Why is it so expensive to go to a game at toyota center ? When watching our team play on T.V it looks like no one comes to watch. When you go to a game majority of the time the upper-deck is packed or close to it. Where is the home-court advantage ? Majority of the true fans can't afford to pay premium pricing every game. Makes me kinda of sad
Believe it or not, most of the empty seats you see on TV are sold. Most are bought by companies for various purposes, while others are held by people so rich that they can pay for expensive seats, then not care whether they miss most of the games. My favorite is the guy who shows up with his wife and two kids, when its obvious that neither the wife nor the kids are paying attention to the game. He's just got that much cash that he doesn't care. The average fan really is priced out of the prime seats. Many fans can't even afford to sit in the lower deck far behind the baskets. I go to about 2 games a year and pay for the good seats. I could go to more games and sit waaay up on top of the double stack of luxury boxes, but that view is so bad that I'd rather save my money for a few seats downstairs and watch from home. I really feel detached from the game in the upper deck because it's so high and the court is relatively small (compared to baseball or football). I find it pointless. At Compaq, you used to be able to buy cheap seats, then sneak down to a big empty patch of seats downstairs. But the layout of the Toyota Center is designed to defeat such moves by limiting access points, then posting ushers (guards) at those points. The result is one of the worst home courts in all of sports. But Les still gets paid either way.
the funny thing is the toyota center is paid for by the tax payers and its one of the most expensive ticket pricings in the nba
Ironically, the likelihood that someone will actually bother to attend the game they paid for is directly and inversly proportional to amount paid for the ticket. The more people pay, the less likely they are to attend.
This doesn't happen in MSG, because even the rich people there had to work to make their money. Some Texans just got rich because oil was found in their backyard.
I'd like to sit in the lower deck but I'm not about to pay that kind of money. But I do enjoy sitting up in the 2nd level. They are reasonable prices and I think the view is pretty good. But I went to a Dallas/Laker game at American Line Center about a month ago and I left upset b/c of the fact that it is a much better arena, atmosphere, and prices as well than what the Rockets provide. Sitting in the 2nd deck at the Rocket games is a bore fans are just like the fans in the first level. Quiet and motionless. At a Dallas game. I was vocaly cheering for the Lakers along with some buddies and drunken trash talking all in fun. If that was in Houston I bet we would have been ask to quiet down or booted out. They gotta work on some stuff. But Ill throw out 30 dollars or so to catch a game every once in a while its not a bad deal.
We have 2 of the most interesting players in the league and still JVG's boring product drives customers away. You can't give away free tickets in my office. Non-fans who take the free tickets complain later that they feel ripped off. Of course, the cost with parking and concessions for a non-fan group of 2-4 is somewhere around $ 50.00, even with the "free" tickets. There's just not going to be a lot of people who didn't follow basketball converted to become return buyers. People are driven away. There is no excitement at the game. I have to say The Summit was far superior - more excitement, less stratification and isolation, better views, free parking, better traffic management and access, lower prices. Toyota Center sucks and the Rockets brass sucks and the game is boring. No wonder they can't sell.
I have season tickets in Section 113. When I get to the game before the 1st quarter or during the first quarter, the usher always checks tickets. But starting in the 2nd quarter, they stop asking to see your ticket. So you could come down, just not in the 1st quarter. Don't even look at the usher, just walk by them like you know where you're going.
I have partial season tickets in sec 114 and have had them since the TC opened. Being the homer that I am i like the Toyota Center. However, I must say the atmosphere in there definately needs some work. My wife is from San Antonio and going to game in the sbc center is a totally different experience. Granted they are at their peak right now, but the fact that the middle section is filled up makes a huge difference. At the TC what drains the atmosphere is that the club level seats are rountinely empty. The upper deck is always filled and the times I have sat up there I have had a good time. One more thing that ticks me off is the fact, that all of the giveaways are given to the people in the most expensive seats. The last thing people in the club seats need is a five dollar bill taped to the back of a frisbee. I am done.
I have season tix in the upper deck. The view is not bad. The atmosphere is garbage. I am a big sports fan, so I prefer going to watch a crappy bball game than paying 10 bucks to see a movie. To cut costs, you should invest in a nice flask. I take one to most games that fits in my back pocket, fill it with my liquor of choice for the game, and buy a soda to put it in once I get there! 7 dollars a beer, you must be kidding. With a flask, even if we suck I still have fun
having sat in those really expensive seats thanks to my cousin who's company owner has season tickets, most of those people down there really don't care. you sit there and cheer or yell at stromile for missing layups or tell gundy he sucks and people look at you like you're crazy. sorry for being a fan and interested in the outcome of a game. me and one other guy in the entire section were the only people to yell to either cheer or jeer. it was pathetic.
They're not called "stuffed shirts" for nothing. Might as well post 'em at the edges of the cornfields.
