Mixon is on my bench and has only gotten me 2 points so far. but he's on my bench so, I guess that's no big deal'.

after hearing that I remember thinking ".....man...there's a football game on tonight"? lol. no shit.

Mile High Mania · 09-15-2017, 01:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cochise

The article mainly concerns itself with California teams that have little or no fan support (redundant, I know), and all three of those mentioned have recently relocated.

However, across the league I think the main problems are that the NFL has decided to price regular people out of the market, and that the quality of the product has declined.

Rule changes making the league so QB-centric... 4 or 5 teams realistically have a chance. You can't hit anyone, you can't defend anyone, nobody knows what a catch is any longer. Defense and the ground game are sideshows the passing game. Arena football isn't popular and this mess the NFL is declining toward isn't either. Bring back the run game, bring back defense, bring back what was once the most "team" of all team sports.

Then maybe people will consider paying exorbitant sums for parking spaces, tickets, and everything that goes with them.

Think about all the 'great games' on NFL films from the 60s, 70s, 80s. Visualize them in your head... take a few minutes.

Ok, did you see old, outdoor stadiums in the elements with Joe Sixpack and all his buddies face painting and having a blast in the stands? Hell yeah you did, and you've nailed so much of what I think the problem is today.

That new ATL stadium and all the others... it's so damn expensive to go to a game. Single game cheap seats are crazy.

It would cost me $100 per ticket to take my family of 5 to the Cowboys/Rams game in a few weeks... really? And, that's up at the highest and furthest away from the action. Don't forget parking and crazy priced food. Call it $550 with no food or drinks. $700 with all that and I'm not sure if I would pay that price to see Dallas/Denver. Maybe I'm just a cheap bastard, but damn that's insane.

It's like that everywhere. No thanks.

eDave · 09-15-2017, 01:48 PM

As with most things, it's the internet and big screen TVs.

Coochie liquor · 09-15-2017, 01:49 PM

I'm sure the Fade moving out of Cali and announcing it years ahead of time will help this problem too.

**Bowser** · 09-15-2017, 01:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cochise

The article mainly concerns itself with California teams that have little or no fan support (redundant, I know), and all three of those mentioned have recently relocated.

However, across the league I think the main problems are that the NFL has decided to price regular people out of the market, and that the quality of the product has declined.

Rule changes making the league so QB-centric... 4 or 5 teams realistically have a chance. You can't hit anyone, you can't defend anyone, nobody knows what a catch is any longer. Defense and the ground game are sideshows the passing game. Arena football isn't popular and this mess the NFL is declining toward isn't either. Bring back the run game, bring back defense, bring back what was once the most "team" of all team sports.

Then maybe people will consider paying exorbitant sums for parking spaces, tickets, and everything that goes with them.

Great take, spot on.

Plus, think about all the money that goes into fantasy football. It always comes back to money.

Dayze · 09-15-2017, 01:51 PM

The NFL could die off, or go to a PPV scenario, or some other method where they're not on TV anymore, and I seriously don't think I would be all that upset by it. Yes, it would suck not watching the Chiefs (the only really team I follow anyway), but oh well. If you would've told me 10 years ago I'd have that opinion of the NFL, I would've said you're crazy. I used to play my entire weekends around football.

Now I get more enjoyment watching NCAA games at random / good matchups, and have my Sundays pretty much free again.

and though i used to be a fanatical FF player, I haven't played in probably nearly a decade. and I think the game has evolved to cater to fantasy football. all the FF segments on pre-games, entire FF programs, etc, I think has alot to do with it. An entire generation of people are only interested in the NFL to see how many points they got each week, and don't really have a passion for a particular team.

Mile High Mania · 09-15-2017, 01:52 PM

The other problem is these stadiums are becoming mini-amusement parks... why the hell is it necessary to have great Wifi for a 3 hour game? Go to the Cowboys' stadium and on the levels with restaurants and bars, you'll see people that spent great money for their suite... sitting in the atrium club or the Jack Daniels bar watching the game on a TV screen. Dumbasses with too much money.

Eleazar · 09-15-2017, 01:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mile High Mania

The other problem is these stadiums are becoming mini-amusement parks... why the hell is it necessary to have great Wifi for a 3 hour game? Go to the Cowboys' stadium and on the levels with restaurants and bars, you'll see people that spent great money for their suite... sitting in the atrium club or the Jack Daniels bar watching the game on a TV screen. Dumbasses with too much money.

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.

Bewbies · 09-15-2017, 01:55 PM

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.

Mark Cuban was right.

