"there was about 20 people behnd me buying tickets for the game." __________________________ Wow!! This is great. Are you sure they weren't looking for extra Patriot tickets?
Yes I am sure because I waited for a friend who was meeting me there an was listening to them get tickets.
The Magpie, it seems like you have a good grasp on what a crowd could be for a game. If they open up the stadium for the game on sat, how many people do you think will come? How big of an effect do you think it would be that some people might think they aren't selling more tickets to the game because its "sold out" even if they do open more sections?
My 2 cents... This game will be a "sell-out." Revs shouldn't have any problem filling their down-sized capacity. How much more they get past that in terms of tickets sales comes down to club marketing efforts, group sales, and yes, the individual efforts of fans. If the head of a youth soccer organization in Randolph buys 100 tickets... hey, that helps. If the weather's nice and they do open up additional sections, I'll say they get about 23,141. If it rains, I think they'll get between 18,5000 and 19,700. I'm tossing out arbitrary numbers to a degree, but one gets a good intuitive sense after coming to matches for seven years. The Magpie
According to Todd Smith and the rest of the Rev's front office, you would go right out and buy season tickets so next time you would be guaranteed a ticket. I can see this stupid 'create demand' policy ticking off two groups of people. Those who just stay home because they heard the game was 'sold out' only to find out later that they open additional sections on game day or, if they don't open additional seating, those who show up and can't get tickets like in Andy's scenario. Either way it is a foolish policy. I know several people who I would encourage to go to this game but I don't want them getting to the gate only to find they can't get into a stadium that is 2/3rds empty. With this being the biggest Revolution game this season, and one of the biggest ever, the Revolution should be marketing the hell out of this game and encouraging walk-ups. I can't believe they are sticking to their limited seating plan. I don't ever want to hear the Krafts whine about how they lose money on the Revolution again.
The Magpie, I found your numbers to be kind of Low. If you read a few post before my last post sombody said the line for tickets today around 3 I believe was 20 people deep and they had less the 1000 tickets left. So even if they didn't sell anymore for the rest of the week they would still have 21,500 people at the game since a sell is 22,500 I believe. I would think they will reach the soccer capacity by tomar and decide to open up more sections since it will be only weds. I'm pumped, I say lets just play the game tomar so we can stop waiting. Who would have thought Americans so pumped up over a club soccer team from their own country. All I have to say is its about time
I think it will be extremely interesting to see if they do open up more sections should the remaining seats go by the end of tomorrow. Certainly there have been few occasions this season when there was any danger of exceeding the capacity. Further, it doesn't seem that the empty side really hurt the atmosphere, there wasn't much to begin with. At least not until last weekend and that crowd was only about 17,000. On the other hand it is criminal to force people to pay good money to squint into the sun when there are empty seats in the shade. That is just stupid and impolite, too. My parents told me, a long, long time ago, that you don't ask anyone you respect to face the sun when they are speaking with you. Enough said? Just good manners. Anyway, I don't imagine any season folk would get put out should the Rev sell more tickets on the "closed " side for this match. I mean, come on. We now know that the stadium isn't much of a draw, if anything at all despite the reams of sycophant dribble printed in the papers and gushed over radio and TV. It what is on the field stupid! And, just now, what the Rev offer is pretty intiguing so please, take advantage of it. As said by others, I don't ever, ever want to hear the Krafts poor-mouth over soccer if A.) they don't push the hell out of this match and B.) they don't open up the bowl if there is a demand for seats. JIM DOW
Wait. Isn't the stated soccer capacity 21,000? Well 22,006 people attended the inaugural match, so I can't believe they won't simply admit a few extra walk-ups. Whether that amounts to 5,000 people I doubt it. But I don't think Andy's scenario occurs unless he brings his 600 cousins. No offense Andy.
If they didn't have a soccer capacity in the first place they would have never had this problem. They would have made more money on the first game because it was sold out a month in adavance. Imigine what that walk up crowd would have been. I know the stadium wasn't ready so to bad. People are prob afraid to walk up now because there is a chance of being shut out. Columbus in 96 we had 36,000 fans for the last game to get into the playoffs, now that was a crowd. They could do the same with a little PR work.
you know...that's why i called the office first thing monday morning. to let them know that i, as a season ticket holder, had no problem with letting people in. don't care if they have "better seats than i". whatever. said i just wanted them to sell the heck out of this and fill the lower bowl any way they could. we have to maximize our home field advantage. then, the voice on the other end sorta' gets mad at me for suggesting this. it tells me they set up a seating strategy for a reason and they're not going to change it now. then another stupid conversation ensues for 20min on things other teams do that the revs don't....which i never intended on talking about. my god, i thought i'd call...get an answering machine....tell them its okie-dokie-fanokie with me to bang this place out. end of story. instead, they just show me again why i can't stand supporting soccer in the u.s. thru my local public soccer station. the person gives me some babble about people getting possibly better seats for buying late. my question: well, what about all those people in the endzone 120's that purchased tix well in advance and then as soon as pats season started and they put the temp seating back in place...people buying tix day of game are down at field level? plus, everytime i speak to them about seating they tell me "there's NO bad seat in the house". they want to create demand for this sport supposedly. what better way to create demand for a) playoffs if the revs move on, b) mls cup 2002, c) ticket sales for next year.? they seem to be adverse or just lazy to producing a real marketing campain....why not let a game that means something be a commercial where they actually make $ and not spend it. if there is the demand and they don't open it up....then its a sure sign that this organization has no emotional attachment to their own team. if they don't have it....then why should i? peter wilt is 100% dead-on in pt 2 of that piece we've been reading when he says there's a lot to be said for selling these games and getting 15k in the house/game leaguewide....however, they're just creating a new fanbase every couple of years while season ticket holders keep walking out. he says mls teams are doing a horrible job at creating an emotional attachment to their product. they have no attachment to this sport past its potential financial benefits. we as fans, work our tails off to sell this sport and they think that they're "committed" b/c they're writing checks. you don't think that if jonathan wanted to get on weei or 1510 to just say "hey, come out and support our current run to the playoffs and see our last regular season home match" that they'd say "sorry john, we've got some other programming stuff we've got to do". they wouldn't even have to pay for this "commercial". eei would bend over backwards for the krafts at any request since they have the rights to a host of patriot related radio rights. that alone tells you how committed these guys are. kraft soccer has got to be the most backwards and short term visioned soccer organization on the planet. that said...i've never looked more forward to a match in my 4 years. even if it may be my swan song as a revs fan.
