Jump to content

Some people are concerned about attendance


  • Please log in to reply
101 replies to this topic

#31
Dave Martinez

Dave Martinez

    Player/Manager

  • Members
  • PipPipPipPip
  • 3,107 posts
  • Supports:Soccer in New York

Sorry all, haven't been here in a while. EoS is kicking my ass. Just look at the white hairs coming out of my fat head and you can see for yourself.

 

Anyhow, as I explained to others, I am not telling fans how to spend their money. Nor am I addressing YOU, the supporters of the team. 

 

I was, however, surprised that a) so many who bought tickets didn't show up and b) countless others just wouldn't bother. After another Shield winning season. Against an exciting opponent. On a beautiful Sunday afternoon. After a LONG and BORING offseason.

 

Yes, traffic stinks. Yes, the PATH stinks. Yes, marketing continues to be non-existent. Still, it is opening day -- and a celebration at that. At this point in the club's history, no amount of marketing should be required to sell the fan base on that.

 

Perhaps it is unfair of me to cast my expectations as a standard the team should meet. Then again, it's an opinion piece -- and that is what it's there for. I've followed this team for ages and I suppose with each successful year, I await the day where, as MdG says, each game will be a sellout. RB isn't there yet ... but I also don't think they are 17-18k at the gate away from that goal.

 

Hope this ramble makes some sense .... if not, hit me up here or on Twitter. I am easy to reach.

 

Much love. :cheers:



#32
RedBullScouse

RedBullScouse

    Dir. of Football Operations

  • Members
  • PipPipPipPipPip
  • 19,798 posts
  • Supports:Irresistable Mermaids/Liverpool/RU

not really sure i buy the 'just win' argument.  is there really an army of soccer fans that are interested in MLS that would show up if we won an MLS Cup?  If people are following the league and that into it they'd probably be showing up for the 2 shields and 1 eastern conference final appearance in the past 3 years anyway.  seems to me that we have the same old 15k die hards and then the more casuals kind of just rotate in and out and fluctuate wildly, and its impossible to either turn them into die hards or to at least consistently draw more casuals.

This is how "just win" works.   We get new people coming to the games all the time.  When you win those games, they have a good time and are more likely to come back.   And if you win when they come back... there you go.

 

Winning an MLS Cup, if nothing else, gets you some publicity that might bring in more new people, and a chance to win them over, too, and it also might bring back some people who didn't come back because the first game they went to didn't go well.  "They don't suck anymore?  Maybe I'll give them another try."


"Everybody has a plan until they get punched in the mouth." - Iron Mike

 

Bitch covered my plaid?
The sorrow inside me grows.
I need my plaid pitch.

"It goes without saying that when things don't go your way they just don't go your way. " - JCO

"He can't kick with his left foot, he can't tackle, he can't head the ball and he doesn't score many goals. Apart from that, he's all right.”
George Best, on David Beckham


#33
Dave Martinez

Dave Martinez

    Player/Manager

  • Members
  • PipPipPipPip
  • 3,107 posts
  • Supports:Soccer in New York

not really sure i buy the 'just win' argument.  is there really an army of soccer fans that are interested in MLS that would show up if we won an MLS Cup?  If people are following the league and that into it they'd probably be showing up for the 2 shields and 1 eastern conference final appearance in the past 3 years anyway.  seems to me that we have the same old 15k die hards and then the more casuals kind of just rotate in and out and fluctuate wildly, and its impossible to either turn them into die hards or to at least consistently draw more casuals.

Just win works long term I think -- a slow build based on the entertainment factor of the club. RBNY certainly a fun watch. But I agree -- I am not completely sold on it either.  Just like I didn't believe in the massive influx of HG players this offseason. The biggest and best clubs reinforce their teams, even after winning seasons. RB didn't do that to stay on their youth movement message. Why not do both?



