PromoTheRobot Posted January 14, 2007 Posted January 14, 2007 http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/news;_ylt=AqF3...p&type=lgns New Orleans is a city that nearly got wiped off the map, lost half it's population, and never had that great an economy in the first place, yet they have no trouble selling out games. Sorry Bills fans, we look even more pathetic unable to sell out for a playoff contender with the cheapest seats in the NFL. PTR
generaLee83 Posted January 14, 2007 Posted January 14, 2007 http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/news;_ylt=AqF3...p&type=lgns New Orleans is a city that nearly got wiped off the map, lost half it's population, and never had that great an economy in the first place, yet they have no trouble selling out games. Sorry Bills fans, we look even more pathetic unable to sell out for a playoff contender with the cheapest seats in the NFL. PTR I'm pretty sure that New Orleans is quite a touristy area, even now, what is there to see/do in Buffalo?
Lori Posted January 14, 2007 Posted January 14, 2007 http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/news;_ylt=AqF3...p&type=lgns New Orleans is a city that nearly got wiped off the map, lost half it's population, and never had that great an economy in the first place, yet they have no trouble selling out games. Sorry Bills fans, we look even more pathetic unable to sell out for a playoff contender with the cheapest seats in the NFL. PTR That the same team that was marketing Bills-Saints tickets to BUFFALO season-ticket-holders in summer 2005? Might still have my order form somewhere. The Gulf South has rallied around the Saints as a metaphor for rebuilding the area, selling out every game for the first time in team history. Good for them. It's a fantastic story. But it has nothing to do with Buffalo. Saints officials credited a variety of factors. One is a new pricing structure that gave fans 17 options compared to nine heading into the 2005 season. About 7,000 seats for the eight-game Superdome schedule, all high in the third deck, sold for only $14 per game. Ticket prices were increased in premium areas closer to the field, but those sold better, as well. At the same time, many of the suburban areas west and north of New Orleans, which were much better off economically even before Katrina, were spared the worst flooding and have recovered quickly or are even booming from the displacement of many residents to those areas. The metro area population is around 1.2 million now, and the Saints have been marketing with success within a three-hour driving radius of the Superdome, which includes midsize cities such as Baton Rouge and Lafayette in Louisiana, Jackson, Miss. and Mobile, Ala.
Pyrite Gal Posted January 14, 2007 Posted January 14, 2007 Actually I talked to a college buddy of mine who grew up on her Dad's shrimp boat about the attendance issue as she knows I am a Bills fan and commented to me well at least the Saints are selling out games. Her explanation of why this was happening when they were so hard pressed ecnomically, culturally, spiritually and in so many ways was that actually she attributed the ravenous football following and devotion as being directly to do with the Hurricane. She felt folks were rallying around football because everything else they shared was doing so badly. She also pointed out that from a logistical standpoint there used to be so much to do and now so much is closed down and not happening that the Saints represented a great excuse to party. While it is so complicated that I think it would be wrong to view this in a limited two dimensional way (ie that since the Bills did not sellout therefore there must be a lot of great things to do going on), I think it does point out that it is simplistic to simply view this as Buffalo sucks because even New Orleans is supporting their team. This is the same logic that would suggest that Buffalo simply needs a Katrina level disaster to make it a great sports town. Basically comparing New Orleans to any situation simply does not apply.
generaLee83 Posted January 14, 2007 Posted January 14, 2007 Actually I talked to a college buddy of mine who grew up on her Dad's shrimp boat about the attendance issue as she knows I am a Bills fan and commented to me well at least the Saints are selling out games. Her explanation of why this was happening when they were so hard pressed ecnomically, culturally, spiritually and in so many ways was that actually she attributed the ravenous football following and devotion as being directly to do with the Hurricane. She felt folks were rallying around football because everything else they shared was doing so badly. She also pointed out that from a logistical standpoint there used to be so much to do and now so much is closed down and not happening that the Saints represented a great excuse to party. While it is so complicated that I think it would be wrong to view this in a limited two dimensional way (ie that since the Bills did not sellout therefore there must be a lot of great things to do going on), I think it does point out that it is simplistic to simply view this as Buffalo sucks because even New Orleans is supporting their team. This is the same logic that would suggest that Buffalo simply needs a Katrina level disaster to make it a great sports town. Basically comparing New Orleans to any situation simply does not apply. Your friends insight on the matter is probably quite accurate although there is no way to measure such. People tend to pull together through tough times and it helps greatly when there is some sort of unifying force (Saints) to focus attention on.
