The Rev's Seating Policy: Should it be Altered?

[edcrocker]

Would it make sense for the Revs to permit fans to sit anywhere in the lower deck of Gillette Stadium? Judging from watching on TV, the Rev’s seating policy -- not allowing people to sit in about half of the stadium -- tends to be less conducive to a good atmosphere than would permitting fans to sit anywhere in the lower deck. Under the current policy, that big void of empty seats is bleak, almost existential. And when sound-waves are coming from all sides (rather than just one side), it tends to create more noise. The current seating policy may even adversely affect the quality of play, as players tend to feed off of fan enthusiasm.

Could the current seating policy negatively affect attendance? After attending a typical match at Gillette under the current policy, the casual fan might say to him or herself, “The stadium is lovely. But the atmosphere for the match was flat. I might come again, but I’m not going to make it a priority.” Would the atmosphere be more compelling if the Rev's allowed fans to sit anywhere in the lower-deck?

My understanding is that with the current policy, the Revs pay less in operating expenses than they would if the Revs permitted fans to seat anywhere in the lower-deck. But one wonders how much money the Revs will be saving in the long-run with the current policy. Although I don't understand all the issues involved, it seems possible that, at least over the course of two or three seasons, the Revs wouldn't save much money under the current policy. The inferior atmosphere that comes with the current policy may adversely affect ticket-sales. It may even hurt TV ratings a bit, as the current atmosphere probably makes for less compelling TV viewing.

But even if it is clear that the Revs would be saving some money under the current policy, would it be better to open up the lower-deck? The owners of MLS do have deep pockets and great concern for the health of soccer in the US. Also, it seems doubtful that the amount of money they would be saving is impressive. Finally, atmosphere is important, especially for core fans.

[Soccer Doc]

Glad you brought this up. Here are a few realities.

~Sound levels in the stadium are poor at best. Even when there is a full house the noise levels are gobbled up by the poor acoustics.

~The only seats that are allowed to sit where they want are Catagory3. All others have specific assigned seats. There was strong sentament for Cat3 tickets to be alloed general seating

~Attendence for the last two home matches has been waaaaay off. Even though the weather has been good we have had many more seats empty in the Cat 1 & 2 areas which makes the stadium look and sound even more empty that normal.

~The 4 oclock start time necessitated by being the ESPN Game of the Week is problematic for people with kids playing soccer and may account for some of the lower attendance.

~The very poor showing of the team against the Crew and to a lesser extent SJ has turned off some fans and may have had an effect on yesterdays attendence.
I think that management should keep the Cat 3 tickets General admission but dramatically limit the number of sections open so that those attending the match are congragated a bit closer. ---BUT---the key to improving the atmosphere is the Revs "showing up" and playing attractive soccer like they did in the second half yesterday.

George

[BrianLBI]

My major beef with the Revs and Gillette Stadium is that the Category 2 seat's value is poor - much worse than at Foxboro Stadium.

I always viewed category 2 as a family type seat - where you could bring your wife and kids (and maybe a friend or two) to the match without breaking the bank. It's not the case anymore. The seats are too pricey for the sightlines you get. I have never got a seat closer than the 25th row in Cat 2 on day of game. There were many more desireable cat 2 seats in the old facility.

It's probably true that the 4PM start has caused some familes with youth players to miss the matches, but don't rule out the fact that a dollar doesn't stretch as far in Gillette as I'd like.

As to crowd noise, we noticed the lack of it at the SJ game - I chalked it up to the large numbers of kids - not all of them tune into the game all of the time. We decided after that game that we're going to give the Fort a try next visit - it looks like a lot of fun there.

Brian