Do you like this guy yet?

1. The Summit is the smallest arena in the NBA, so while it may have the least attendance, it might not have the least %age of tickets sold. The Summit might sell the least tickets, but it might not be the "emptiest" arena. Anybody wanna do the math and divide each team's attendance by its arena capacity?

2. This article (and all the other articles about attendance) talks attendance in terms of "tickets sold", as opposed to "a$$es in seats". We may have more "a$$es in seats" than other teams that "sell more tickets". (i.e. fewer Rox tix go unused than tix for other teams)

Where can I find the "a$$es in seats" numbers for NBA attendance? The Summit looks "fuller" to me than some other arenas (particularly Atlanta). I remember reading about an Atlanta game (no cite, sorry) where ~11k tickets were sold, but people were estimating that there were only 2 or 3k "a$$ses in seats".

We may sell the least number of tickets, but, Can anybody prove that we have less "a$$ses in seats" than all the other teams?

Typical rabid-homer defensiveness, I know.

""Any time you see more green -- not money, but seats -- than you see fans, people look around and see there's not a lot of fans here, it's hard to motivate yourself."

Steve's comments do frustrate me, though. I shout as loud as I can at every game, and Steve's still upset with the fans.

I hope Steve's just trying to fire up the fans, trying to get people to show up.

 

What in that article comes off as resentment towards the fans to you? Because I dont see any. He just realizes fans aren't going to come see a team play, if they give performances like they did against the heat and clippers. If anything, he is saying he if frustrated that the rockets cant put a consistent winning product on the court at home, and he wants that to change.I cheer as loud as I can too when I go to a game, but a few loud fans doesnt make a good crowd. Those screams have to turn into a roar.

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What in that article comes off as resentment towards the fans to you?

Nothing at all. I just said I was frustrated.

"people look around and see there's not a lot of fans here, it's hard to motivate yourself"

I'm doing my part. I've been to every game, and shouted enough "DE-FENSE" for five or six NBA fans (or fifty or sixty Summit fans). I've invested a great deal of emotion, time, and money in going to Rockets games. I do all I can to shout, cheer, boo the refs, do everything I can to try to motivate the players.

So I'm frustrated. I can't do any more attending or any more shouting. Still, Steve wants more fan support.

All I can do is beg and plead for more people to come out to games. So, PLEASE, come out and see more Rocket home games.

That said, I want someone to argue with me about my points "1." and "2." above. Come on!

 

I agree with you pretty much for on your points. When I'm at the games, it doesnt seem like we have a small crowd.Also, I agree we do fill a high percentage of the arena. The problem is there are alot of passive fans at the games, who don't cheer alot, and look at you oddly when they see you yellin at the top of your lungs.

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I agree low attendence doesn't mean low sales percentage.

Last night I was watching the 76ers vs. Nugz game (while primarily watching Hakeem ERUPT in the NY game). I was just surprised how empty the Philly arena was when the Philly is one of the top teams in the league. The bad thing was the seats in the arena are so colorful that you must notice the emptiness.

Low attendence is not just the Rockets' problem. It's been a league-wide one. It's just so happened that the Summit (good name!) is the smallest arena that its sales have to be low.

I think the NY game will have the fans a change of mind, just like Dream's.

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Well, I done some researchin', most of this data is from ESPN.com so if its wrong, don't b**** at me :

<u>Arena Capacity Percentages</u>
Rockets : 77.1%
Nets : 63%
Clippers : 70%
Detroit : 65.5%
Atlanta : 70%

All this is baased on tickets sold, and I only checked 10 teams - Houston, Clippers, Detroit, Indy, Lakers, Sac., Philly, NY, NJ and Atlanta.

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The Rockets will be the NBA champions. Believe.

[This message has been edited by Puedlfor (edited February 06, 2001).]

[This message has been edited by Puedlfor (edited February 06, 2001).]

