texasjute Posted October 2, 2017 Posted October 2, 2017 I've been on this board a LONG time; I'm a reader, not a poster. But, I thought I'd add my perspective from Atlanta today. - The Bills Backers of Atlanta tailgate was great. Good pizza and wings; it completely took over a little chunk of downtown. - Bills fans were out in force. Presence was noticeable everywhere, and I had a few Falcon fans make comments (complimentary) about the volume of Bills fans. You could hear their noise on the big plays in the fourth quarter. - MB stadium is a commanding sight as you walk up; the lines and angles are all very cool. Sightlines were great and concession prices are awesome ($2 hot dogs, $2 sodas with unlimited refills, $5 burgers and 12 oz beers). That said, it definitely feels corporate and antiseptic compared to the Ralph and places like Arrowhead. - As others have noted, there were a ton of people dressed as empty red seats. The whole lower bowl between the 30's behind the Bills bench was maybe 1/3 full at best throughout the game. That just seems crazy in a new, beautiful stadium with the reigning NFC champs. - All the Falcon fans in my section thought the Ryan "fumble" was a horrible call, and I get that. But, they all thought the Hyde interception was good and would hold up. The replays were very clear on the big HD video screens, and you could see his hands firmly on the ball before it touched the ground. - The Falcon fans I encountered were all very welcoming, respectful, and classy. They struck up many conversations, and many of them offered congratulations after the game. - It seemed like 99 out of 100 Falcon fans were wearing Julio Jones jerseys. It took me a while to realize that one fan wearing a #11 Jones (white) was a Bills fan! - I'll admit I was expecting us to get beat down. At halftime, I was just glad it was a close game. It wasn't the prettiest win, but it was awfully sweet to pull this one out!!
stevewin Posted October 2, 2017 Posted October 2, 2017 Thanks for the perspective. Huge win. Go Bills!
NoSaint Posted October 2, 2017 Posted October 2, 2017 For the stadium you have to remember it's $6,000 PSL lower bowl on the sideline, before you buy a ticket. I'm all for mocking Atlanta but that's looking at 16-18k for a first year investment in a pair of seats. I don't care what your record is or how big the city-- that's a lot of cash.
purple haze Posted October 2, 2017 Posted October 2, 2017 For the stadium you have to remember it's $6,000 PSL lower bowl on the sideline, before you buy a ticket. I'm all for mocking Atlanta but that's looking at 16-18k for a first year investment in a pair of seats. I don't care what your record is or how big the city-- that's a lot of cash. I continue to be baffled why the owners believe this is a good business model. My Yankees are learning this lesson the hard way too, as many seats sit empty during games. They want the corporate dollars, I get it, so let the corporations by all those empty seats. But they buy suites more so I would imagine. Paying $6,000 for the right to buy seats is insane.
Fadingpain Posted October 2, 2017 Posted October 2, 2017 I've been on this board a LONG time; I'm a reader, not a poster. But, I thought I'd add my perspective from Atlanta today. - The Bills Backers of Atlanta tailgate was great. Good pizza and wings; it completely took over a little chunk of downtown. - Bills fans were out in force. Presence was noticeable everywhere, and I had a few Falcon fans make comments (complimentary) about the volume of Bills fans. You could hear their noise on the big plays in the fourth quarter. - MB stadium is a commanding sight as you walk up; the lines and angles are all very cool. Sightlines were great and concession prices are awesome ($2 hot dogs, $2 sodas with unlimited refills, $5 burgers and 12 oz beers). That said, it definitely feels corporate and antiseptic compared to the Ralph and places like Arrowhead. - As others have noted, there were a ton of people dressed as empty red seats. The whole lower bowl between the 30's behind the Bills bench was maybe 1/3 full at best throughout the game. That just seems crazy in a new, beautiful stadium with the reigning NFC champs. - All the Falcon fans in my section thought the Ryan "fumble" was a horrible call, and I get that. But, they all thought the Hyde interception was good and would hold up. The replays were very clear on the big HD video screens, and you could see his hands firmly on the ball before it touched the ground. - The Falcon fans I encountered were all very welcoming, respectful, and classy. They struck up many conversations, and many of them offered congratulations after the game. - It seemed like 99 out of 100 Falcon fans were wearing Julio Jones jerseys. It took me a while to realize that one fan wearing a #11 Jones (white) was a Bills fan! - I'll admit I was expecting us to get beat down. At halftime, I was just glad it was a close game. It wasn't the prettiest win, but it was awfully sweet to pull this one out!! Good report! Thanks for the intel. I continue to be baffled why the owners believe this is a good business model. My Yankees are learning this lesson the hard way too, as many seats sit empty during games. They want the corporate dollars, I get it, so let the corporations by all those empty seats. But they buy suites more so I would imagine. Paying $6,000 for the right to buy seats is insane. Not only are those prices insane in terms of asking price, there is no way in hell an NFL game (or 8 home games a year) is going to deliver that level of entertainment value for anyone. I don't care how much you like football. Pissing away 20 grand a year or whatever to watch football is just stupid.
CowgirlsFan Posted October 2, 2017 Posted October 2, 2017 I think it's quite classy of the Falcons to have such reasonable concession prices.
plenzmd1 Posted October 2, 2017 Posted October 2, 2017 Good report! Thanks for the intel. Not only are those prices insane in terms of asking price, there is no way in hell an NFL game (or 8 home games a year) is going to deliver that level of entertainment value for anyone. I don't care how much you like football. Pissing away 20 grand a year or whatever to watch football is just stupid. Those seats are all sold, mostly to corporations. Problem is they are all given away to a whole lot of non "core" Fans , in this case, not hard core Falcom fans. And these folks have fantasy teams and other reasons for just sitting in the bar and watching the game on TV. They don't care, they didn't pay for the ticket. Be interesting to get someone takes from between the thirties if there is a big area behind the seats to hang out, as i suspect there is.
