Attendance Issues in Cali and how it relates to us

[Mark Vader]

I didn't really appreciate this until I moved here, but San Francisco doesn't have a team anymore. San Jose does. That new stadium is an hour away from the city...without traffic.

 

Like most great cities, San Francisco is all about being in the city. The 49ers played in the middle of Golden Gate Park for 25 years and then another 40+ across town at Candlestick. Now they expect people to drive 40+ miles down the peninsula to sit in a 100 degree stadium, just as they drove their successful head coach out of town and the team collapsed? LOL....good luck with that! San Fran is a case study in what not to do when building a new stadium. And p.s., the Raiders will also be a disaster in Vegas.

 

Here's a good article about the 49ers disaster:

 

https://ninernoise.com/2017/09/13/49ers-levis-stadium-niners/

The writer of this article is a buffoon, and is completely out of touch with how the NFL is run these days.

 

The city officials of San Francisco have nobody to blame but themselves for losing the 49'ers to Santa Clara/San Jose. They had many opportunities to build a new stadium in San Francisco, and they could never get anything done about it.

 

As for the traffic, yes I'm sure it's a hassle, but if everyone is taking US-101 to and from Levi's Stadium, then that shows me that you know nothing about the freeways around here. Instead of taking US-101, you should be taking I-280. It may not be as direct, but it's a lot faster, not to mention more scenic. Also, I went to my share of games at Candlestick Park, and the traffic was no better. If you ever went to Candlestick Park for a game, you know what I am talking about. I also tend to wonder how many "real fans" travel from San Francisco to Levi's Stadium to watch the team that they love so much. I'm sure it's a very very low number. Aside from Banjo Man, I cannot imagine many fans from up there making the journey. Which is not surprising since a great majority of 49'ers fans live in San Jose and the surrounding south bay.

 

The writer talks about how much cheaper the tickets were at Candlestick Park, and they were cheaper. My dad has been a 49'ers season ticket holder for over 30 years, and tickets were cheaper. However, this is where the writer is not grounded in reality. As time has gone by, and the popularity of the NFL has grown, ticket prices have skyrocketed. This has affected every NFL fan. Even Candlestick Park's ticket prices were becoming more outrageous towards the end of it's days.

 

Now there is the heat issue at Levi's Stadium, and this is a lame point. Yes, it's hotter in San Jose, but let's be real about this. It'll be hot for a little while in September, and after that the weather will be spectacular. It's not going to be 90-100 degrees at every game. Yes, it sucks that the Sun is constantly on one side of the stadium, and it would be great if they could do something about it. Again, it's not roasting weather all of the time.

 

I'm not saying that there can't be improvements made to Levi's Stadium for the fan experience, but the notion that the stadium and where it's located is the problem, and not the fact that the 49'ers suck is the problem, is ridiculous.

Edited September 14, 2017 by Mark Vader

[Peter]

Reality Check:

 

I am an out-of-town season ticket holder. I have seats in the lower bowl close to the 50 yard line. I usually have no issue selling tickets to regular season games (as opposed to pre-season games) that I am unable to attend . . . until this past game.

 

About five days before the Jets game (and Hurricane Irma) I lowered the price of the tickets to the lowest price that you can list the tickets for on the NFL Ticket Exchange.

 

Guess what? No one bought the tickets for the freaking home opener. I noticed that there were many other tickets that also went unsold in the sections closer to mid field.

 

I had NEVER had a problem selling tickets to the home opener (and never had to lower the price of the tickets to the home opener to the lowest price possible on the NFL Ticket Exchange in an attempt to sell the tickets).

[Kelly the Dog]

I agree. This "bad neighborhood " stuff is not a legit excuse for the LA fans. If the neighborhood doesn't stop people from sending their kids to USC, we can't use it as an excuse to skip out on NFL games.

Then you know nothing about the area. USC is its own oasis. It's left alone.

[dave mcbride]

The writer of this article is a buffoon, and is completely out of touch with how the NFL is run these days.

 

The city officials of San Francisco have nobody to blame but themselves for losing the 49'ers to Santa Clara/San Jose. They had many opportunities to build a new stadium in San Francisco, and they could never get anything done about it.

 

As for the traffic, yes I'm sure it's a hassle, but if everyone is taking US-101 to and from Levi's Stadium, then that shows me that you know nothing about the freeways around here. Instead of taking US-101, you should be taking I-280. It may not be as direct, but it's a lot faster, not to mention more scenic. Also, I went to my share of games at Candlestick Park, and the traffic was no better. If you ever went to Candlestick Park for a game, you know what I am talking about. I also tend to wonder how many "real fans" travel from San Francisco to Levi's Stadium to watch the team that they love so much. I'm sure it's a very very low number. Aside from Banjo Man, I cannot imagine many fans from up there making the journey. Which is not surprising since a great majority of 49'ers fans live in San Jose and the surrounding south bay.

