Colorado Rapids - 3rd lowest attendance in 2007 regular season

[Bonji]

MLS made some strides on the attendance front this season (http://www.majorleaguesoccertalk.com/2007/10/mls-attendance-averages.html).

While the Rapids did improve their average attendance they are still third lowest in the league. With the novelty of a new stadium wearing off, where do we go in 2008?

The Denver soccer market is sick and tired of poor performance on the field...I can't see it improving much.

[Jasonma]

3rd lowest in the league with the second highest year-to-year improvement. Tells you had bad of shap we were in last year.

[SoccaJ]

This is the statistic that most stands out to me.

Despite a brand new, state-of-the-art stadium.

Despite all the youth tournaments throughout the season (with accompanying game tickets for the participating athletes)

Despite all the specials.

Despite free parking.

Despite___________________________

People still don't make it out to the games....why? Because the product on the pitch just doesn't cut it.

I just don't understand why KSE/RFO doesn't get it. It's not rocket science. This isn't the NFL, people. Games are not going to be sold out just because it is the Colorado Rapids. Yes, soccer is growing in the US but complacency and apathy are not going to get that growth to continue.

BUILD A GOOD TEAM AND THEY WILL COME!

If the Rapids continue to wallow in mediocrity the simple fact is attendance will suffer.

[RapidStorm]

I feel like everything I've written in the past few days is magically surfacing as new threads around here.:p

[TLee]

It is two things, I think.
1) Yes, the product on the field must be improved to bring in bigger crowds

2) For the love of God, please stop marketing this team and sport to kids and whatever parent has to bring them to the game that night. The last game of the season, my wife and I were so disgusted by the amount of kids and parents not even watching the game, just yapping off at the mouth and switching seats back and forth, over and over again.

Get some sports fans out there and an entertaining product, and you will have to beat people away with sticks.

[rapidfan]

The attendance this year for the league was the highest by average since the league's inaugural season of 1996. Also significant was that the attendance did not decline as the season went on as it has every season since 1997.

1- LA Galaxy 24,252
2- DC United 20,967
3- Toronto FC 20,130
4- NE Revs 16,787
5- NY Red Bulls 16,537
6- Chicago 16,490
7- Real Salt Lake 15,960
8- Houston 15,883
9- Columbus 15,230
10-FC Dallas 15,150
11-Colorado 14,749
12-Chivas USA 14,305
13-Kansas City 11,586

[RapidStorm]

This is the statistic that most stands out to me.

Despite a brand new, state-of-the-art stadium.

Despite all the youth tournaments throughout the season (with accompanying game tickets for the participating athletes)

Despite all the specials.

Despite free parking.

Despite___________________________

People still don't make it out to the games....why?

As Jason said here and I said a couple of days ago in a different thread, this just plain isn't true. The Rapids had a 22% attendance growth from last year, or in other words an additional 2,500 fans every game. That's not even factoring in the attendance bump in '06 from the 4th of July game - take that out, and it's probably an attendance bump of nearly 5,000 a game. With a crappy team on the pitch.

5,000 extra fans a game can't just be the novelty of a new stadium, nor can it be the Rapids marketing gimmicks (Oktoberfest, Bring Your Dog day, etc) working. The soccer crowd just isn't in as dire straits as every loves to pretend it is in Denver. I'll grant an average 1000 a game of exagguration from the FO or no shows, but fact is, just because they finished 3rd worst doesn't mean the FO did a bad job in this department.

I can understand the FO hate on most levels, but everyone here on BigSoccer is guilty of putting their own spin on facts at the moment just because the team didn't make the playoffs and plays as exciting as a game of "Let's Compute Taxes." Chill a little.

[Quinn 33]

Keep in mind that we have the smallest venue in the league. Our average would be higher if The Dick held more than 18k. Not that we are or aren't in bad shape or anything, but thats an important factor to keep in mind when you look at an average. Havening the median statistic would be useful too.

[RapidStorm]

Keep in mind that we have the smallest venue in the league. Our average would be higher if The Dick held more than 18k. Not that we are or aren't in bad shape or anything, but thats an important factor to keep in mind when you look at an average. Havening the median statistic would be useful too.
From poster kenntomasch, our median for this season was 14,577. Last year's mean was 12,056, and I don't have the time at the moment to figure out the median, but I'm guessing from the usual 2,000 fan-per-game bump from the 4th of july, it was roughly 10,000.

[jimmyco]

Not sure where this falls in all the numbers flying around, but we were 3rd in the league in sell-outs this year - with 5 - behind LAG and TFC.

Source: Marcus, last night at the Bulldog.

[Quinn 33]

From poster kenntomasch, our median for this season was 14,577. Last year's mean was 12,056, and I don't have the time at the moment to figure out the median, but I'm guessing from the usual 2,000 fan-per-game bump from the 4th of july, it was roughly 10,000.True. I am also inclined to think that New York would be below us if they didn't have that Beckham extravaganza.

