Opening day attendance

[redondo10]

Was it just me or did it seem kind of empty for an opening night game? They stated 14,000 - seemed closer to 10,000. I taped the game and the middle of the field stands, closest to the field looked empty for the most part on TV.

On another note, the atmosphere at the game is still pretty dormant. I find it hard to believe that there isn't more atmosphere.

Comments?

[pwykes]

Well there were 5 of us who didn't go because we heard they had 'sold out' the general admission tickets. With 3 kids, the only way I can afford to go to games is to get the general admission seats. How they could be 'sold out' with 40,000 empty seats is beyond me but I think they shoot themselves in the foot by limiting the seating and trying to force people into the more expensive seats.

It appears now that they did open up some other general admission sections prior to the game but I'm sure they lost of walk up business by giving the impression that the affordable seats had 'sold out'. Playing these kinds of games only hurts the team in the long run.

[The Magpie]

The reported attendance was actually 16,203. That may have been the total number of tickets accounted for in terms of sales give-aways, etc., but I have a very hard time believing that many fans were in attendance.

As for the General Admission ticket "sell-out?" Well, one need to qualify that remark when understanding that the Revolution have eliminated half the Category III seating that was available last year - those sections immediately behind the south goal. Interesting enough, while this change is reflected in the Revolution 2004 media guide, it is not reflected in the seating chart that is still available on-line through the club's official web site.

As such, the Revs "sold out" 1/2 of the Category III seating that was available in 2003. So what's one to do if there are no Category III seats left? Well, I guess fans will just have to suck it up and put down a bit more $$$ for Category II seats. Also considering that by closing down a few sections of stands, the Revolution can also keep closed any number of concession options (which was the case yesterday), further saving the club money.

I also believe the official, stated down-sized capacity of Gillette Stadium is smaller than was the case in 2003.

I will say this, the Category III seating that was/is available now was full against the E-Quakes, and stadium staff actually had to pull back tarps on a neighboring section to create more seating space.

It would be nice to get some explanation from the club on this - it certainly seems a cost-cutting/revenue-generating measure, but it doesn't entirely seem the most fan friendly of ideas, and the stadium looked even more empty.

As for atmosphere? Gillette Stadium is a black hole for atmosphere - not sure whether it's the acoustics, small crowds, seating set-up, but there's far less energy and atmosphere than the old Foxboro Stadium. The fans know it, and if you judge by some player comments, they know it.

What can you do...

The Magpie

[pwykes]

Thanks for the additional info regarding Category 3 tickets Magpie. This seems consistent with the Revs questionable goal of discouraging walk up ticket sales. For some people, buying tickets the day of the game makes the most sense. In my own case, there are at least seven people in my family who may or may not go to the game based on schedules, health, weather, etc. Forcing me to buy tickets in advance would result in me or family members going to fewer games since it's hard for me to plan ahead of time. If I have to buy category 2 tickets I'll won't be able to afford to attend as many games. How this works to the Revs advantage is beyond me.

I realize that everyone's flexiblity, budgets and situations are different and mine may not be typical but I think the Revs need to try and be flexible to build their fan base - not erode it. They have to realize they are not the Red Sox and the walk up ticket buyer is an important segment of their market.

I thought we supposedly had more fan friendly mangement this year? I guess not.

It's interesting if they were opening sections in response to walk ups. If you went to their website to buy tickets to the first game, they referred you to TicketMaster. TicketMaster indicated that the cat 3 tickets were sold out. I'm sure that kept more than just me away from the game. If they are going to be flexible in opening up additional sections, they should just keep on selling tickets - not indicate the tickets are 'sold out'.

[The Magpie]

I have to admit, I was surprised to look across the field when walking down into The Fort, my reaction something along the lines of "what the *$#!?" Part of me thought it was perhaps some temporary move, but that was gone once I saw the revised seating chart for 2004.

I can be pretty critical of the Revolution organization at times, and there are parts of me that feel much the same about this new bit of information. I can respect the fact that the club may desire to create artificial demand, generate more money, cut costs, and pack fans in closer together to give the appearance of a better crowd. What I don't appreciate is the manner in which such efforts are spun.

I went into Saturday's match suspicious that "all Category III seating had been sold out," but didn't entirely discount that possibility, and I was actually enthusiastic to see just what type of crowd we'd get. But then I saw the new seating system and it just clicked, and to be honest, I felt that I, as a fan, had been duped: it was the same crowd as last year, just repacked... it was like getting a gift during the holidays and knowing it had been recycled.

Granted it's just my opinion, and even I don't truly know this for sure, but there seems to be a modus operandi which looks more to "getting by" than "getting ahead." I certainly hope that's not the entrenched philosophy, but it feels like that at times.

Maybe I'd feel better if we had some measure of official explanation about this.