billrooter Posted January 14, 2007 Posted January 14, 2007 In my opinion to start the season reggie bush and drew brees were making the selling of the tickets easy, then they started winning, i don't get it what is so hard to understand why they are selling out? When the bills win games they sell out again, hell they sold out all the time with a sh------- team how many stadiums can do that, especially with a big stadium for the size of the area, not many!
Steven in MD Posted January 14, 2007 Posted January 14, 2007 In my opinion to start the season reggie bush and drew brees were making the selling of the tickets easy, then they started winning, i don't get it what is so hard to understand why they are selling out? When the bills win games they sell out again, hell they sold out all the time with a sh------- team how many stadiums can do that, especially with a big stadium for the size of the area, not many! Not sure I agree here. The Bills were in the thick of a playoff push late in the season and failed to sell out games. I think you have to attribute the Saints sell outs to the NFL marketing machine. The NFL has put alot of money behind marketing the Saints, and will continue to do so this season. Look for the Saints in the Bowl.
KRT88 Posted January 14, 2007 Posted January 14, 2007 http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/news;_ylt=AqF3...p&type=lgns New Orleans is a city that nearly got wiped off the map, lost half it's population, and never had that great an economy in the first place, yet they have no trouble selling out games. Sorry Bills fans, we look even more pathetic unable to sell out for a playoff contender with the cheapest seats in the NFL. PTR I was down in the big easy in Dec. 2003 and the Saints were playing Tampa that weekend. The city was crawling with Buc fans. Everywhere you went there was a Bucs hat, jersey, t-shirt, no way to estimate but you have to believe there were 10-20,000 Tampa fans going to the game. On game day the volume walking up towards the stadium was impressive.
Gary M Posted January 14, 2007 Posted January 14, 2007 http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/news;_ylt=AqF3...p&type=lgns New Orleans is a city that nearly got wiped off the map, lost half it's population, and never had that great an economy in the first place, yet they have no trouble selling out games. Sorry Bills fans, we look even more pathetic unable to sell out for a playoff contender with the cheapest seats in the NFL. PTR The Ralph would sell out easy at 69,000 seats. http://www.stadiumguide.com/nfl/superdome.htm http://buffalo.bizjournals.com/buffalo/sto...01/daily45.html The Bills averaged 67,000. with 54,765 at the Titans game. You can't hold a game Christmas eve in a predominately Catholic City and expect it to sell out. http://www.thearda.com/mapsReports/reports.../36029_2000.asp
Marv's Neighbor Posted January 14, 2007 Posted January 14, 2007 I'm pretty sure that New Orleans is quite a touristy area, even now, what is there to see/do in Buffalo? Maybe we should rename Chippewa St., Bourbon St.!
OCinBuffalo Posted January 14, 2007 Posted January 14, 2007 http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/news;_ylt=AqF3...p&type=lgns New Orleans is a city that nearly got wiped off the map, lost half it's population, and never had that great an economy in the first place, yet they have no trouble selling out games. Sorry Bills fans, we look even more pathetic unable to sell out for a playoff contender with the cheapest seats in the NFL. PTR (Looks like Gary M beat me to this one:) but I will leave it anyway) Q: how many people does the Super Dome seat? A: 69,000 Q: how many people does the Ralph seat? A: 78,000 We are a smaller area with a larger stadium - in fact, we have a larger stadium than most other teams. We could always do the Jacksonville thing - use tarps to cover the seats in the top corners of the upper deck - but that would be gay IMHO. Or, we could adjust the blackout policy. Which is what Schumer and others are lobbying for with the league.
keepthefaith Posted January 14, 2007 Posted January 14, 2007 (Looks like Gary M beat me to this one:) but I will leave it anyway) Q: how many people does the Super Dome seat? A: 69,000 Q: how many people does the Ralph seat? A: 78,000 We are a smaller area with a larger stadium - in fact, we have a larger stadium than most other teams. We could always do the Jacksonville thing - use tarps to cover the seats in the top corners of the upper deck - but that would be gay IMHO. Or, we could adjust the blackout policy. Which is what Schumer and others are lobbying for with the league. It's all about wins and losses. Winners sell.
