Crew attendance

Discussion in 'Columbus Crew' started by catfish9, Apr 26, 2017.

  1. zman31

    zman31 Member+

    May 5, 1999
    Columbus, OH
    Club:
    Columbus Crew
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    It is troubling. Home opener was good, rest have been crap to terrible. I get that resources are limited and using them to get early year crowds when historically summer games have drawn so much better is probably a bad idea. Attendance is down even when comparing to previous early seasons though. I'm sure some of it has to do with how bad we were last season. We just didn't win very many home games.

    Weather last year really kicked us in the ass. I'm not going to look it up, but I seem to remember that all those weather delays last year happened with big crowds. Meaning 5000 people bought tickets that don't normally come and had a shitty time. When it costs a family of 4 $150 to attend and you get a rain delay and a loss you might think twice before going again. Do that 3 or 4 times in a season and it may take some time to recover.

    I agree with the front office strategy of trying to maximize single game attendance over season tickets. Get more people to come once and build from there. They were selling a lot of tickets last year.

    I expect the usual summer rebound. Seems they are pushing 4 game summer packs a lot right now. I'm just not sure we'll rebound enough to exceed last year's average after such a dismal start.
     
  2. hangthadj

    hangthadj Member+

    A.S. Roma
    Mar 27, 2001
    Zone 14
    Club:
    Columbus Crew
    It's not an answer people want to hear, because it re-hashes the debacle that was 2016, but here it goes...

    The Crew squandered all the momentum they had coming out of 2015. Coming off of hosting MLS Cup we had one of the worst year's in the history of the franchise, and traded the most recognizable face to causal fans, as well as the hero of the 2015 run a handful of games into the season and tarred and feathered him on the way out.

    Gregg and Tony's punting of the 2016 season will have larger ramifications to the business than they believed then, and probably realize now. Yes, there is a core fanbase that won't go away. We can disagree on tactics and direction or philosophy of the club and still probably wind up going to the games. That's probably your 10-12k base there that will attend several games (a half dozen or more) a season. That may even be overstating the size of that base.

    But, this isn't the NFL. This isn't even MLB. You can't squander momentum like what the Crew had in 2015. A #ForColumbus slogan, a re brand, new uniforms all matter less than continued success and the communities identification with players and stars. We are much more likely to rebound on the field (and are already in the process of doing so) before we rebound from 2016's momentum lost.

    We'll have a summer bump. There will be amazing nights at the stadium with friends and long time fans that obscure the number of empty seats. There will be great wins. But you can't underestimate what a long term disaster the 2016 season actually was for this franchise.
     
  3. zman31

    zman31 Member+

    May 5, 1999
    Columbus, OH
    Club:
    Columbus Crew
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    A lot of eggs were in the Kei Kamara basket at the end of 2015. Leader in goals, MVP race and winner of the humanitarian award. Not to mention the most prolific social media personality on the team and near the top in the league, he brought a lot of marketing muscle to the table beyond what he did on the field.

    The loss of that muscle combined with the dismal 2016 season is proving to be a hard recovery.
     
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  4. hardhead

    hardhead Moderator
    Staff Member

    Aug 19, 2008
    NEO
    Club:
    Columbus Crew
    Also, keep in mind this is especially depressing because the weather for the Portland (72 °F and clear) and Toronto (78 °F and clear) were as good as it is going to get for March and April in Ohio. Both were also exciting wins! Conditions taken from the official box score.
     
  5. CrewV Man

    CrewV Man Member+

    Aug 18, 2011
    Columbus
    Club:
    Columbus Crew
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Possible significant factors on why more people don't come to games
    Cost?
    Winning (or not winning)?
    Interest?
    Coolness Factor?
    Time of the Year?
    Time of the Game?
    Day of the Game?
    Opponent?
    Quality of play?
    Unfamiliar with Soccer?
    Soccer fan culture?
    Weather?

    Factors that I don't think play into the equation are like team colors or adding SC to the name. They don't see this moving the needle by tens or even hundreds.

    For true soccer fans there are two categories I have run into that don't attend. SoccerSnobs (I would call them Eurosnobs but LigaMX fans are just as bad) and cost people. The snobs are a slow burn bunch. They saw a game in 2004 for free and it did not compare to Real Madrid (yes they are usually Real Madrid and Man U fans too). It will take years to get them to come. And winning (these fans seem to love leagues where there is a top 2 to 4 every year). And winning against European teams.
    Then there are the cost people. They would like to come but the cost is too much. From those people the $15 parking is more of an issue than the tickets.

