Dunno if this was posted or not but can we say L A W S U I T waiting to happen. NEW YORK (AP) - A long-planned NFL experiment with on-field seating will begin Sunday with the Jacksonville at Minnesota game. Four field seats for each game will be made available. The host teams, all of which volunteered to conduct the experiment, will choose which fans will sit in chairs located 12 yards from the sideline and not near bench areas. The home teams also will choose exactly where the seats are located. The other games in the experiment will be the New York Giants at Washington on Dec. 5, Houston at Chicago on Dec. 19 and New England at Miami on Monday night, Dec. 20. The league is not backing off from the experiment in the wake of the melee between players and fans at last Friday's NBA game in Auburn Hills, Mich. The experiment was proposed more than a year ago and discussed at the owners' meetings last May. A memo to all 32 teams was sent in August seeking volunteers to conduct the experiment. "We will use these experiments to evaluate the polices to govern the concept, issues such as security, football operations, broadcast operations, access to concession stands and rest rooms," said NFL spokesman Greg Aiello. Steve LaCroix, Vikings vice president of sales and marketing, said four corporate sponsors or franchise guests will sit on the visitor's side toward one of the end zones Sunday. They will be partially enclosed in a padded box and will sit on recliners with small TVs and cup holders. "We have the space at our facility, whereas a lot of other facilities don't," LaCroix said. LaCroix also said the seats could benefit the Vikings if the NFL goes through with the plan. "Certainly we're revenue challenged in the Metrodome, so that could be a potential benefit," he said.
i gotta say...watching a game like that would not be my first choice...i like having a bit of height so i can see plays develop. worst place to watch a game?? the sideline!
I'd prefer they hook my chair up like the camera that hovers over the field or whatever.... so I can fly over the field
They actually used to have floor seating at Oilers games in the early 90's. It wasn't on the "field"... but on the concrete right next to the field (remember.... the dome's carpet didn't extend over the entier floor when it was in the football configuration). I remember going to the game against the Steelers, where they clinched their first ever AFC Central championship... and we sat in one of these seats. The view was fine when the game was on that side of the endzone (they had these seats in the four corners of the floor)... but when they were on the other side, forget about being able to see anything. (we just looked up at the jumbotron). It was kinda cool, though, to see the players as they walked by you to the lockeroom... and being close enough to the field to touch the fake turf...
Needless to say, this wouldn't work for NBA games, where even the first few rows of regular seats might need to be off limits... It sounds like a silly gimmick, regardless. I was in the Rice (University) band on and off for years and have seen a lot of games from the first row or actually standing on the sideline. (or standing on the wall, or climbing over it... still can't believe they've let me get away with that) It's not exactly on the 50 yardline either. If a team scores at the other end, you can't even see it. You wait and watch their teammates and fans celebrate and that's the first you know about it.
VERY true. I watched the Texan/J(f)ags game from the sideline this year. You can't see anything. Well, anything but the cheerleaders....which ain't a bad thing. Come to think of it, best place to watch a game?? The sideline behind the cheerleaders
