A new report shows what it costs the average family of four to take in a game. Average cost: $443.93 Dolphins: $400.54 Link to summary, with a link to the pdf of the study That's a **** ton of money for a few hours of fun followed by ******ed amounts of traffic just to leave.
Also do families of 4 actually go to the games?? I mean sure maybe a family here and there, but the majority of fans that attend probably don't reach into the "family" area. I gotta think that entire football watching families are rare.....
Anyone watch last weeks game at Sun Life when the U played ? The place was empty. Its friggin hot and its expensive for a lot of people and its friggin hot.
Bottom line, as much as people think its about the teams playing in that stadium, I believe it's has as much to do with the stadium itself. Location..heat index..antiseptic atmosphere..
100% correct. I was at the Cardinals game Sunday at University of Phoenix stadium. Two close friends from Kendal stayed with me and went to the game. BOTH had never been to an away Dolphin game in their life. I told them they were going to love the stadium and they did. It was 102 degrees outside and we all sat inside with our game Jerseys on and it was no different then sitting inside your living room with the air on even though the place was packed full. The Cardinals still sucked in 2005 and had no prayer of being good for years. When they played at Sun Devil stadium the place was literally empty. The opposing teams fans outnumbered the few AZ fans. People can imagine any excuse they like but a brand new air conditioned stadium would do wonders in S. Florida. Since day one, Cardinals stadium has been sold out, every game and like I said, they still sucked from 2005 2006 2007 . In 2008 they did great, in 2009 they still had a pulse, in 2010 they sucked bad again. Point is thru those first 3 years of really sucking the place was packed. You would have to see it to understand. One of the nicest places to see a football game in the NFL. We have a swamp as a home stadium. Like I said, many brag about the support the U gets. Well watched last Satursdays game on TV from Sun Life. The place looked like a morgue. Most of the crap people spew out is complete BS. Build and air conditioned stadium like Phoenix or Reliant ( same architect ) and the place would be packed full.
I don't like an air conditioned stadium and i don't think an indoor stadium would improve attendance much. Over the years, I am pretty sure attendance in September (when it is really hot) has been no worse than in November and December (when it is beautiful outside). I hate the atmosphere in an indoor stadium. Feels like watching a football game in a shopping mall.
One reason and one reason only. Put a good product on the field year in and year out, and the fans will come. The Dolphins should not play in a dome at home. And directv hurts with the football package.
Good post.. Hear me out on this, when I first saw the inside of Jerry's new stadium, I stated that it was going to be a huge mistake in how it relates to his team...they fu&$ed up, the built all the bells and whistles you want,but they forgot about the actual structure as it relates to intimacy between fans and players and the impact if crowd noise..they didn't think to build it with these crucial aspects in mind..stupid, so stupid.. Give me the architects of the ravens, texans, bears, Seahawks, and tell them to take it to the next level.. I'm pretty sure the cowboys have a losing record in their joint. I do understand that this teams performance over the last decade has made the biggest impact in turnout, however that has nothing to do with what I'm talking about...we have serious issues with our stadium.
Football tickets are too expensive to waste on kids who may not be that interested. It's better to just go to baseball when you have a family of four.
I happened to listen to Mike Golic today (I know, I know, what was I thinking?) and he mentioned that when he played for Miami, it was tough to sell out. He says there are too many things going on in South Beach, which is why the Miami Marlins (?) also have issues selling tickets. I don't know if any of that is accurate, just relaying what he said.
I think it's pretty obvious why fans don't come to either Dolphins games or Marlins games. The perception of the Dolphins is they suck. The Marlins do suck. Look at the Heat. They have been at the top in attendance for a while.
Obviously our attendance has struggled the past few seasons, but it will get better when we start winning. Especially with a shiny new quarterback playing well. Thing is, I feel like attendance is an issue everywhere, and there are a lot of reasons. DirecTV, expensive tickets/parking/food/alcohol in a down economy, traffic, people acting like drunken fools, GM's calling fans *******s. It all plays a role.
Not to mention that the seats in general are so far from the field that if you have to go upper deck its almost not even worth it.
