RFK declining crowds

I would note for you that 13K for a Wed night USOC match would be really fantastic. Most of those, IIRC, typically might draw 2-5K, not 13K.

 

Ticket prices + economy + bad last season + getting rid of Boyyzz = declining sales. A lot of negative around the team with the stadium bit too...

 

It is disappointing. The economy probably hits walk up sales significantly. I think last year's performance has knocked some fans out too. I actually think DC United takes its fan base for granted a little bit. There is very little marketing out there. I had a work acquaintance move here about a year ago and didn't even know there was 1st division soccer here (from out of the country). He's a huge fan of the game and when I told him about DCU he was very excited and has gone to two matches. He didn't even know there was a pro soccer league in the US.

With the success of Seattle and the other new franchises, DCU should really make it a goal to challenge those guys for attendance. I have to believe there is a larger population/soccer base in the DC area than Seattle. I would like to see DCU forced to open the 2nd deck for games. We already have a fantastic atmosphere.

 

I know the economy has hurt walk-up sales. There are several folks at work, who came to DC United matches on a fairly regular basis. This year, none of them have been to a single match. With threats of job losses still looming, folks aren't spending on entertainment the way they did in previous years. They're sticking it away to tide them over for that rainy day.

 

We went head to head against the Nats on Friday (admittedly not too much crossover in the fan base I expect) but they drew 19k and change and we drew 14k and change.

 

19K in the second (third?) year in a brand new stadium and being one of the 'major' sports is not something I'd be crowing about if I were the Nationals.

 

It's their second year, and I watched the replay of that game.....19k was generous. They had a healthy 10-12k.

The first two home games were a little disappointing, but I think 14k on a Friday/weekday night wasn't all that bad.

 

Attendances are obviously disappointing for both teams but 19k for MLB is more of an embarrassment than 14k for MLS. I think the economy as a whole is the major factor here, although a crappy baseball team plus an absolute lack of baseball culture here must be considered, as well.

My point was that DC's attendance doesn't really look bad at all in comparison with how an established sport did playing at the same time.

 

It is a good measure, that not that many folks went out to a sporting event that night, but something that can be taken as a negative (for both teams) is the media's traffic and crowd warnings. They scare off the casual Nats or United fan that could have been on the fence about going.

 

Understand.

I think there have been explainable circumstances for the low attendance so far. I think the state of the economy is certainly part of it - the walkup has been lower because of it.

Here's hoping that things pick up as we settle into the warmer months (and DCU begins to contend)

 

It seemed that there were more people there based upon previous year's attendance announcements.

[Cue Conspiracy Music Here]
I wonder if DCU has changed their method for counting attendance. In years past, it was based upon tickets sold and comp tickets given away.

If DCU is using attendance through the gate, it would definitely be smaller.

Alternatively, less comps may have been given away this year. Then, if these comps are no-shows, it is directly related to the lower attendance figures.

Why would DCU want lower attendance figures? It might be to justify moving the team. DCU - "look the fans our giving up on us, our attendance is dropping".

Artificially attendance decreases may be being manipulated by the DCU FO.
[End Conspiracy Music Here]

I'm not sure that I agree with my own assessment, but it has crossed my mind.

 

Eh, numbers appear to be down league wide. If the league is under-reporting attendance (or, not inflating it much, if at all) that's probably more for the upcoming CBA negotiations rather than leverage to move DCU. At least, that would be my conspiracy theory of choice.

As for real reasons, the economy is first and foremost. Second would be the fact that the team wasn't much good last year - attendance tends to lag from season to season. Third would be the weather and the timing of games. I expect walk up sales to increase as the season goes on and we have some friendlier dates/times and/or weather. Weather was great on Friday, but Friday at 7pm isn't the most conducive to walk-up sales anyway...

 

I can't prove anything but this Friday's announced attendance of 14K looked like crowds of 17 or 18 K in prevous years. Attendance has always been tickets distributed not actual attendance. Didn't someone in another thread mention that teams including DC United were going to give out less free tickets this year?

 

As James Carville said -- "it's the economy stupid." A night out at RFK for a family of four is over $100, that's a great deal of money to spend for 2 hours of entertainment. Attendance is down all over the league. I would also note that the Freedom drew over 5K for their home opener last weekend and about 4200 last night (which from a weather standpoint was as nice as you will get around here). Some folks noted that drop was the "least" for any team playing its second home match. Times are very tough, I think over 14K at a game under these economic circumstances is very good indeed and demonstrates DCU has a fairly solid "core" fanbase.

The only thing I would worry about is if attendance declines as the season wears on (assuming that DCU remains in playoff contention).

 

Last year I went to the first three home games. This year I haven't been yet. I live in southern DE about 2-2.5 hours away. The economy is the main reason, tickets+food+gas+possible hotel room= too much right now. Instead I spent twenty bucks on the liveTV package and 15 bucks on a cord to connect my laptop to my TV.

 

I agree with the people saying that there must be a difference with the reporting, cause last year the actual number would've been higher based on what I saw. And the supporters side is definitely growing which is huge, so having a few less families doesn't bother me that much especially considering the economy. I would also like to see United come up with some cheaper tickets like most teams (in all sports) are in order to combat the downturn.

 

The teams play last year is definitely hurting attendance this year. Lack of promotion and tv coverage in my opinion is the major issue. Seems like the team is doing more with ticket promotions for upcoming games, and the rest of the games are televised, so i'd expect a little more for the next few games, especially if we can find some winning ways.

And of course the economy is hurting it to.

Any guesses for wednesdays crowd size? I'll say 6k. Should be fun !

 

I'll be there as well, but I would be surprised to see any attendance number over the season ticket and whatever Plan that game is on number. That's the sad fact with U.S. Open Cup games.

 

The same idea has floated past the peg my tinfoil hat sits upon. I remember seeing what looked like pretty decent crowds at San Jose that were announced way lower than I thought they were.

 

My section on the quiet side was upgraded from Premium to VIP. That was an $180 hike for season tickets. The area is quite empty this season. Not sure if people moved to other sections or just dropped out.

 

Every April these threads seem to pop up. Things will pick up, although probably somewhat less so than in the past due to the economy.