    Then there are the causal fans, which I think are the biggest market in Columbus, there are people who know a lot about soccer but have kids, work and lives. So they come infrequently and in the summer when the kids and work slows down a bit.
    Of those that don't know a lot about soccer, it is a hard sell to spend $100 on something they don't know much about. And yes these are the people who worry about not fitting in or not knowing what is doing on. They hear that the fans are a bit crazy. They might know the rules are all that well. And well they might not know a friendly soccer fans to help them feel comfortable. They are the people who will spend $200 to watch OSU beat Akron by 48 points because they know they can talk about it with friends for weeks to come.

    Oh then the weather.
     
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  6. Dan Milton

    Dan Milton Member

    Nov 25, 1998
    I am debating with myself about going to the game this Saturday. I know I am Going but I know it makes more sense to stay home. It all has to do with the thunderstorms it looks like we will have. I have a three hour round trip involved. I know a lighting bolt is going to cause a 30 minute wait and then the next one will cause another 30 minute wait. These days I head directly to the tent and get a chair to sit in during the wait. My first couple of times I waited with my wife in the hallway or under the stands but we are too dammed old to be doing that anymore. We have been to every home game this spring,it has been a little chilly but dress warm and you get through it, especially if you enjoy the game of soccer. My wife over packs for every game so no matter the weather I am not too cold,hot or wet at the game. You see so many people, Young or old,come into the stadium wearing shorts and t-shirts and an hour later the temp has dropped twenty degrees and it's snowing or raining and they're miserable. When we get the new stadium with The roof and the heated, air-conditioned seating things will be better and attendance will skyrocket!!
     
  7. Dan Milton

    Dan Milton Member

    Nov 25, 1998
    I wonder how many fans the Crew have lost to FC Cincinnati? Their last game on a Wednesday they had just over 15,000. The previous Saturday when the Crew had 15,000 or so they had 25,000. I don't believe that is the Crew's problem but surely it has had some impact. I'm in Middletown and lot of people I know are Cincinnati fans.
     
  8. CybrSlydr

    CybrSlydr Member+

    Columbus Crew
    United States
    Jun 30, 2013
    Casper, WY
    Club:
    Columbus Crew
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Frankly I'm not interested in making the round-trip so often. Plus, the expense is a bit much for us. So we'll make maybe 3-4 games this year.
     
  9. Minnman

    Minnman Member+

    Feb 11, 2000
    Columbus, OH, USA
    Club:
    Columbus Crew
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    The Crew fanbase has always been soft. This isn't a new issue. Nor is it one that the Crew struggles with alone. A handful of the older clubs have simply not been able to generate the same kind of matchday excitement as have new clubs or those who've managed a successful re-launch. This year, we are especially bad and, yeah, a miserable 2016 might be to blame. Still, the inverse simply never happens: we don't tend to see a big, sustained bump up in attendance when we win. Didn't happen in 2009. Similarly, look at Dallas' numbers. Better than us, to be sure, but they're a terrific team. Based on the quality of the product on display, they should be packing their stadium each weekend. And yet...

    Market size has little to do with it, in my opinion. The Columbus metro area population has grown by over 500,000 since 1996. There are a lot more potential soccer fans out there. They're just not coming out to Mapfre. Too, if it were as simple as a market's population base, other cities near us at the bottom of the pile (Chicago, Dallas, Boston) would be blowing us out of the water each year. And that's not happening.

    On the flip side, nearly every club at the top of the attendance table is MLS 3.0: Atlanta, Seattle, Toronto, Montreal, Orlando, etc. You've got to get to the Galaxy (number 9) before you get you a respectable number for a circa '96 club, and even their average isn't great being that it's nowhere near the capacity of their stadium.

    Has any original (or close, like Chicago) club managed a successful re-launch other than KC? They're the one model that's seemed to have worked. Good Lord, those games at Arrowhead were abysmal affairs to watch, where even a decent crowd (and they didn't have any of those) got swallowed in that stadium. I do think the Crew has a chance of doing the same, being that our stadium was built on the cheap, and doesn't suffer from the mistakes and lost opportunities that several of the 2.0 stadia did (middling facilities stuck out in the suburbs).

    This club needs a KC-esque re-launch, in my opinion, and that'll mean a new stadium in a central location coupled with a new approach to engaging with fans (Franking running around Columbus with a Crew flag handing out free tickets is great, and all, but not quite enough). I know the Precourt people and a contingent from the City of the Columbus visited KC to learn from what they did not long after Precourt too over control of the club. There have been fan surveys. A rumor here, a hint of activity there. If I'm optimistic at all about this issue (and, strangely - for me - I am), it's because Loughnane and Co. seem to know what they're doing in the FO. The TV deals, stadium naming rights, jersey sponsorship. I like the fact that Precourt understood that we needed upgrades to the current facility and opened up his checkbook to get them done quickly. We have a lease on Mapfre that runs another 7-ish years. I can't see the organization having any interest in the available option for another 25 year lease. So the clock is ticking.

