Due to the construction of Audi Field, the sun is pretty blinding for people in the East stands (which is where the TV cameras are) until about 8 PM. National TV games in the summer at Audi will have to start at 8 PM as a result, barring some kind of renovations that are unlikely to happen.
Have there been any full stadium games this year? Why not just tarp off the opened sections in the upper deck? Weren't they just opened?
Not in the same way they’ve done in the past. The Sounders stopped capping attendance a few years ago. They start sales with only the base capacity available, but as that capacity gets sold, they open up new sections.
So why tarp of the nest? Just tarp off the upper deck and if capacity gets sold they could open up the upper deck section. I think it would better if the entire lower bowl is sold out, versus a tarped off nest and upper deck sections opened.
That is part of the issue. There were some really BONEHEAD design decisions made with Audi Field that at some point will need to be fixed or they will be a drag on attendance indefinitely. The first is not ensuring that the sun bakes down on the main East stands. Most of the longtime STH chose to go to the other side of the stadium because the sun would be directly in your eyes for any time a game is played before 8:00 pm. The other massive blunder (or cost cutting issue) is that the roof does not protect most of the fans at the stadium. I selected my seat on the West stands under what I thought was cover. It turns out that despite being halfway back, I'm still not protected from the rain. Even though we have a roof above us due to the industrial design there are no covering pieces to the roof for two whole sections of the roof frame closest to the pitch. Based on a couple of games being soaked I am already thinking about either try ing to move higher or baring that drop my season tickets. I will not sit in the rain to watch a game.
I can tell you that there are so many problems with attending a game at Audi, that I would not be surprised that unless United is vying for championships, they will sink to Colorado levels of attendance. It seems they we in such a rush to get out of RFK that they screwed the pooch with the stadium design and the expectation for travel to and from the stadium.
Because while the rest of the stadium has a season ticket retention rate above 90%, the Hawk’s Nest’s retention rate is in the single digits. It also has poor single game sales. From a customer preference standpoint, Sounders fan’s overwhelmingly prefer to sit somewhere else, including in the upper deck (which is an excellent viewpoint to watch the game from, BTW).
I sure do remember a lot of discussions about the capacity and how it was shoehorned in with no ability to expand.
I know it is a different stadium but I stood in the 3rd tier standing room section at Mercedes Benz, which is in the end of the stadium (like the hawks nest)...it was the best view I have ever had at a live match and I have been to many. It was fantastic. My wife and I couldn't get over how much we liked it. I may try to sit upper deck end zone for every game from now on. I am not sure if that compares to the hawks nest or not. Do you know why people don't like it?
I’ve never sat in it, but from what I understand, it is metal bench seating, steep, poor access to amenities, and totally exposed to the environment. It’s also the only opening on the stadium, so on those cold, windy, and/or rainy game days it’s kind of like being in a wind tunnel. It was built for the more hardcore Seawhawk fans (or they were convinced it was built for them) and, from what I understand, the metal structure can generate a good amount of noise when it is beat on. However, the Sounders didn’t open the Hawk’s Nest until several seasons after the MLS inaugural and ECS is at the opposite end of the stadium, so the people buying tickets there are more casual, family oriented fans that aren’t there to make noise and are less tolerant of the previously mentioned negatives.
It looks so cool on TV when full, but that close up photo really shines a different light on it. Unfortunately having a tarp in such a visible place won't look too great on tv.... #SoundersSSSplease
Look like demand is good for the Galaxy game, the 7 sections in the upper deck are completely open, not just half way up. So that would make a crowd of 42k, that is more of the stadium doesn't open up. Do you know if Zlatan is traveling with the team? He's been good of a few more butts in the seats, maybe that's why the entire 7 section are open. With part of the Hawks Nest being tarped off next year. Do you guys plan on opening more of the upper deck?
Outside of one of those gorgeous sunny late summer Seattle days you couldn't pay me to sit in the Hawk's Nest or the east end bleachers at Husky Stadium in the fall. I'd prefer to survive the game without icing up...
Just a couple of notes on the DCU Audi situation. In terms of rain, DC is not Seattle; I'm a long-time DCU STH, and it typically rains 2-4 times a season. Unfortunately, in four Audi home games this season we've had two significant rains. In terms of the sun it's a real issue, but only in the 2-3 months around the solstice, and fixed with an 8:00 start time. Unfortunately our weird schedule this season includes several Sunday and Wednesday 8:00 start times. Next season we'll be back to Saturday evening games where 8:00 shouldn't be problem. In DC we've had a bad stadium but easy commuting and parking. That was never going to be the case in a new stadium. Eventually parking will sort itself out. 30,000 Nats fans figure out how to get there 81 times a year. Actually if/when the parking garage at Nats Stadium opens for DCU games the problem will be solved.
The Galaxy have been a good draw since we joined the league and its not necessarily because of one player, but because when we joined the league, they were the best team in the league. Since Sounders fans wanted to be the best in the league, that meant we had to go through the Galaxy and, invariably, the Galaxy kept finding ways to beat the Sounders. In fact, when they did full stadium packages, it was a game against the Timbers, Whitecaps, Galaxy, and one other team. I doubt that Zlatan will be playing. Our turf is crap and I doubt he wants to put his knees through that. However, despite what I said above and him probably not playing, I wouldn’t be surprised if he moved a few tickets. I don’t know that. Sorry. I’m going off a tweet I saw and now I can’t find the tweet.