 

The writer talks about how much cheaper the tickets were at Candlestick Park, and they were cheaper. My dad has been a 49'ers season ticket holder for over 30 years, and tickets were cheaper. However, this is where the writer is not grounded in reality. As time has gone by, and the popularity of the NFL has grown, ticket prices have skyrocketed. This has affected every NFL fan. Even Candlestick Park's ticket prices were becoming more outrageous towards the end of it's days.

 

Now there is the heat issue at Levi's Stadium, and this is a lame point. Yes, it's hotter in San Jose, but let's be real about this. It'll be hot for a little while in September, and after that the weather will be spectacular. It's not going to be 90-100 degrees at every game. Yes, it sucks that the Sun is constantly on one side of the stadium, and it would be great if they could do something about it. Again, it's not roasting weather all of the time.

 

I'm not saying that there can't be improvements made to Levi's Stadium for the fan experience, but the notion that the stadium and where it's located is the problem, and not the fact that the 49'ers suck is the problem, is ridiculous.

Isn't the issue that they're basically no longer a SF team? If so, does anyone really expect San Jose residents to invest much emotion in a team that was never identified with them? It is literally 42 miles from a random SF neighborhood I selected - Noe Valley - to the stadium. That is really freaking far to drive for a football game. Granted, most fans live in the burbs, but it's never really about the getting there - it's about the getting home on a Sunday night, and driving back into SF at 5 pm on a Sunday totally sucks. Unless Silicon Valley adopts the team - very doubtful, in my opinion, given the demographics (East Asians and South Asians constitute the largest demographic bloc in SV now) - the stadium is going to have a lot of empty seats any time they're merely decent or worse.

[reddogblitz]

3 teams have moved out of LA already (Rams, Chargers, and Raiders). I'm sure more will follow.

[bbb]

The LAC and then the LA annoy me when im scrolling through stats. It plays tricks on my simple mind!

 

I kept calling the Raiders "the Oakland Raiders" up until about '94. My brain finally caught up and I started calling them "the LA Raiders."..................Then, they immediately moved back to Oakland.

 

I also still go to Ch. 2 (NBC) first to turn a Bills game on. It's only been 20 years or more that the AFC is on CBS!

[DriveFor1Outta5]

Then you know nothing about the area. USC is its own oasis. It's left alone.

The USC campus isn't that far from the stadium. I may "know nothing", but what I do know is that people aren't randomly being attacked attending LA or USC games because the neighborhood is bad. There's sketchiness all over LA imo. Not a good place to live if you're ultra paranoid.

 

If the Rams or Chargers were winning, the attendance would be higher.

 

If the Rams of Chargers had a history in the town to build fan loyalty, attendance would be higher.

The Rams do have a history in town. The problem is that no one cared about their first chapter of history either. Edited September 14, 2017 by DriveFor1Outta5

[Buffalo716]

There is literally no comparison between LA and Buffalo as NFL cities.

 

Buffalo is Through and through a football city. Sure LA has the Trojans but they are a Laker city at heart.

 

Buffalo is blue collared and our fans represent that at the Ralph

[DriveFor1Outta5]

There was a reason the Rams moved to St Louis and the Raiders went back to Oakland; poor attendance and little support from the "fans." The NFL as an organization (i.e. short sighted, money hungry owners with deep pockets and big egos and mr placate goodell) think that people will continue watching regardless of whatever they do (similar to Kodak managements attitude towards photos vs pixels) are in for a rude awakening if they do not adjust their attitudes towards the real fans of these teams.

Good post. The NFL is trying to sell everyone a line of bull. From reading this post, I see that some have bought into it. Some posters might be too young to remember the days of the Raiders and Rams in LA as well. I have nothing against LA, In fact I enjoy the city. I simply will never believe that the city was worthy of two football teams. I will also never believe that they were more worthy than the cities they were taken from.

[bbb]

3 teams have moved out of LA already (Rams, Chargers, and Raiders). I'm sure more will follow.

 

Oddly, they're going to have the same names.

 

[Irv]

Have many thoughts on this.

 

• Except for winning Super Bowls, the NFL should hold the Bills right up there with the Packers. Same type of 100% dedicated blue collar fans.
• Chargers and Rams are smart. Build 1 stadium for 2 teams in case 1 fails. Would not be surprised to see Chargers go back to new stadium in SD.
• St Louis will get a new team and stadium. More moolah for greedy NFL
• I would like to see a new Bills stadium. Downtown will wipe out tail gating. Not sure that is a bad thing due to the really bad drunks.
• Don't like current location...coming from Roch. It's an all day affair. Lancaster would be great. Maybe with train to the door of the stadium.

Go Bills. Go Bonas.

Edited September 14, 2017 by Badthingsman

[bbb]

Have many thoughts on this.