I just called up and ordered four more tickets and got seats in section 142, so there still are tickets left.
"...then, the voice on the other end sorta' gets mad at me for suggesting this. it tells me they set up a seating strategy for a reason and they're not going to change it now..." It would be interesting to see if the person who handled your call was a "Revolution" ticket-rep., or one of the newly-minted "Revolution" ticket-reps who've been drafted into service from the Patriots-side of the organization. That being said, I want to see the largest possible attendance for this match, even if that means opening up additional sections. If the Revs want to go back to their standing policy then let them do so should we, if we make the playoffs. The Magpie
The policy of maintaining the reduced capacity for the season opener sure worked wonders for improving attendance the rest of the way, didn't it? Revos tickets have been such a hot item they they're impossible to get, right? That policy p*ssed off potential fans and p*ssed away about 8,000 potential sales at an average of about $25 per. Now they're going to do it again? I guess they don't need the money or the support? Or maybe they just don't have enough staff to sell the tickets? The entire lower bowl should be opened for games that warrant the support. Not the policy? Well then, what about the doubleheader with the US and Holland?
FWIW, I just returned from the stadium, the security control room, not the ticket office. I work part-time (i.e. non-soccer stadium events) for Apollo Security, the company to which a portion of in-stadium security is contracted out to. While I was there to collect my check I was talking with Apollo's coordinator for in-stadium security Jason Stone. Basically I told him that word in the Revs community was that the game was nearly sold out and that additional seating may be opened. He said that from what he knew over 9,000 tickets had been sold in the past week and that it was pretty close to being a sellout. He also said that at the last pre-event security meeting everyone was informed that this would be one of the largest soccer crowd of the year and may in fact be a sellout, they also raised the prospect of opening up additional sections and that they'd make a decision on that at the last security meeting before the match (which obviously leaves little to no time for ticket sales in those sections, I'm not sure when that meeting would take place). Well, Mr. Stone told me that he would be against any motion made to open additional seating as the short notice would not be enough time for him to guarantee adequate staffing for the other half of the stadium. Based on that alone, I'm going to guess that the soccer capacity remains the same for Saturday's match. PS - Sorry to part of the problem instead of the solution, but if I get a phone call tomorrow or Friday asking me to work I'll have to turn them down, I'm not giving up my seats to this match.
Craig seemed like he was really busy when I called so I never asked how many tickets were left but I'm sure there almost gone. If anybody knows feel free to post. I almost wish the revs had a person to come on the boards and chat with us the fans so they can get a feel of what their true die hard fans think.
picked up 2 cat I tix and was put out in section 106 (last cat I section)....they must be relatively close to maxing out.
Man to bad we don't have the numbers for the match, maybe I'll call and find out sometime today for us.
I just got off the phone with the Revs Front office and they are standing hard and fast to that 22,006 seats. I asked for ten tickets together in catagory three and they said they could acommidate me. I have a bunch of friends that want to go to this game... but won't know for sure until Saturday. I was told to call back Saturday morning. The one thing I don't want to have happen is that we get to the game on Saturday and well... I have ten Friends that Cannot get into the game... and whats my excuse going to be... They say its sold out. I can understand them doing the 22,006 for the first game... but come on... your gonna make alot of casual fans angry and I wouldn't be suprised to see a riot out in the ticket area if they don't allow everyone that comes to the game into the stadium. Its a shame that they are doing this. I was told that they have to stand by this policy as they have done so all year long. I brought up the two Double headers and he did not have an answer for me. I guess those games do not count apparently. Oh well.
Yeah, o.k. Better check your van this time to make sure it doesn't break down before you get here ;-). The Magpie
So they said you will be able to get ten tickets together on the day of the game? Umm who knows what they are thinking now
no...... I called today.... and asked if i could get 10 seats together they said yes no problem, we have seats behind the goals still. I said ok.. I will call you back because i am not sure how many of my friends are actually gonna go. I asked if I could walk up and get tickets and he said... "The sell out point will probably come at some point during the walkup sales" I was like... so your gonna open more seating right? He said no we are standing hard and fast to this total. I was like... well what happens when I show up to the game with ten Friends and go to the ticket booth and ask for tickets and I am told that the game is sold out? How many Fans are you going to alienate by doing this. Its a poor move that you may want to rethink. He said he couldn't agree more but that they had to stand fast to what they have done all year round.