Well, I just happen to have the latest issue of Street & Smith's Sports Business Journal. Let's examine NBA attendance, shall we? Disclaimer: I suck in math. I am not a statistician. Don't flame me for flawed analysis... Thesis: Rockets attendance is BAD. (Yes, I AM Captain Obvious...) Proof: The Rockets, through 7 games, are down 3.6% in attendance when compared to last year's average. 70.0% of Compaq Center is filled (on average) through those games. The Rockets are averaging 11,405 fans per game. For the league as a whole, attendance is down 0.7%, and percentage of seats occupied on any given night is 83.6%. Average attendance is 16,137 fans per game. When compared to the league averages, the Rockets don't appear to look that horrendous. After all, they're not the worst in attendance change. Here are a few that are worse: Charlotte Hornets (4 games)- 30.8% decline in attendance, 53.7% of seats filled New Jersey Nets (6 games) - 20.8% decline, 49.2% of seats filled Chicago Bulls (4 games) - 18.8% decline, 81.7% of seats filled Seattle SuperSonics (5 games) - 17.5% decline, 76.7% of seats filled Atlanta Hawks (4 games) - 16.0% decline, 62.6% of seats filled Phoenix Suns (7 games) - 12.2% decline, 80.5% of seats filled In fact, compared to every other team in the league, 11 teams have seen bigger declines in attendance than the Rockets. However, this data is misleading because of the comparison with last year's average. (For example, it's hard to go up in attendance if you filled 98% of the seats last year. Minnesota is filling 88% of their arena, yet attendance is down 1.6%.) Therefore, this stat is more or less useless when comparing 2 or more teams (but good for comparing one team's 2-year attendance level). I prefer to use attendance average and % of seats filled as a more telling sign of diminished Rocketball fan support. The Rocks have the third worst attendance average in the league (with New Jersey and Charlotte being the worst). However, once again, this is teeny bit misleading because of the differing arenas and their total seat capacity. No matter what, though, this is just putrid. I like the stat of capacity % because this stat is easier to compare to other teams, no matter how big or small arenas are. Houston is tied (with Denver and Memphis) for fourth worst in % of seats filled. This is dismal. On the other hand, the Lakers, Knicks, TrailBlazers, Kings, and Wizards are all averaging sellouts (with Philly right there at 99.2% capacity filled). Conclusion: Although, in Houston, attendance is down only 3.6% from last year's numbers, when compared to the rest of the league, Rockets average support at games is very close to the bottom of the league. Yes, it may be too early in the season for an analysis, but you still can't deny the numbers so far. Solution: Go to more Rockets games. Tell your friends. Beg your parents. Surprise your neighbors with tickets. Just do something.
I'm surprised that Chicago is still filling over 80% of the seats with fannies. I would imagine that Miami, Charlotte and NJ are all behind us in overall capacity %.
The thing is Compaq Center is really old. When we get our new arena, attendance will boost up like crazy. Same thing happened for the Houston Astros.
Charlotte being bad is not surprising at all, given that the team has basically dissed the whole city. What's up with New Jersey though? They're off to the best start they've had since, well, ever (seems like) and they're down 20%? Perhaps because the data is only though 6 games. Is NJ any more excited about their team now? I imagine all the bandwagoners in the greater NY area should be dropping the Knicks and watching the more talented NJ team right about now.
I don't think the stadium alone is enough reason to come to a basketball game -- the playing arena has a lot more attraction in baseball than it does in basketball. For one part, EFUS is a really awesome place -- it's just a great place to watch baseball, and good tickets are SO MUCH cheaper. But in baseball, the actual field effects the play -- the dimensions of each stadium are different, and that gives each field its own uniqueness. For basketball, even though each stadium may have certain items that stand out, they do not effect the game in the same way, and the focus is not on the field so much as the actual play.