    That soft attendance shouldn't necessarily kill the idea of a new stadium, by the way. Again, KC is illustrative. Here's KC's average attendance going back to 2005:

    2005 9,691
    2006 11,083
    2007 11,586
    2008 10,686
    2009 10,053
    2010 10,287
    2011 17,810
    2012 19,404
    2013 19,709
    2014 20,003
    2015 19,687
    2016 19,512

    See if you can guess the year they opened their new stadium. They've pretty much sold out every match since it opened (I think the streak is up to about 90 games). Not just because they dropped $200 million on a stadium. They nailed the whole re-launch. With a strong jersey partner, stadium naming rights and a successful image re-brand, we're ahead of where they were in 2011.

    By the way, the KC metro area population is about 2,340,000; around 300,000 and change larger than ours. In other words, we're in the same exact tier, market-wise.

    We can (and will) whine incessantly about bad weather, frustrating traffic flows. About the 11 people who no longer drive up from Columbus because they now have a team (of sorts) in Cincinnati. We can navel gaze and talk about how, well, back in the day when I had a full head of hair and no kids, I could go to games but, gosh golly, now I have a family to tend to (as if that dynamic didn't affect other teams, too). But, as I said, other teams suffer similar problems. If I had to pick out a unique issue for Columbus, I'd point to OSU football, which dominated the city's sports landscape year-round, in ways that, for example, the NFL normally does not. I didn't go to OSU and hate college football so, personally, I don't get it. But the emotional connection to that football team is deeply rooted and emotional, presumably because so many fans DID go to OSU and have that personal connection to the school and program. In any case, OSU football feels a wet blanket that smothers the Crew's ability to claim its own identity in this town. But it is what it is. KC had the Chiefs and Royals to contend with. The Crew organization need develop its own KC-esque plan. But I don't see it happening without a top flight downtown stadium.
     
  10. Jim Bach

    Jim Bach Member+

    Bradford City Association Football Club
    May 11, 1999
    Land of the Lizard People, or so I'm told
    Club:
    --other--
    Nat'l Team:
    Palestine
    This time last season I had attended every home match. This season I've attended two, and the second time only because Placid Casual had an extra ticket. Last season just soured me on the whole operation - not just the team on the field, but the way the organization treated the fans.

    Some years the team does well and others it doesn't. But there are things the organization can do to smooth over poor performances. And the first is, don't sell me horse meat and tell me it's filet mignon. Everyone knew last season was a disaster, early on. But the official stance was always, 'we're only X points out of the playoffs, and then, anything can happen!' Well that was bullshit and I got really tired of reading it. I'm not opposed to the team's social media people maintaining an optimistic tone, but don't treat me like an idiot.

    Also, while I know the team can't control the weather, it's a clown show expecting thousands of people to stand around for hours during a rain delay. So, while it might be an immediate financial hit for the team, it's probably a smart business move to offer a voucher for free or reduced admission to a future match if you've bought a ticket for a match that has had more than, say, a 90 minute rain delay. People have to travel, have kids with bedtimes, babysitters, etc. Treating your customers like a captive audience is United Airlines level stuff.

    And, lastly, getting to and from the stadium is so unpleasant that a home win over Chicago barely makes up for it. There's simply no decent way to get to and from the stadium on foot. Sidewalks would be a help.
     
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  11. CybrSlydr

    CybrSlydr Member+

    Columbus Crew
    United States
    Jun 30, 2013
    Casper, WY
    Club:
    Columbus Crew
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    I think you hit the nail on the head with OSU.
     
  12. Placid Casual

    Placid Casual Member+

    Apr 2, 2004
    Bentley's Roof
    You have missed the key point about KC.

    Between Arrowhead and the new stadium they played in that minor league baseball stadium between 2008-2010 which had a capacity of 10385.

    They were able to pretty much sell it out every game, which means that people got used to paying full price for tickets.

    So unless the Crew are planning to go play at a smaller stadium for 3 seasons, I don't think they are going to recreate that just by moving stadiums.

    Also - 2011 and 2012 they finished first in the conference and then won it all in 2013. That helps enormously as well.
     
  13. Hamburgler03

    Hamburgler03 BigSoccer Supporter

    Aug 31, 2000
    Columbus, OH
    Club:
    Columbus Crew
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Viva Las Vegas
     
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  14. Kyle Crew

    Kyle Crew Member+

    Feb 23, 2013
    Columbus, Ohio
    Club:
    Columbus Crew
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
  15. American Brummie

    Jun 19, 2009
    There Be Dragons Here
    Club:
    Birmingham City FC
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Robbiegoal repped this.
  16. Placid Casual

    Placid Casual Member+

    Apr 2, 2004
    Bentley's Roof
  17. Draghignazzo

    Draghignazzo Member+

    Feb 24, 2007
    Columbus
    Club:
    Columbus Crew
    [​IMG]
     
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  18. Kyle Crew

    Kyle Crew Member+

    Feb 23, 2013
    Columbus, Ohio
    Club:
    Columbus Crew
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Well....