The Magpie

[Kenp]

While I suspect the overriding concern was cost control as mentioned above (fewer concession stands, etc.), I do believe having a denser crowd is more conducive to creating atmosphere.

It's hard to develop a sense of community if there are rows of vacant seats around you.

The lack of atmosphere is a real issue. Maybe concentrating fans near the fort will help. It will take some time, though....

FWIW, does anyone else see an issue with situating youth groups near the fort? ;)

[Rev-eler]

beginning to end from getting to a parking space, getting in the gate, getting a seat you want, and getting out again.....it seems this have regressed yet again. i know, this is my schtick...got it.

event planning is difficult, yes. however, you can't keep finding new and inventive ways to make the gameday experience for new and old fans alike difficult and expect they'll come back.

1. now that they've shut the south lot down, you've got nearly one line in and one line out (for each direction on rte 1)...creating much longer waits.
2. the gates...again, they intentionally let these huge lines build up before the game by using only a few gates and then suddenly find more staff to open up a few more 5 min b/f the game (why not just use this staff in the first place?).
3. cat III seating reduced, its likely not a problem for most of the season...i'm guessing. however, i'm guessing because of the hassle this past week that some customers will be lost.

it's like they're trying to say...hey, you don't like the waits, lines, finding out that we're sold out in the cheapest section? then, you better get your tix early, get to the game early, and leave the game early too. problem is, lots of people aren't going to come back enough times to figure out "the system".

oh, and if you look at the globe box score...they still list the max capacity at 21,000. that's the same figure used in the box score from the previous 2 seasons.

look, if you know your fan base is family driven....then you'd better realize that most families are always "short on time". organization of everyone's schedule and putting aside x amount of hours to do something like a revs game is a small feat of sorts. if you make nearly every aspect of getting to your seats and getting home another time sink....then you're really risking people figuring its much easier to go see a movie or something with their $ instead.

its really sad. they consistently say "just give us time, we're still working thru logistics...things will get easier as we learn more" (this from day one of the new digs). but, they just seem to find more ways to make the gameday experience better for THEM...not the fans.

after game 1, i'm thinking that after reducing my season tix from 4 to 2 this season...i'm likely to drop all together next year. i was really hoping to see overt signs that they're trying hard this season to get and keep new fans. i can't see how any of the new changes even resembles a move in that direction.

[Rev-eler]

oh yeah, anyone spot lab coat cladded people hanging around the gates in week 1?
MLS Launches Fan Feedback Program (http://www.mlsnet.com/content/04/mls0315feedback.html)
:)

[metoo]

Well, I can see their side about cutting down on the size of the cheaper tickets if they were a lot of them that were not selling on a regular basis. It does make sense. But they shouldn't be cutting the amount to such a degree that they're going to sell out well before other parts of the stadium (even if it wasn't quite true). I know they're trying to create more demand, but that doesn't make sense to me. Two questions though:

1) What category is the corner of the field opposite the Fort? When I'd looked earlier in the game, that looked pretty empty, and it appeared to be a seat similar to the section that they opened up. Did it fill up later?

2) Do you think that the seating will be increased when a certain teenager comes to town?

And one other point, I will never buy tickets in advance if I have to go through Ticket Master. If I don't have a group of 6, I will not pay handling fees, which increase if the person taking the order has to hit a key with a higher number on it, and another person has to put multiple tickets in an envelope, rather than a single ticket.

[Beez]

Notice that the McDonald's was closed at the newly-tarped end, too.

Also, did anyone else note the contrast between the Category 3 seats and the Category 2 seats in the two corners? Those corners were practically empty, a seemingly obvious sign that they're charging too much ($23 for single-game) for those tickets. You need to get people into the stadium (not for free, mind you) -- charging $23 for your second-cheapest ticket at a time when demand is not terribly high is, to quote a certain Scotsman, "not too clever."

[dncm]

Might be a good topic for Revs Radio this week? Send in your emails!

[The Magpie]

The following link takes you to the original seating set-up for Revolution games at CMGI Field/Gillette Stadium in 2002:

http://www.mlsnet.com/teams/ne/images/cmgi_map.gif

In it, you'll notice that seating is limited to the lower-bowl sections, including directly behind the South Goal and extended past the corners towards the west side of the stadium at both ends.

The following link takes you to the seating set-up for Revolution games at Gillette Stadium in 2003:

http://picsrv.revolutionsoccer.net/fif=/nerevo/img_211_92.fpx&obj=iip,1.0&wid=350&hei=224&rgn=0,0,0,0&cvt=jpeg

Comparing the two seating plans (2002 & 2003), you'll notice that several sections previously made available are now no longer available, including:

Section 125: SW Corner, Previously Category II Seating
Section 124: SW Corner, Previously Category II Seating
Section 123: South Goal, Previously Category III Seating
Section 122: South Goal, Previously Category III Seating
Section 138: NW Corner, Previously Category II Seating
Section 139: NW Corner, Previously Category II Seating

However, the following additional sections were opened up and made available as Category II seating in 2003 that weren't previously open in 2002:

Sections 201, 202, 203, 204, 205, 214, 215, 216, 217, and 218.

