New York Red Bull have sold about 4000 season tickets so far

http://i312.photobucket.com/albums/ll343/hexagonal_bucket/IMG_0431.jpg

Seats in blue = season tickets that have been sold
I estimate that the seats in blue represent about 4000 seats (about 1/3 of the 11,279 lower bowl)

http://www.seats3d.com/mls/new_york_red_bulls/
This is the seating chart and prices. Supporters Section are the five front endline sections pictured above. The middle section of those five (section 101) is reserved solely for supporters. Other parts of the Supporters Section are open to the public.

Seating Capacity Breakdown:

Lower Bowl
Premium Seats (west end): 1,116
General Seats: 9,823
Barrier Free and Companion seats: 340
Total - Lower Bowl: 11,279

Upper Bowl
General Seats: 13,218
Barrier Free and Companion seats: 332
Total - Upper Bowl: 13,550

Lower Level Suites
20 suites with 12 seats per: 240
Upper Level Suites
10 suites with 12 seats per: 120

TOTAL SEATS: 25,189

New RBA video update (check it out):
http://web.mlsnet.com/media/video.jsp?content_id=7020359

Just save a large enough section for away support.

http://i312.photobucket.com/albums/ll343/hexagonal_bucket/IMG_0431.jpg
From the chart above, the Visiting Supporter Section will comprise of 2 sections. Too bad that they are in the 200 level.








What a stadium!

p.s. Red Bull ticket sales rep have stated that their goal is 10,000 season tickets (including partial). Doable in my opinion. Season tickets for RBNY will go on sale to the public on October 15. So expect more blue dots in the weeks to come.

MLS season ticket numbers from 1996 to 2009
http://www.bigsoccer.com/forum/showthread.php?t=626083

MLS Overall

1996-41,995 (average 4,200)
1997-37,893 (average 3,789)
1998-38,683 (average 3,224)
1999-43,782 (average 3,649)
.
.
2005-48,300 (average 4,025)

Nice looking stadium. Hopefully we'll see it plenty full these coming seasons.

If the team stays crapy like it did for the past 10 years, you lucky if 10k show up in that brand new stadium.

Is 4,000 a good or bad number base on expectations by FO ?

For a brand-spankin' new facility? I imagine they're hoping to sell at least double and more likely triple that amount.

You're not that far off. The guy who took this photo actually counted and the number he came up with was 3,748 (here's the post). This was the count before his group picked seats, and there was one more group after. I would fathom the number being above 3,800 at the end that day. The supporter's groups get to go at the end of this week so the number should be in the 4,000 range, before the general sale begins on the 15th of October.

I recently read that they believe they can get in the 9-10k range before the season begins. They might have to rethink their club seat pricing ($3,000 per seat), as those haven't sold very well.

I was at RBA last night and bought two full season tickets. It is a stunning facility and exceeded my already lofty expectations.

Saving the salary cap discussion for another thread...here's what I like about Red Bull Arena:

1. I like that it's 25,000 capacity. I'm tired of the 18,000 capacity thinking. Houston's Robertson Stadium has a capacity of 32,000, they average about 17,000, and it almost always looks pretty full and has a great atmosphere. They can pack it in and double the gate for a playoff game, a big tournament game, or a Beckham appearance. Plus we need to think growth. Toronto and Seattle are expanding, for example.
2. I like the roofs - those look cool. This thing is going to look astounding on TV. Even better than the Home Depot Center. And if those roofs reverberate the noise, that thing is going to rock.

As for the # of season tickets, if Philly can get 10,000 (for their 18,000-seater arena), then New York had better get 10,000 if they want to sell out this thing. If they can sell this out, that's going to create a tremendous buzz like Toronto. If people know they can't get something, they want it even more. (Ask any teenage boy with a Catholic girlfriend.) Even if the true demand is 25,190 and they sell out at 25,189...people's imaginations will start racing that the true demand could be 30,000 or 40,000.

And a DP won't fix New York's on-the-field problems. FC Dallas has the league's leading scorer and it's not helping them win games. When the Galaxy first got Beckham, they sucked that whole season. And everyone talked about how Beckham would "increase the level of play of the whole team". The only thing that will fix New York's performance problems is a bunch of good players, and possibly a new coach.