You obviously have never been to Reliant or University of Phoenix stadium. Both have white fiber material roofs. With the lights off and the roof closed is still bright inside. As far as air conditioning they have Chillars. Not really air but it makes the place nice and comfy. It goes beyond the summer and fall heat. Fans do not have to worry about sitting in pouring rain anymore either. Call me soft or whatever, don't care but the new line of stadiums are kick ***. No matter where you sit at Reliant or University of Phoenix, lower, middle upper every single seat has a great view. Sun Life is an open swamp of well, swamp. The situation in the parking lots is stupid too. If you have a mini cooper the place is great. Like I said, go to Reliant or Phoenix stadium, unreal.
I actually disagree with this. Football is the one sport where I rather sit in the upper deck because you see everything on the field so clearly. I sat at the 40 yard line in the upper deck at the Dolphins game in Baltimore 2 years ago and I loved it. You could see the entire field perfectly.
Been to Reliant a few times when I lived closer, and I agree, the stadium is great. I don't know if the Phins would be wise to build one the same scale as those arenas, but I think a roofed, AC'd building would help attendance. Ultimately, the record will need to improve to maintain it though. With Tannehill showing some decent signs, we might get there.
Having a good view from the uppers is not more important then the fans energy being close enough where the players feel it..enjoy your view rock but your team is suffering.
What about that proposal they keep throwing around, but can't get funded. Fewer seats, lower deck closer to the field, that sun-shade thing for the fans, but still open for the players, and the giant screens in each corner? I love the look in those mock-ups. Would seem to be best of both worlds? As for bad weather, been to my share of snow-freezing-ice-cold games in Buffalo and New England ... people still show up, and it's uncomfortable as hell. My GUESS in SoFla the problem is there is so much else to do. Not much to do in the Northeast once the leaves fall off the trees each Fall!
You spend that kind of money if you grew up with a Dad that bonded with you by being a an of the team. Going to games. If you are a first generation fan, you're used to watching at home anyways.
Could it have anything to do with all the transplants moving here and raising their kids with their own lame loyalties? Or what about 95% (exaggeration yes) of South Florida being infiltrated by Cubans and Hatians who don't speak engiish or care about american football?
I think that both team performance and the city's population demographics have a lot to do with the poor attendance of all of the Miami teams other than the Heat (the former point explains that). For comparison's sake, the immediate Salt Lake area has a few main draws: Utah Utes basketball, football, and gymnastics, the Salt Lake Bees, the Utah Blaze (Arena Football), the Utah Grizzlies (minor league hockey), Salt Lake Bees (minor league baseball), Utah Jazz, Real Salt Lake, and the BYU Cougars basketball, football, and volleyball. Last year, the only one of these teams that did not come close to selling out was the Ute basketball team--which was the worst team in university history. So that begs the question, why do people in Utah fill the seats for an average arena football team, when those in Miami don't care to see the former champion Dolphins, Hurricanes, or Marlins? As you said, the fan-base demographics, are a primary factor. In Utah, I'd just guess that 60-70% of the population was born and raised here and brought up in the culture of Utah. The remainder are typically composed of skiers and snowboarders (who generally like sports) and mormon transplants/converts, who, naturally, will root for their new home teams. From a Miami perspective, the dedication is unparalleled. You cannot imagine how badly Utah fans despise BYU, or to what end Jazz fans will boo the Lakers and Bulls. Perhaps the most surprising fact is that the most popular sports here, those through Utah and BYU, are all performed on dry campuses, in stadiums that do not permit alcohol. Wild, huh?
I brought up the cowboys example, and today I saw this posted.. http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2012/10/04/cowboys-lacking-home-field-advantage/ "Defensive end Jason Hatcher tried to be diplomatic recently when asked about the noise level. “No comment,” Hatcher said. “I got to tell the truth, but no comment.” “We just have to go out there and play football,” he added. “Whether they’re loud or not, whether we have a 12 man or not, it doesn’t mean nothing. We just have to go out there and play Cowboy football. Whether you come in there and you can hear a cricket farting, we just got to go in there and do what we got to do.” Their .538 winning percentage in their opulent palace is well off what they had at the old Texas Stadium (213-100, .681). Hes delusional. I stated on this board why I felt the cowboys would struggle at home, one being the architecture of the new one, but another being how old Texas stadium was a magical place to play interns of intimacy and atmosphere. Keep callin me crazy y'all..it's ok.