    Last year through 4 games we averaged 16,383. That's a wee bit off from 12,659.

    Not saying it's the end of the world or anything, but it is unquestionably worse so far.

    2016 first 4 games:
    Mar 12 v Philly - 17,015
    Apr 16 v NYCFC - 16,715
    Apr 23 v Houston - 17,705
    May 7 v Montreal - 14,095
    Average - 16,383

    2017 first 4 games:
    Mar 4 v Chicago - 15,023
    Mar 25 v Portland - 11,067
    Apr 1 v Orlando - 12,226
    Apr 15 v Toronto - 12,319
    Average - 12,659

    Nearly 4,000 difference, and that 15k for the Chicago game was without question BS. I know its tix sold not butts in seats, but if the Portland game was 11k, then Chicago was pretty much the same, maybe 12k at best. Can't complain about weather so far this year.
     
  19. A Guy

    A Guy Member

    Feb 13, 2015
    Club:
    Columbus Crew
    I'm a cost guy. And time. Just graduated and hopefully will have passed my boards, so hopefully my fiancé and I will go to a few games.

    But being the cheapskate I am, it is hard to spend so much when I remember me and my dad getting tickets cheap on gameday for $20-40 total when we only decided to go like an hour before the game. Plus parking was $5. I was at a game a couple years ago, but I don't remember if the parking lot is in better shape now. One time my dad's car (and 50-100 other cars) got stuck in mud and some drunk hick in a pick-up was being a swell guy and towing everyone out. Find memories.

    Anyways, even nostalgia doesn't draw me in enough to make me want to go more than 1-2x/year tops. And it's not like the play on the field has been spectacular to watch either last season or this season. Kei and the dynamic the team had with him made the team so much more interesting/dangerous on counters. Ola has performed admirably, but is damn inconsistent, and not good with his head (especially compared to Kei).

    The front office also chapped my ass because some of my friends from the soccer league were screwed by the front office with the ticket packages (season and pick 4 or whatever) due to a few games being off-limits, pain with switching who was going, and not being allowed to switch games when weather became an issue several games last year.


    I love the crew, and have watched them most of my life. But there's so many factors that make watching on TV much more worth it than going to the stadium for me.
     
  20. POdinCowtown

    POdinCowtown Member+

    Jan 15, 2002
    Columbus
    I'm sort of like that. I had season tickets for 12 years but dropped them when the exchange policy was tightened. I used to go mostly by myself but would trade in my unused tickets late in the year for a bunch for a late season game and take my siblings and their kids. You can't do that anymore so I'm not a regular customer and only go to a game or two per year.
     
  21. the_rickler

    the_rickler Member+

    Feb 9, 2013
    Club:
    Columbus Crew
    Having a young toddler coupled with work schedules for my wife and I, plus cost has hindered me from being able to go to as many games as I'd like.
     
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  22. zman31

    zman31 Member+

    May 5, 1999
    Columbus, OH
    Club:
    Columbus Crew
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    I am one of those dream customers for the front office. I would give up every other entertainment expense in my life to keep my season tickets.

    I'm lucky that I can still go solo and don't have to pay for a sitter (grandma watches the kids). It's the one thing I do without the family. For $700 I get 17 nights out with great midfield seats and a parking pass. My wife works weekend nights so if not for Crew games I would be home.

    I understand the monetary and time concerns of others and am happy they don't apply to me. I've had the same seat since the stadium opened and hope to stay there until a new one is built.

    I do have more fun when more people are there with me. I hope things can turn around this season. 12k is sad.
     
  23. zman31

    zman31 Member+

    May 5, 1999
    Columbus, OH
    Club:
    Columbus Crew
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Please
     
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  24. C-Bus20

    C-Bus20 Member

    Mar 1, 2009
    Everywhere
    Club:
    Columbus Crew
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    OK here is reality . Columbus is a bad sports town with bandwagon fans who only jump on when the time is right except for OSU. Front office not treating fans right? What a joke that is! It's laughable at all of the excuses .... whether, sidewalks, traffic, parking, Concessions, lines of the concessions. Etc. You people have every excuse in the book not to go to games and the fact is you would rather sit in some hipster brewery drinking a nasty IPA complainng. I cannot wait until this franchise ends up in Cincinnati and it will happen the minute they can't get a new stadium.
     

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