DriveFor1Outta5 Posted October 2, 2017 Posted October 2, 2017 Those seats are all sold, mostly to corporations. Problem is they are all given away to a whole lot of non "core" Fans , in this case, not hard core Falcom fans. And these folks have fantasy teams and other reasons for just sitting in the bar and watching the game on TV. They don't care, they didn't pay for the ticket. Be interesting to get someone takes from between the thirties if there is a big area behind the seats to hang out, as i suspect there is. "hard core Falcon fans" 😂
PromoTheRobot Posted October 2, 2017 Posted October 2, 2017 (edited) I continue to be baffled why the owners believe this is a good business model. My Yankees are learning this lesson the hard way too, as many seats sit empty during games. They want the corporate dollars, I get it, so let the corporations by all those empty seats. But they buy suites more so I would imagine. Paying $6,000 for the right to buy seats is insane.Like most things, ideas are ruined by greed. A PSL makes sense to a point: make people who use a stadium pay for it. But owners get greedy. Maybe Terry and Kim can be the voice of reason going forward. New Era is still a great place to watch football. Bills fans don't need oxygen bars and gonad ticklers in their seats to attend games. The Pegulas can keep adding more amenities to New Era, as long as the upper decks keep standing. Edited October 2, 2017 by PromoTheRobot
nucci Posted October 2, 2017 Posted October 2, 2017 For the stadium you have to remember it's $6,000 PSL lower bowl on the sideline, before you buy a ticket. I'm all for mocking Atlanta but that's looking at 16-18k for a first year investment in a pair of seats. I don't care what your record is or how big the city-- that's a lot of cash. Just amazing
DriveFor1Outta5 Posted October 2, 2017 Posted October 2, 2017 Like most things, ideas are ruined by greed. A PSL makes sense to a point: make people who use a stadium pay for it. But owners get greedy. Maybe Terry and Kim can be the voice of reason going forward. New Era is still a great place to watch football. Bills fans don't need oxygen bars and gonad ticklers in their seats to attend games. The Pegulas can keep adding more amenities to New Era, as long as the upper decks keep standing. Agree, but it's the PSL's that is the very thing driving this greed. Any PSL that's going to help an owner pay for a stadium is going to be astronomically priced.
Saxum Posted October 2, 2017 Posted October 2, 2017 I have some friends in Atlanta from when I used to work there and went to Bills Backers bar there. I heard that many are not going to new stadium since old one was built just 25 years ago and they thought it was greedy to replace it.
Charles Romes Posted October 2, 2017 Posted October 2, 2017 (edited) Good report! Thanks for the intel. Not only are those prices insane in terms of asking price, there is no way in hell an NFL game (or 8 home games a year) is going to deliver that level of entertainment value for anyone. I don't care how much you like football. Pissing away 20 grand a year or whatever to watch football is just stupid. Yes - corporate entertainment is the only justification at this cost and you need to be in a suite for that to make sense not seats. Edited October 2, 2017 by Charles Romes
BuffaloFan68 Posted October 2, 2017 Posted October 2, 2017 $2 Dogs and $5 beer & burgers - the way it should be. I'm jealous
Gavin in Va Beach Posted October 2, 2017 Posted October 2, 2017 Like most things, ideas are ruined by greed. A PSL makes sense to a point: make people who use a stadium pay for it. But owners get greedy. Maybe Terry and Kim can be the voice of reason going forward. New Era is still a great place to watch football. Bills fans don't need oxygen bars and gonad ticklers in their seats to attend games. The Pegulas can keep adding more amenities to New Era, as long as the upper decks keep standing. I could be persuaded to pay a little extra for a gonad tickler in my seat.
jimmy10 Posted October 2, 2017 Posted October 2, 2017 $2 Dogs and $5 beer & burgers - the way it should be. I'm jealous After ponying up thousands for PSLs. And I'm sure individual game seats are not cheap. What a load of PR horse pucky.
Kevbeau Posted October 2, 2017 Posted October 2, 2017 (edited) Those seats are all sold, mostly to corporations. Problem is they are all given away to a whole lot of non "core" Fans , in this case, not hard core Falcom fans. And these folks have fantasy teams and other reasons for just sitting in the bar and watching the game on TV. They don't care, they didn't pay for the ticket. Be interesting to get someone takes from between the thirties if there is a big area behind the seats to hang out, as i suspect there is. All the premium sections have access to some sort of bar or club, some of which are on level with the field and run almost the entire length. It's an impressive piece of architecture, but there's a lot of attractions to keep folks out of their seats, even in the nosebleeds. Atl United sold the place out and had the same issue although not to the extent the Flacons have had so far. I've lived in Atlanta for the better part of two decades. There are plenty of hardcore Falcons fans, that are unfortunately probably being priced out of the stadium. Atlanta has plenty of Fortune 500 companies that will pony up for the PSL(s) and suites so every game is technically a sellout. Final component (in my opinion) is there's a little WTF attitude in town over the Braves & the Falcons both opening new Stadiums this year when the ones they are vacating were still functional. Edited October 2, 2017 by Kevbeau
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