[RapidStorm]

True. I am also inclined to think that New York would be below us if they didn't have that Beckham extravaganza.

Agreed, but I think it's rather suicidal/bipolar of an MLS fan to count a game in which only MLS players partook as a negative or discredited portion of the attendance figures. If the Rapids organization wanted to get all of the extra revenue from Beckham, they could have rented Mile High for a game. Then they also probably would have made as much profit off of it as NYRB did - zilch. NYRB pays so much (250K a game if I remember right) to use Giants Stadium that even drawing numbers that huge probably didn't put them in the black for the game. So all things considered, be happy for them that they can get that many "fans" and don't discredit them.

Fact is, we only drew 18,000+. But each one of those tickets was a profit, not a debt mitigatation.

[Quinn 33]

Not sure where this falls in all the numbers flying around, but we were 3rd in the league in sell-outs this year - with 5 - behind LAG and TFC.

Source: Marcus, last night at the Bulldog.Another thing to think about is what our lowest attended game was. If I remember correctly, it was about 10k which is over double our lowest last year.

[Quinn 33]

Agreed, but I think it's rather suicidal/bipolar of an MLS fan to count a game in which only MLS players partook as a negative or discredited portion of the attendance figures. If the Rapids organization wanted to get all of the extra revenue from Beckham, they could have rented Mile High for a game. Then they also probably would have made as much profit off of it as NYRB did - zilch. NYRB pays so much (250K a game if I remember right) to use Giants Stadium that even drawing numbers that huge probably didn't put them in the black for the game. So all things considered, be happy for them that they can get that many "fans" and don't discredit them.

Fact is, we only drew 18,000+. But each one of those tickets was a profit, not a debt mitigatation.It is very easy to manipulate things through statistics and thats why it helps to know exactly where the numbers are coming from. Otherwise it's just a bunch of hyperbole.

[GoRapids]

The Rapids spent some money on marketing this year - combine that with the new stadium & the Beckgame game - and you have your answer to the bump in attendance.

They had an amazing opportunity - they had a lot of fans come back after a decade of snooze fests at Invesco - only to be treated to one of the worst Rapids performances in Rapids history.

Now just putting a winning team isn't going to bring the fans back in a single season. They're going to have to turn into a contender for a couple years in a row.

[teddy_montoya]

Well, if they can put a good team on the field. Win games, and market to the right type of people we should sell out. Give me a soccer commercial with a smokebomb and flags, and Im goin.

The RFO don't take the time to market to real fans. They would rather care about the fans who bring there 4 kids, and don't even know who Juan Pablo Angel is...

[Jasonma]

Agreed, but I think it's rather suicidal/bipolar of an MLS fan to count a game in which only MLS players partook as a negative or discredited portion of the attendance figures.

And yet for years conventional BigSoccer wisdom has discounted Rapids attendance due to the 4th of July game, a game in which only MLS players partook.

Of course conventional BIgSoccer wisdom + $5 might get you a cup of coffee at Starbucks (depending on if they've raised prices recently or not) so...

[teddy_montoya]

And yet for years conventional BigSoccer wisdom has discounted Rapids attendance due to the 4th of July game, a game in which only MLS players partook.

Of course conventional BIgSoccer wisdom + $5 might get you a cup of coffee at Starbucks (depending on if they've raised prices recently or not) so...

According to the RFO they can take out the Fourth of July game, and we would still be around 15k...

[RapidStorm]

And yet for years conventional BigSoccer wisdom has discounted Rapids attendance due to the 4th of July game, a game in which only MLS players partook.

Of course conventional BIgSoccer wisdom + $5 might get you a cup of coffee at Starbucks (depending on if they've raised prices recently or not) so...

I didn't get to add this edit in, so I'll say it here: an MLS game in which only MLS players partook with no sideshow or doubleheader. With the 4th of July game, everyone knows that 30,000 people showed just to watch the fireworks. With Beckham, yes, it's a circus, but it's one that forces people to watch the game on the pitch and be attentive to the soccer (to at least see if Beckham touches the ball, but you know, baby steps), not to wait around two hours for the post game festivities, hoping that at some point during that time a little action goes on that they can look up from their cell phones at.

[GoRapids]

Well, if they can put a good team on the field. Win games, and market to the right type of people we should sell out. Give me a soccer commercial with a smokebomb and flags, and Im goin.

The RFO don't take the time to market to real fans. They would rather care about the fans who bring there 4 kids, and don't even know who Juan Pablo Angel is...

You are a bit delusional. There simply aren't enough "real fans" in Denver. Seriously, if there were, then there wouldn't be a problem getting a game on any Sports bar in the metro area. If there were, then you'd see soccer columns in the papers all the time.

This city had only 48,476 fans for a MAJOR one time event of US Mens team vs Mexico. Of those 48K, a LARGE CHUNK could care less about MLS.

People have seemed to have lost that patience - let MLS grow mentality.