keepthefaith Posted January 14, 2007 Posted January 14, 2007 (Looks like Gary M beat me to this one:) but I will leave it anyway) Q: how many people does the Super Dome seat? A: 69,000 Q: how many people does the Ralph seat? A: 78,000 We are a smaller area with a larger stadium - in fact, we have a larger stadium than most other teams. We could always do the Jacksonville thing - use tarps to cover the seats in the top corners of the upper deck - but that would be gay IMHO. Or, we could adjust the blackout policy. Which is what Schumer and others are lobbying for with the league. It's all about wins and losses. Winners sell.
OCinBuffalo Posted January 14, 2007 Posted January 14, 2007 It's all about wins and losses. Winners sell. No it isn't - not when you have 3-4 times the people in a media market.
OCinBuffalo Posted January 14, 2007 Posted January 14, 2007 It's all about wins and losses. Winners sell. No it isn't - not when you have 3-4 times the people in a media market. And repeating yourself doesn't make you any more right j/k
gobillsinytown Posted January 14, 2007 Posted January 14, 2007 As you can see from previous posters, it's simply not accurate to compare to two cities. Another thing I might add: The federal government, Louisianna state government, private and public relief agencies have been, and continue to, pour money into that region. I'm not saying that the money is being wasted, it's more that Katrina was such a regional disaster that no amount of money is going to be able to immediately restore the region. However, there are jobs and people with at least some extra money to spend. And since the Saints have been such a rallying point, why not support them? http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/news;_ylt=AqF3...p&type=lgns New Orleans is a city that nearly got wiped off the map, lost half it's population, and never had that great an economy in the first place, yet they have no trouble selling out games. Sorry Bills fans, we look even more pathetic unable to sell out for a playoff contender with the cheapest seats in the NFL. PTR
keepthefaith Posted January 14, 2007 Posted January 14, 2007 No it isn't - not when you have 3-4 times the people in a media market. And repeating yourself doesn't make you any more right j/k You're out to lunch. While there are some examples in sports of losers that sell (like the Cubs in Chicago or Washington Redskins), The numbers overwhelming support that winners sell and losers don't regardless of market size. Examples of large market teams that don't sell out over a stretch of losing seasons are the Miami Dolphins, Chicago Bears, LA Rams, New England Patriots (it's been a while since they were losers) Houston Texans and Oilers, Phoenix and St. Louis Cardinals, Baltimore Colts (they moved). I could go on and on and this is also true for Baseball, Basketball and Hockey. You and anyone else that doesn't agree are wrong. I don't have time to gather all of the numbers but they would overwhelmingly support that winners sell and losers don't. I'm close to the ticket industry. I know this to be true. The Bills attendance closely mirrors this premise since they have played in Orchard park.
MadBuffaloDisease Posted January 14, 2007 Posted January 14, 2007 The Saints have soldout for the first time in their history BECAUSE of Katrina AND because of the threat of the team moving. Benson is from San Antonio and they would LOVE to have a pro team, and Benson would love to move them there. Maybe Ralph needs to start scouting-out some places and put the fear of God into the Buffalo "faithful" again.
jester43 Posted January 14, 2007 Posted January 14, 2007 (Looks like Gary M beat me to this one:) but I will leave it anyway) Q: how many people does the Super Dome seat? A: 69,000 Q: how many people does the Ralph seat? A: 78,000 We are a smaller area with a larger stadium - in fact, we have a larger stadium than most other teams. We could always do the Jacksonville thing - use tarps to cover the seats in the top corners of the upper deck - but that would be gay IMHO. Or, we could adjust the blackout policy. Which is what Schumer and others are lobbying for with the league. the ralph no longer has 78000 seats. we're down to 73967
JimBob2232 Posted January 14, 2007 Posted January 14, 2007 Doesnt change the fact that we were somewhere in the middle of the pack as far as attendance goes (16-20th), yet we had (im assuming) the most blackouts of any team in the league. Having one of the largest stadiums should not cause blackout issues. I hope the NFL looks at this closely.
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