Here is an idea! Relocate the team and just use crew stadium for concerts since thats the only reason people go to it anyway, then in a few years bring an MLS team back to Columbus(pending a certian amount of season ticket depostis).By then hopefully all the Eurosnobs and people on these boards who dont go to games and bitch about the team will appreciate what they had and buy season tickets. Problem solved, i'm a genius!
Shut up. I quit buying tickets after all these years to best prove my point. No other way gets to the brass than mass loss in seating sold, so don't give me that guilt trip or throw out the Eurosnob crap just because attendence is down. And, by God, I hope your joking, well, you're not funny. Don't try and pull some imaginary fan rank because people quit showing up. Or just move the team to Vegas.
The trouble with communicating with the brass that way is that you are never quite sure what message is received. Is it the message that "I won't come unless I get better soccer" or the message that "Columbus doesn't really want pro soccer". I fear that the latter message is the one that's being received. The trouble with all of this (and, yes, C-Bus, I know you were being sarcastic) is that once a move takes place, the odds of *ever* having a team again is low, especially if it's not the facilities that are causing the problem. KC's still looking for the NHL and NBA to come back. With the Crew, we are not in desperate straits yet (the Jackets have more of a problem, IMHO)--but we do have out of town ownership and are part of the only ownership group with two teams. That's worrisome.
It's pretty commonly accepted the fan exodus started with the Smith/GA era and hasn't recovered. And then there is the ongoing discussion about the lack of marketing. But after having made my first trip to Huntington Park to see the Clippers I see another reason. The whole time I was there all I could think was that the place was fantastic. And I hate to say it but the Crew can't hold a candle to the game day experience. The place is immaculate and if you sit anywhere but the outfield bleachers you have a view of the skyline. I love Hunt Park dearly but after seeing Huntington she seems a bit beat up and dumpy. There is a huge food selection and for stadium food it is reasonably priced (they still rape you on beer). I parked close to the stadium for 5 bucks and because a season ticket holder turned tickets back in we bought tickets in the best seats in the house for $20 a piece. They were loge seats behind home plate with office chair seating and easy access to concessions and a bar. But the top ticket price for any other seating is $10. It is now pretty easy to see why if you are not a soccer fan or you have kids who you are just trying to entertain with a family night out you would go with the Clippers over the Crew. So a way to get fans back is to not make them pay whatever parking is, I don't know what it is because I have walked to the stadium from the Hooligan pre-game for the past four years, but I know it's more than $5. And don't make them pay $24 dollars for some of the worst seats in the house. And find some way to give the stadium a face lift. If you can't hide the fact that the place is made of cinder block and aluminum then enhance that and make it look cool. You are not going to get the hipsters in this city (who are all in that 25-35 age range the Crew wants) to come to a stadium where they have to use the john in a cinder block building that is painted white unless somehow you make them think it is cool to do so. Oh, and put a winning/entertaining team on the field to watch and root for. And marketing, sell this team to the public for God's sake. Anytime I discuss the Crew with anyone in Columbus I am met with that glassy eyed look that let's you now that the person is experiencing a huge mental yawn. Most of the people in C'bus don't care about the Crew and that is the fault of the marketing department.
Wow are you a tool...yes I was joking and clearly your not smart enough to get that but it's ok I'm not judging you. However if the team does move I will be blaming jackasses like you who think they are above going to support a team just because change is happening. I would understand if we had a bad team for the last few years and it's not getting better(I.e. TFC) but that's not the case so stop your bitching. It's getting old.
I don't think its just because change is happening. Its change to a direction that is not what a lot of us find or deem worthy of our hard earned dollar... especially in an economy that has not gotten any better in a last 3 years since the down turn. So, part of it, is to send a message. The other part is that the quality of the product is not as worthy of the coin when we can get the same level of entertainment/frustration (whichever you'd prefer to use) from the television - which saves us $30-$50 per gameday. It may be a game, but its also a business. And they have to find a way to change my mind that it is worthy of spending a good chunk of my money that I can use instead toward my children, wife or, at the least, cheaper beer.
