It's always been said that the lower bowl season tickets are bought up by downtown energy corporations for employees and schmoozing. The problem is that, if they even show up, nobody ever comes to the games on time and that's only for big name opponents.
This is a massive NEWSFLASH to people who have been around Houston for a while, but when teams win fans show up, and when they don't they don't. It's been the story of every single pro franchise in Houston for the past 40 years (at least).
They also sit in the bar areas that surround the lower deck...they're watching and talking, but not from their seats. Toyota Center was designed that way to maximize revenues....even if that means fans aren't in their seats.
Toyoda Center hasn't been built yet. They're still deciding whether it should be for the Techsons or the Rockess.
I went to the Mavs game last week. First game in a long time. There is still nothing impressive about Toyota Center. What irked me the most was that they only opened the doors 1 hour before scheduled tip-off (was a 6 pm game). I had it timed perfectly with the Astros-Yankees game that had just finished and still had to wait inexplicably out there while they were trying to have some sad activities/stations/kids stuff around the entrance that would rival a lower school carnival. When the doors finally opened, I could maybe see why they don't care to have people try to go in early. Hardly any merchandise stores or memorabilia areas, the bar/club area by the lower bowl seats was basically just that... mediocre food, high priced "standard" liquor/drink options, and even if I wanted to just stand up there and schmooze and watch the game from afar... you can't really see the court 'that' well from those spaces. Just a total lackluster experience (getting blown out by the Mavs didn't help). The DJ and in game stuff wasn't bad... but when its not a great game and the fans aren't that into it, it was just meh. Minute Maid Park still by far the best fan experience, club level experience, team store experience, and variety of unique food/drink options hands down between all Houston sports venues. Sometimes I wish the Astros games didn't feature a team trying to win a championship so I may be able to walk around and enjoy those amenities more.
Yep, looks like nothing has changed. Last time I went there for a game was over 10 years ago. There have been many threads on this discussion and it's just beating a dead horse. https://bbs.clutchfans.net/search/148290513/?q=attendance&o=relevance&c[title_only]=1&c[node]=9 Since they left the Summit, the entertainment setup for fans for the Rockets has gone downhill and it's still the worst in the league.
I don’t disagree with any of this. The concessions are a massive steps-down from The Summit which featured Pappasito’s, Pappa’s Seafood House, Earl Campbell’s Sausage House, Whataburger, etc. The experience is way less intimate. I like the location for the most part, as there’s an inherent advantage to being downtown…but the overall arena experience isn’t super.
because of tailgating. People can party for an entire day for a football game. I always found it odd the Dynamo don’t allow it
I watched the Magic broadcast last night because they don't have Ryan Hollins, and the announcers made fun of how empty our arena was - even on Fan Appreciation Night. When Orlando is mocking your city, it's bad.
Untrue. 1. The Astros are one of the only teams in the city to win a title and do to so within the last 20 years 2. The Texans season attendance was God-awful this past season, so much so that the players complained about it... I feel like McAfee mentioned that JJ should buy some tickets and pass them out at the stadium pre-game. If that garnered that sort of national media attention, I know people within the city knew what was up as well. The Rockets just need to at least make some type of playoff to garner some sort of fan attendance recognition. Next season it will improve just like with the Texans.
True but I've always thought there should be a policy to let fans go down to lower unfilled seats in the 4th quarter if they desire. Plus all the tickets are electronic now, its not like it would be impossible to monitor which seats are not sold and alert fans in the upper decks that they have been randomly chosen to move down. It could even be a perk for fans who go to more games like a reward system. There are definitely solutions to these types of issues, it is just that the powers that be don't care.
The entire experience needs to change. In fact the only "unique/non-generic" aspect Toyota Center has is the upper deck 'sky court' experience. Nothing exists on the lower bowl. In fact it may have been slightly better when the arena first opened. Nothing has changed/evolved/been added since then.
I think the problem is, what happens if you let someone sit in a seat because the ticket holder isn’t there….and then the ticket holder shows up late? Happens a lot. The franchise’s primary goal is driving revenues….if it was about creating intense support in the arena, tickets wouldn’t be so expensive. The NBA and NHL are corporate events…complete with tax write offs for “entertaining.”
Agreed 1000%. The Summit was as generic/cookie-cutter from a building standpoint... but they continued to make the fan experience better each/every year... whether it was the in-game presentation, the concessions, the live band/music, or the intros/starting lineups... at some point, somebody wanted to ensure all fans were going to be taken care of by this 'experience' even if the team was shitty. The Astros replicated a lot of that in 2000 when they built MMP. It didn't take much coming from the concrete warehouse feel the Astrodome was providing, but they've continued to add new fan areas, places to watch the game, new concessions, bringing in local restaurants/etc. You don't have to have a championship team to make the arena experience much better. Whether it was Les just wanting to have a place where he could finally be the one charging rent and not the Tennant... or Fertitia just looking for a place where he can oversell his restaraunt/casino brand... there is just zero effort being put in to the Toyota Center. Its also now more than 20 years old and is badly in need of both exterior and interior facelifts. I know there was some posts here about recent renovations/etc that have happened over the last few years. Unfortunately I saw nothing different last week when I was there (I think its more locker-room stuff, training area stuff... good for the team but not much added for the fans).
My thought would be a 4th quarter thing only. It could easily be part of the tickets fine print/contract that if they show up in the 4th quarter, they may not get their exact seat. Also I wouldn't expect this type of thing to be needed against say "big name opponents" or playoff games, because people do tend to show up for those games. Just the meh games that if someone doesn't show up by the 4th quarter, they are probably not showing up. It is a variation of seating for many play/musical/ballet performances where they close the doors an only let people come in at specified times. There are some that won't even let people come in if they are late. If they really want to, they could even "excuse" courtside seats that often bought by celebs so that group can do whatever they want. It's not like their policy has to be "fair and evenhanded" for everyone. They are allowed to make the rules whatever they want.
at the end of the day, this is actually what happens. Put out a winning product and people will show up here. And if you're not that good, they won't. Houston is without a doubt known to have an abundance of fairweather/bandwagon fans. It is what it is. Texans attendance sucked when they sucked. stros attendance sucked when they suck. When the rockets suck so will their attendance. nobody gave af about UH basketball prior to KS. Now they are consistently one of the go to events in houston. UH football was thriving years ago with the Herman/Ed Oliver days with electric packed games. Now that they've gone back to stinking it up the last couple of years, nobody goes to their games nor do people care. if Coach Fritz, turns the program around people will come