#34
SatansHockey

SatansHockey

    Dir. of Football Operations

  • Members
  • PipPipPipPipPip
  • 6,293 posts
  • Supports:New York Red Bulls

It's very true that attendance and no-shows isn't just a Red Bulls problem in the Metro area. There are just too many distractions and attending a professional game in person in NY/NJ is basically an all-day commitment (at least for the Giants, Jets, and for me as a Long Islander, the Red Bulls). As an Islanders fan supporting a team that hasn't won a single playoff series since 1993, I couldn't believe that the Devils couldn't sell out all those years when they were winning, not even playoff games until you'd get to the Finals! I used to say if you put the Devils team in Islanders jerseys and moved them to Nassau Coliseum they'd sell out no problem. The Rangers and Knicks are a different animal. MSG is a hub of NYC and with all the corporate money every game is sold out even if the butts aren't in the seats. The Yankees get a lot of tourist dollars, and for the NFL there's only 8 home games. Everyone else just needs to win. If the Red Bulls win an MLS Cup or two, they'd see their average attendance bump up.


The Devils face and still face a lot of issues that most fan bases don't have to deal with. You have families in Jersey who are rangers fans passing along their rooting interests to their kids. Also have flyers fans in South Jersey and some Islanders fans mixed in the arena too. It takes multiple generations to create a really strong fan base.

The attendance has actually been rather strong this year considering the team is on pace to miss the playoffs again.

#35
Mr Fish

Mr Fish

    First Team

  • Members
  • PipPipPip
  • 632 posts
  • Location:The NY/NJ
  • Supports:Red Bull NY

It's too cold. It's too hot. It's too windy. It's too cloudy. It's too hard to get there. It's too hard to park. It's too hard to drive out of there. The PATH train takes too long. The game's on TV. MLS sucks. New Jersey sucks. The players are anonymous. There's no coverage in the media. I bought the tickets as a gift. No one I know wants to go. The scalpers have too many tickets.

 

We can complain and complain and complain.

The FO's job is to sell the tickets.

No one can make people who have purchased tickets attend the match.

Perhaps it's better to simply focus on the XI on the field.



#36
Dave Martinez

Dave Martinez

    Player/Manager

  • Members
  • PipPipPipPip
  • 3,107 posts
  • Supports:Soccer in New York

It's too cold. It's too hot. It's too windy. It's too cloudy. It's too hard to get there. It's too hard to park. It's too hard to drive out of there. The PATH train takes too long. The game's on TV. MLS sucks. New Jersey sucks. The players are anonymous. There's no coverage in the media. I bought the tickets as a gift. No one I know wants to go. The scalpers have too many tickets.

 

We can complain and complain and complain.

The FO's job is to sell the tickets.

No one can make people who have purchased tickets attend the match.

Perhaps it's better to simply focus on the XI on the field.

I know you ....



#37
rhactl7

rhactl7

    First Team

  • Members
  • PipPipPip
  • 1,066 posts
  • Supports:Red Bull Out

I don't think many people in the city know much about the team. I don't think they know how close the stadium is, and how cheap the seats are. There should be advertising all over the city with a simple message....Something like "Defending Champs. $20 tickets. 20 min from the city." That could get somebody's attention. Instead they will probably put up an ad saying  "Red Together".



#38
ivo

ivo

    Player/Manager

  • Members
  • PipPipPipPip
  • 4,369 posts
  • Location:Queens
  • Supports:NYRB, Real Madrid

Did you notice they actually have a good deal of the steel framing up for the new station?

No, I was too busy not getting squished by people to look around too much. :unsure:  Do you know what the new station will look like? Last time (2 years ago?) they had construction there, they simply made the platform longer and left the one staircase/three turnstiles situation intact. Hopefully, there's actual improvement this time.

 

ed: OK, this looks better. Still, not a lot of escalator/staircase space that could reasonably handle matchday traffic, but better than the status quo. I can't wait for 2020 when it's finished.