Incorrect. The box seats etc. run $12 and up. From the Clippers site: "Prices are: Box Seats; $12 in advance, $15 day of game." That's also not the club seats you were talking about--they are more. Now that's still cheaper than the Crew. But it's also AAA--minor league. Unfortunately, that's what Columbus seems to want--major league talent at AAA prices. Rick Nash and Chad Marshall do not come cheap--and by and large it is ticket sales that pay their salaries. The Clippers get their talent for free from the big league clubs--that's a major advantage. Parking: If you want to walk, you can find free or almost free parking for the Clippers. But if there's an event on at Nationwide, you'll pay $10--just like the Crew. Even when there isn't, it still isn't free. Usually there is an event there. "As long as there are no other events in the area, lots controlled by Standard Parking Corp. will cost $3, $4, or $5 for Clippers home games, depending on lot location." (emphasis mine) Better food choices would help--but that's not under control of the FO. We'll also see what Clippers attendance looks like after a few years at Huntington Park. They are more expensive than they used to be at Coopper Stadium (at least twice as expensive). But again--we are comparing apples and oranges. The Clippers are minor league. The Crew is not--if only in salaries they must pay from their revenues (ditto the Jackets--until the new NBC contract, at least). If we want $10 tickets for our sporting events, then we must be prepared to have an AHL team and a USL team in town and not an NHL team and a MLS team--because those will be the kinds of rosters that a team can afford at $10 a ticket. I wish we were downtown too. But the voters said no--twice--and Crew Stadium was a good compromise (in fact, the only one possible). If folks won't go because the stadium isn't "cool", I'm really puzzled about the long term possibilites for pro sports in this town--at least regarding anything not wearing scarlet and gray. If only tOSU hadn't wanted a track at their soccer stadium, this discussion might be different. Could marketing be better? I guess--but I'm not sure how at this point--without spending a ton of money that they do not have. We already get a lot more press (print, radio, and TV) than other MLS towns--I've been to some of them in the past 5 years (Houston, Denver, Boston, Chicago) and I've seen this. By this point, if people don't know about the Crew it's because they don't *want* to know. And I'm not sure how you convince those folks. I really don't think there's a vast untapped marker for soccer out there that one could pick up if one only had the right marketing. It's a problem soccer in general has seemed to have had in these United States throughout my lifetime (and I go back as a fan to the old NASL in the mid 1970s). If you can figure it out, I'm sure all of the FOs in the league would like to know.
My problem isn't the security to get in the gate, it's the seatcheckers at the opening to the sections (or whatever they might be called, ushers?). Last year we were there over a half hour early and brought a friend with us, who got his ticket for Nordecke. The friend wanted to sit and talk with us before the game, apparently this was a huge problem. They really were jerks to us and our friend about the whole matter. We're in the cheap seats (NW corner), not like we're in the club seats. Luckily this is someone who has been to other games with us and enjoys it and will go back. If it was a first timer, they might not. The last game I went to I had shown my ticket to get into my section, left sometime in the game to get some sodas. My trip from the section to get the sodas and back to my seat was very short, but apparently too long for the usher to remember and i was forced to put my stuff on the ground and fumble around to find my ticket. I understand some of this, but it's literally gotten to the point the last couple years to be a detriment to the fan experience.
That is because they don't have the time to give you the pat up/down that you want and deserve, my friend. I'm sure you'd likely need a rape kit after they were done searching you.
If I were HSG, I'd try to sign a Nigerian that nobody has ever heard of, and pass it off as a major coup.
I've seen links online where you can buy "clipper-priced parking" during days when parking would be higher priced. Maybe you have to pay a $1 service fee, but I know i've seen those links. I'm not saying it's a perfect system, or a lot of people know about it, but i'm saying it exists...or at least it used to.
I know Nordecke access is strictly controlled. (I've even heard that if you have a stadium credential, you still need a ticket. I'm guessing that the exceptions are security and full-time FO staff.) As far as the rest of the seating, it seems like the usher was on a power trip of sorts. The last time I had an issue was a long time ago, circa 2002 with an usher I haven't seen in years.
That is correct unless you have a all stadium access. For example, photographers can get into the section because their media credential allows them into any section of the stadium. Writers actually have to get permission and a ticket to enter the Nordecke regardless of duty.
[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KQ4lvUJ39fE"]YouTube - "STEREOTYPE" The Specials 1980‏[/ame]
Ok. I just thought the promotion itself reinforces the stereotype hence my post. It's a stretch on the part of the FO.