 

• Except for winning Super Bowls, the NFL should hold the Bills right up there with the Packers. Same type of 100% dedicated blue collar fans.
• Chargers and Rams are smart. Build 1 stadium for 2 teams in case 1 fails. Would not be surprised to see Chargers go back to new stadium in SD.
• St Louis will get a new team and stadium. More moolah for greedy NFL
• I would like to see a new Bills stadium. Downtown will wipe out tail gating. Not sure that is a bad thing due to the really bad drunks.
• Don't like current location...coming from Roch. It's an all day affair. Lancaster would be great. Maybe with train to the door of the stadium.

Go Bills. Go Bonas.

 

Yes!

[Mark Vader]

Isn't the issue that they're basically no longer a SF team? If so, does anyone really expect San Jose residents to invest much emotion in a team that was never identified with them? It is literally 42 miles from a random SF neighborhood I selected - Noe Valley - to the stadium. That is really freaking far to drive for a football game. Granted, most fans live in the burbs, but it's never really about the getting there - it's about the getting home on a Sunday night, and driving back into SF at 5 pm on a Sunday totally sucks. Unless Silicon Valley adopts the team - very doubtful, in my opinion, given the demographics (East Asians and South Asians constitute the largest demographic bloc in SV now) - the stadium is going to have a lot of empty seats any time they're merely decent or worse.

Hogwash.

 

San Jose residents have identified with the 49'ers a lot more than the residents of San Francisco. At least from what I have seen. I always saw more people in San Jose wearing 49'ers gear a lot more than I saw in San Francisco.

 

Lots of people from the San Jose/South Bay Area always drove the 42 miles to Candlestick Park many times on a Sunday and had to deal with driving all the way back Sunday evening, and that wasn't easy. Especially for my mom and dad who always left very early in the morning, so they could tailgate.

 

If the fans who live in San Francisco can't make that trek, that says everything about them.

 

As far as the Asian communities in the Silicon Valley, plenty of the are 49'ers fans.

 

The 49'ers suck right now, and the fans are having a hard time dealing with that, because they were used to the team constantly being a playoff contender. The team is the issue, not the location.

[LABILLBACKER]

The renovation plan for the coliseum looks good but not yet started

 

http://coliseumrenovation.com/overview

Lipstick on a pig...

[Domdab99]

Both the L.A. Coliseum and the Rose Bowl are awful places to watch a game...when the new stadium gets built, I expect attendance to go through the roof.

[Ned Flanders]

Putting a 2d team in LA is beyond idiotic. The Chargers should be San Diego, period. They won't last ten years in LA.

 

Spanos Stinks

[Herc11]

In a small city like Buffalo, on Sundays the Bills are what to do. Doesnt matter if they are losing or winning. In big cities like LA there are so many more distractions. So if the team isnt doing well, people find other stuff to do. Im sure once the Rams improve the attendance will go up.

 

Ive had so many arguements with fans out here in Cali, that LA doesnt deserve another team after losing the Raiders and Rams. The NFL just cant resist putting a team there.

Edited September 14, 2017 by Herc11

[Kelly the Dog]

In a small city like Buffalo, on Sundays the Bills are what to do. Doesnt matter if they are losing or winning. In big cities like LA there are so many more distractions. So if the team isnt doing well, people find other stuff to do. Im sure once the Rams improve the attendance will go up.

 

Ive had so many arguements with fans out here in Cali, that LA doesnt deserve another team after losing the Raiders and Rams. The NFL just cant resist putting a team there.

They waited twenty years. There really wasn't much call for it.

[uticaclub]

 

Yes!

Go Bonnies!

Have many thoughts on this.

 

• Except for winning Super Bowls, the NFL should hold the Bills right up there with the Packers. Same type of 100% dedicated blue collar fans.
• Chargers and Rams are smart. Build 1 stadium for 2 teams in case 1 fails. Would not be surprised to see Chargers go back to new stadium in SD.
• St Louis will get a new team and stadium. More moolah for greedy NFL
• I would like to see a new Bills stadium. Downtown will wipe out tail gating. Not sure that is a bad thing due to the really bad drunks.
• Don't like current location...coming from Roch. It's an all day affair. Lancaster would be great. Maybe with train to the door of the stadium.

Go Bills. Go Bonas.

 

Go Bonnies!

[VaMilBill]

But what still amazes me is that you have a massive market in LA and they can't fill a stadium (I know it's crappy but who cares). Then you have a tiny market team like Buffalo that manages to bring the faithful out every week and fill the stadium. Last I checked, the Bills don't have a nice and fancy stadium to attract people.

 

So Buffalo is doing more than it's fair share with less because it still targets the loyal fan base where it seems like all California teams are just throwing out a net and pulling in money from anywhere they can.

 

And why should The Ralph be updated when it really won't effect attendance all that much.