 

tpl, "The problem is there are alot of passive fans at the games, who don't cheer alot, and look at you oddly when they see you yellin at the top of your lungs."

Absolutely right. In our section, most of the regular season ticket holders are totally passive. Sparse applause, no shouting. And that's the upper prom. In the lower prom, NO ONE cheers at all. No one. The fans closest to the players, in the center lower prom are the passive-est fans ever.

puedlfor, thanks for doing that math. Our arena ISN'T the emptiest. Take that, TheFreak.

Now I'm on the hunt for the a$$es in seats numbers. The best cite I found so far is from the lockout year. (Sorry for the nasty google cached URL)


"#12 NO-SHOWS AFFECTING NBA? The National Basketball Association claims attendance at games is down only slightly this year despite a lengthy lockout of players, but the NBA measures attendance by tickets sold, and doesn't account for "no shows" -- people who have tickets but don't attend games. Every team and the league refused to provide actual attendance figures. SportsBusiness Journal obtained those figures for three teams -- the Charlotte Hornets, the Houston Rockets and the Orlando Magic -- and they indicate total attendance could be almost 600,000 fewer than announced. The Hornets had 29,600 no-shows through the first eight home games -- 3,700 a game -- including about 8,000 for a game with the Boston Celtics (SPORTSBUSINESS JOURNAL, 3/15). While the no-shows have paid for tickets, they represent lost revenues for concessions and parking -- $4,600 a game for parking for the Hornets. The Hornets announced attendance averaged 23,405 for the 1997-98 season, compared to 18,658 through the first eight home games this season, a 20 percent drop."

[This message has been edited by jamcracker (edited February 07, 2001).]

 

USA Today 12/16/00

"NBA teams use tickets sold as their attendance tracker, not how many people actually go to games, so the arenas look even more empty. The problem of no-shows is one Stern is working to eliminate, the commissioner has said.

Among the most glaring examples of bloated attendance figures occurs in Chicago, where the Bulls are averaging an NBA-best 21,769 fans for each home game, the NBA said. The United Center is often half empty when the 3-19 Bulls play.

And I found that Atlanta quote too (11/9/00):

'The official attendance - no projections or exit polls here - to see the Magic fall 96-90 to the Hornets was listed as 12,617. But judging by the empty seats and empty rows in the four corners of an arena with a capacity of 17,248, the actual turnstile count might have been a thousand or so less.'

'No, this wasn't as bad as when the Magic played last weekend in Atlanta. Although the attendance that night was announced as 13,833, coach Doc Rivers later told five reporters who rarely cover the team on the road that "you could have made it 2,005 fans in the crowd" had they made the trip. '

Enough anecdotal evidence. I want some hard numbers for a$$es in seats.

 

I don't see that the percentage filled means anything. It may make it look better since the arena is smaller, but it's the total that counts. As far as Houston possibly having less people that actually bought a ticket staying at home, well, I suppose that's at least something to be happy about.

 

Sure it means something. It matters to the players, since all they see is empty seats or filled seats. Most of the players have said themselves that is more fun to play for a packed house rather than an empty one. And these figures show that the Rockets arena is much more "packed" than many other teams of lesser quality.

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"Of course, everything looks bad if you remember it!"
Homer Simpson

 

another way to look at this is attendance vs urban population.

hell If the 4th largest city in the Us has the lowest attendance, than that is sad. the clipps and nets are off the hook because they are competing for the love of the fans in their respective cities, but chicago, just like houston should be ashamed

Im sure sacramento sells out, and minnisota. they are both tiny cities.


in a city of 4,000,000

you have 33,000 people staying home for every 1 person goint to the game. that is just sad. the networks should blackout the games on your local tv




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Hanta-Force Paintball
www.hanta-force.com

 

Fockass to blackout talk!

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Sometimes you gotta do the next best thing!

 

What should the NBA care if they sold x-tens of thousands of tickets and only x-thousands showed up?? They got their money and for the tickets and after all isn't it all about the money anyway?

rH