09-15-2017, 12:52 PM
Eleazar Beyond the Rapids Join Date: May 2003 Location: Langley, VA Casino cash: $-370000	The NFL Is Seriously Concerned With Empty Stadiums 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/
Posts: 80,659

09-15-2017, 01:42 PM	#17
Dayze Resident Glue Sniffer Join Date: Nov 2003 Casino cash: $5109358	maybe people are just tired of watching boring football / product, and paying through the nose to do so. i haven't been to a game since the Chiefs home playoff loss to the Ravens, and used to go to probably 3 games a year. the home experience is just way way better IMO. at least it's better when you factor in the cost to go to a game. and I would imagine the Chiefs are on the low-end of costs to attend a game. (no idea though). EDit....NM, Cochise pretty much covered the point I was trying to make. __________________ Life is 99% inspiration, 1% Perspiration, and 1% Attention to Detial. RIP & Godspeed:** Saccoppo Lonewolf Ed Fire Me Boy
Posts: 37,366

09-15-2017, 01:45 PM	#19
saphojunkie MVP Join Date: Aug 2011 Casino cash: $4676550	They're going to have to lower ticket prices, period. It's simple economics. It seems to me that they could get ahead of the curve and lower ticket sales preemptively. Why wait for the market to sour so much that you are forced to lower them, and enthusiasm has waned? Enthusiasm is still relatively high. You could make your desirable product more accessible, and maintain your momentum. Or you can bleed it dry and shutter your doors in 20 years.
Posts: 12,574	1 0

09-15-2017, 01:47 PM	#21
MMXcalibur Pessimistically optimistic. Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: Denver, CO Casino cash: $2375086	Staying at home and watching the games is so, SO much better. I'm headed to the Chiefs/Chargers game in LA next week and had to pay out the nose for it ($170/ticket). I won't be doing that next year.
Posts: 16,423

09-15-2017, 01:48 PM	#22
Dayze Resident Glue Sniffer Join Date: Nov 2003 Casino cash: $5109358	last night, my wife (who is playing fantasy football for the first time ever with some work friends) said "Joe Mixon is on my bench and has only gotten me 2 points so far. but he's on my bench so, I guess that's no big deal'. after hearing that I remember thinking ".....man...there's a football game on tonight"? lol. no shit. __________________ Life is 99% inspiration, 1% Perspiration, and 1% Attention to Detial. RIP & Godspeed: Saccoppo Lonewolf Ed Fire Me Boy
Posts: 37,366

09-15-2017, 01:48 PM	#24
eDave Banned Join Date: Jan 2013 Casino cash: $9998560	As with most things, it's the internet and big screen TVs.
Posts: 53,803

09-15-2017, 01:49 PM	#25
Coochie liquor Bolton gonna knock you out Join Date: Mar 2014 Location: Free Vybz Kartel Casino cash: $2632394	I'm sure the Fade moving out of Cali and announcing it years ahead of time will help this problem too.
Posts: 20,453

09-15-2017, 01:51 PM	#27
Dayze Resident Glue Sniffer Join Date: Nov 2003 Casino cash: $5109358	The NFL could die off, or go to a PPV scenario, or some other method where they're not on TV anymore, and I seriously don't think I would be all that upset by it. Yes, it would suck not watching the Chiefs (the only really team I follow anyway), but oh well. If you would've told me 10 years ago I'd have that opinion of the NFL, I would've said you're crazy. I used to play my entire weekends around football. Now I get more enjoyment watching NCAA games at random / good matchups, and have my Sundays pretty much free again. and though i used to be a fanatical FF player, I haven't played in probably nearly a decade. and I think the game has evolved to cater to fantasy football. all the FF segments on pre-games, entire FF programs, etc, I think has alot to do with it. An entire generation of people are only interested in the NFL to see how many points they got each week, and don't really have a passion for a particular team. __________________ Life is 99% inspiration, 1% Perspiration, and 1% Attention to Detial. RIP & Godspeed: Saccoppo Lonewolf Ed Fire Me Boy
Posts: 37,366

09-15-2017, 01:52 PM	#28
Mile High Mania #triggering Join Date: Aug 2000 Location: Tejas Casino cash: $3597229	The other problem is these stadiums are becoming mini-amusement parks... why the hell is it necessary to have great Wifi for a 3 hour game? Go to the Cowboys' stadium and on the levels with restaurants and bars, you'll see people that spent great money for their suite... sitting in the atrium club or the Jack Daniels bar watching the game on a TV screen. Dumbasses with too much money. __________________
Posts: 30,315	0 1

09-15-2017, 01:55 PM	#30
Bewbies Ith Fuhtbawl Time Join Date: Apr 2010 Casino cash: $9999900	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. Mark Cuban was right.
Posts: 10,085