#39
RedBullScouse

RedBullScouse

    Dir. of Football Operations

  • Members
  • PipPipPipPipPip
  • 19,798 posts
  • Supports:Irresistable Mermaids/Liverpool/RU

No, I was too busy not getting squished by people to look around too much. :unsure:  Do you know what the new station will look like? Last time (2 years ago?) they had construction there, they simply made the platform longer and left the one staircase/three turnstiles situation intact. Hopefully, this time there's actual improvement.

path-harrison-station-replacement-about.

Modern elevators, as well as widened stairs and escalator access to both platforms

New, glass-enclosed and weather-protected station entrances
Extended platforms to accommodate 10-car trains
 

harrtrainweb.jpg


"Everybody has a plan until they get punched in the mouth." - Iron Mike

 

Bitch covered my plaid?
The sorrow inside me grows.
I need my plaid pitch.

"It goes without saying that when things don't go your way they just don't go your way. " - JCO

"He can't kick with his left foot, he can't tackle, he can't head the ball and he doesn't score many goals. Apart from that, he's all right.”
George Best, on David Beckham


#40
ivo

ivo

    Player/Manager

  • Members
  • PipPipPipPip
  • 4,369 posts
  • Location:Queens
  • Supports:NYRB, Real Madrid

Yeah, a quick google search did get me to that (see my edit). Certainly looks nicer and would easily be an improvement, but don't think it addresses the matchday traffic well enough. Would be glad to be wrong, we'll see when it gets built.



#41
Eleazar

Eleazar

    One who helps God

  • Members
  • PipPipPipPipPipPip
  • 23,966 posts
  • Location:New York City
  • Interests:Metro, the USMNT and Boston College Athletics
  • Supports:METRO

win with a couple of stars with a top class academy.

 

if you don't attract all the fans, with the above formula, you could attract the lion's share of top soccer prospects in the region. that's important too.


RIP Guillermo Romulo, Alexander Francis Orig, Celenio Eleazar, and my Mom, Resurreccion Eleazar.

 

RIP Cesar Castello, Mike Vallo, Glenn Stampiglia, Bob Paquette, and Warren Lee

 

 

 


#42
irishapple21

irishapple21

    Player/Manager

  • Members
  • PipPipPipPip
  • 3,911 posts
I think we need to be patient with the town of Harrison. They are basically renovating their entire town right now and it is going to take a while for things like the PATH station to improve.

#43
UpstateFan

UpstateFan

    First Team

  • Members
  • PipPipPip
  • 1,887 posts
  • Supports:NY Red Bulls

I've been to every season opener at RBA. This was pretty good by the team's standards.

 

<shrug> 



#44
juberish

juberish

    Player/Manager

  • Members
  • PipPipPipPip
  • 4,576 posts
  • Location:Brooklyn
  • Supports:RED BULLZ F.C.

 

Perhaps it's better to simply focus on the XI on the field.

By this, do you mean that us as fans should just focus on the XI and not take an interest in the attendance woes? Or do you mean your good buddy there should focus on the XI in his writing?

 

My main point would be that the community doesn't owe RBNY anything. If fans aren't turning out, that's on the ownership and management of the team to figure out why. And I think it's an issue thats impossible for fans and writers to ignore - it's a gauge on the health of our team and one of the ways we can measure success. 

 

 

I'd love for the FO to figure it out and for this conversation to go away - what's it going to take? I think it's the "name thing" but would love to be proven wrong - will be interesting to see what happens when Leipzig gets promoted. They're top of the 2. Bundesliga attendance numbers with a 27k average, but their stadium holds 44k... 



#45
MetroFanatic

MetroFanatic

    Choose Metro.

  • Admin
  • PipPipPipPipPipPip
  • 20,262 posts
  • Location:MetroFanatic.com
  • Supports:Metro

I miss Harraby's attendance threads.


MetroFanatic.com. Metro Forever.




0 user(s) are reading this topic

0 members, 0 guests, 0 anonymous users