So when factoring in the changes, the Revolution effectively added six Category II sections while eliminating two Category III sections.

While it's not currently posted on-line, the seating chart for 2004 is provided in the club media guide and suggests the following changes:

Sections 201, 202, 203, 204, 205, 214, 215, 216, 217, and 218 are apparently no longer open. These sections are all Category II.
Sections 121, 120, 119, 118 are apparently no longer open. These sections are all Category III.

As it seems, available seating for 2004 Revolution matches would seem to be, or at least as was the case for the home-opener, half the available seats in the lower bowl.

FWIW: Sections 140, 141, 142, and 143 were full for the home-opener, with additional seating made available in 139 when stadium staff had to roll back the tarp to make more available.

I'll admit, it did look pretty nice to see so many people stacked in behind those in The Fort, but several other open sections of the stadium were hardly full, and it just looked plain odd to see the south end of the stadium shut down.

With respect to Freddy and Co.? I'd heard a rumor that the Revs were going to limit capacity for that match as well, but my guess is only up to the stated MLS capacity for 2004 which If I'm correct, is just over 20,000.

[Rev-eler]

With respect to Freddy and Co.? I'd heard a rumor that the Revs were going to limit capacity for that match as well, but my guess is only up to the stated MLS capacity for 2004 which If I'm correct, is just over 20,000.

magpie, i still don't see how the newest section closings keep the capacity at their stated 21k. it was 21 for 2002 and 2003. they've effectively shut down 22 of the 43 lower bowl sections which seat about 31k if memory serves me correct. i think the actual club seats on the second level only hold about 2,000. pretty cheesy if they include all those seats in the figure.

if they have availability for the wunderkid's appearance limited, then they're clearly "not getting it". personally, i don't like the fact that every venue and broadcast outlet bills dc's visit as a "come see freddy play opportunity"....even when they don't know if he's getting on the field for sure. however, its pretty clear lots of people want to see him. your trying to get people excited about seeing soccer first and foremost. anything that hinders that end...is a crime against this sport and league.

[dncm]

But let's not forget, we were once one of the leading teams in attendance, now we are not.

7:30 start against Landon and defending champions. I don't know if I would say it was a successful night given they had to roll-back some tarp for one more section.

Granted it was red sox/yankees, school vacation, and Marathon - if that is the case, then should we see attendance rise over the next couple of home games??

[The Magpie]

"Magpie, i still don't see how the newest section closings keep the capacity at their stated 21k..."

:-)

Exactly.

The stated seating capacity for Revolution games is something like 20,500 I believe, but once again, I have to double-check that figure. So looking at the seating set-up for Saturday evening's match, I have to believe the above figure is the total number of seats the Revs can make available if needed. But if the Revs want to further downsize this downsized capacity it's their perogative.

It would be interesting to find out how much money they're saving on this if indeed this is the case.

[mpruitt]

What a bummer. I was hoping that htis was going to be a thread about the fact that the attendance number for opening day was pretty good. I was also hoping that there'd be some numbers comparing it to previous years. 16.5 or whatever it was is pretty good, hopeful.

[The Magpie]

Don't get me wrong, the reported attendance does seem pretty good, and in fact, is our best opening attendance since 1999. Whether 16,000-plus actually worked their way through the gates seems subject to some debate though, as the lower bowl did not appear to be half-full.

I will say this though: I saw a good many more youth soccer types at this game than at times during last season. Maybe that's a result of a (confirmed)push by the Revs to specifically target the New England youth soccer leagues, or maybe having more games be played at 7:30PM than a bit earlier where there might be some measure of conflict.

The obvious question is this: will the fans return in equal or greater numbers to watch the Revs take on the Galaxy in a few weeks time?

The Magpie

[mpruitt]

Yeah the 'reported' debate is one that we can have for every team in the league. I tend to just pass it by because it's really the only thing we can go on. Eyeballing is ridiculous. However, you're right about it beign the best attendance since 1999. It's not dramatically better but sans the Gillete inaugural it's pretty good.

2004 16203
2003 15827
2002 22006*
2001 15576
2000 15,174
1999 18,373
1998 24,133
1997 57,407*

[rkupp]

Definitely was more crowded than almost all of the single games last year - parking lot, concourses and seats.

[mpruitt]

In short. Nice job by Revs fans last weekend. I get on a lot of people on here for their griping about the organization and hope that we don't become San Jose East so it's at least a small but nice sign.