Originally Posted by Bewbies (Post 13082472)

Here in ATL they didn't even sell single game tickets. You wanted to go to games you had to buy a seat license and then pay for the whole season.

Never mind that our new soccer team (best attendance in the MLS over 45k a game) plays in there and you can get cheap seats without license.

Sunday games in that new dome are gonna have a lame ass environment because nobody in there is actually the Joe 6 pack die hard fan. Those folks all told the Falcons to piss off.

Originally Posted by Rain Man (Post 13082467)

Yeah, I agree with Cochise's big picture summary, but I do think the true catalyst is price. It's expensive enough now that you could go spend a weekend at a lake or something instead if you have a family. Or for a two-person family like mine, it would cover my airfare to some nice place. It's just not really worth it for a three-hour excursion where your team may or may not win, especially when you can also watch it on your big-screen high-definition television.

If they lower the prices, they'll get a lot of their crowds back, despite the other structural issues going on.

Originally Posted by Halfcan (Post 13082474)

All of this. I would also add the tailgate experience is not even close to what it was. The Chiefs try to cram you into a little spot now for "safety" reasons and send the Nazi's around in a golf cart to harass you if you are over the line. It also takes twice as long to get Into the stadium with all the security-which cuts down your tailgate time on noon games.

Tailgating was half the fun of the game day experience- now you almost spend more time being directed around the lot than party time.

Originally Posted by Just Passin' By (Post 13082494)

Unless it's folded in with another special event (concert, for example), I doubt I'll ever bother going to a live game again. I was offered "free" tickets. I added up what "free' would mean for one person, assuming they kept it on the cheap,

$60 for parking
$20 (lowballed) for 2 beers and a small food item
$10-$15 for gas
3 hours lost time in traffic
Harassment policy a/k/a security measures just to get into the place


So, I can spend $90+, and my wasted time, on "free" tickets, or I can just stay home and either watch on a big screen television or do something else with my time. To me, it's a no brainer, and season ticket holders are insane for spending full amount of money required on what has become both an inferior viewing experience and an inferior overall product experience.

Originally Posted by Mile High Mania (Post 13082493)

My kids wanted me to take them all to the game this weekend... this conversation happened about 9 months ago. I said, let's say we drive from Dallas to Denver - no airfare. And, we don't want terrible seats, but "ok" seats. Let's price it out.

All in on hotel for 3 nights, gas, food, game, extras along the way... I said, what if I just gave the three of you $250 each and we call it even.

It's just too much money to take a family to a game.

Originally Posted by Rain Man (Post 13082471)

No doubt about it. Los Angeles is a weird animal when it comes to pro football. I understand the league obsessing about it since it's the second-largest national market. It seems like you could fill a stadium from a population of 13 million or whatever it is. But maybe you just can't.

Originally Posted by RealSNR (Post 13082498)

Tear down the Santa Clara stadium. You could cover the price of airfare, a nice hotel, and decent seats at Levi's Stadium, and I STILL wouldn't accept that offer.

Nothing like being baked alive.

Originally Posted by Cochise (Post 13082429)

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.

Originally Posted by OldSchool (Post 13082407)

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.

Originally Posted by Modser (Post 13082416)

I'd like to know how they formulate numbers on viewership. Is it a Nielsen type thing where they check in on who and how many people are watching a live event on their on TVs, and do they account for viewers that stream or DVR games to watch at a later date?