Umm, Umm, Umm.... The FCD don't get no respect around here..

It's one section, 220. And to be honest, it's actually better for the away supporters to be up there because they're right under the roof. The sound they'll generate will bounce of the structure and make it seem that much louder.

The current 3750 count is from the current season tickets holders. Considering that we already knew Red Bull had about 3500 season tickets sold for 2009, that number is pretty much where we thought it would be. It'll be interesting to track the season ticket numbers once the seats go on sale to the general public. 10,000 is a lofty goal in my opinion. 7500 is probably more doable.

Philly has sold over 10,000 season tickets already. The stadium has capacity of 18,500, not 18000.

Philly also have a 2000 seats Supporters Section that is reserved solely for supporters. New York also have a ~2000 seats Supporters Section. However, it is in name only because anyone can get tickets there. They should have put section 101 (510 seats) as a Supporters Section that is reserved solely for NY supporters groups. 500 supporters together will make good atmosphere. 500 supporters scattered through 5 sections (2000 seats) in the end line with kids, family types, casual fans mixed in will pretty much kill the atmosphere.

http://i312.photobucket.com/albums/ll343/hexagonal_bucket/IMG_0421.jpg

In 6th place out of 8 teams in the Western Conference. With the league's leading scorer.

You haven't been watching much lately, have you.

New York's supporter's groups are very quietly at each other's throats. Shh!

Apropos of nothing, Red Bull ticket rep told me they're somewhere above 3 tickets per season ticket account, while the league average was around 2.5 per account. Means they're doing a lot of selling to families and groups.

Are you dense? They have been winning games because he has been scoring. Also, the FCD team you see now is rather different than the one that began the season, did not know if you noticed.

The stadium looks rather intimate. I hope someone who has been to the other SSS can compare them!

With the economy and the lack of season, i think 4000 season ticket at this rate aint bad. They still have alot of time. Hopefully, after few games into the season next year, the team and the stadium can convince the fans to be season ticket holder.

There's no comparison - and no, I'm not being a homer by saying that.

The 360 degree roof, the steep angle of the seating, and the proximity to the field are all unmatched in the US. No offense to any of the other SSS, which are all great in their way, but RBA is just a different animal.

You mean create a mainstream, people-are-talkin' buzz in the NY metro area on a par with the buzz TFC created around Toronto? Sell it out or not (not, I say) I don't think so. For any number of reasons.

this stadium is in a totally different area than the medowlands.(but not far from it) Its smack dab in the middle of a heavy immigrant(portuguese, brazilian, sprinkled with hispanic) and densley populated location thats within walking distance to the stadium.

the initial presale was always going to be low b/c its just the "old guard" from giants stadium.

The FO is focusing their marketing in the areas surrounding the area (newark, harrison).

my point being is that the number will increase

Wow, I'm really excited to see this stadium completed. I hate the team being named after an energy drink but Kodus to Red Bull for building this thing with their own money and not forcing the local government to chip in. They sure didn't cut corners to save themselves some money either. I hope i get to travel and see this place in person someday.

I have yet to see anyone point to one of the reasons why the team won't do as well as TFC or Seattle even with an amazing stadium, very few people will embrace a team named after an energy drink.

Will they sell out the opening game? Absolutely. Will they reach TFC or Seattle like sellouts? Absolutely not.

The last three expansion teams have been perfect examples of how one goes about buliding a successful MLS franchise. RBNY has been the exact opposite of that. We had the perfect chance of rebranding going into the arena and yet we've still managed to screw it up.

It's interesting how they view the first row seats as the "best seats" when they are selling them. (For example, look how the first row of the club seats is the only one currently sold.)

In England, when a venue with a similar seating bowl isn't sold out you usually see the first row or two as the empty seats. (Of course the seats over there usually go down a little closer to the pitch than it looks they will at RBA.) Over there, the best seats are usually considered to be ones with enough height to provide a good viewing angle.

It's funny how the best seats over here are the same ones that are viewed as the worst ones over there.