The only thing that is going to bring people from Katy, Pearland, The Woodlands and Deer Park is if we are a winning PLAYOFF team or reach the NBA finals. Houston is a fairweather city with fairweather fans. They would much rather sit their fat asses in a lazy boy, the A/C on 70, a cold Miller Hi-Life in hand, and the 120" HDTV pumping out the game, than get in the car and drive downtown to watch a game. We win = more fans show up to games.
Not really. I am from Pearland and I go to as many games as possible. I dont care who they play...I just want to go to the game in person. I usually get the $14 tix and I am happy. Cant spend the rest of your life sitting on the couch
What's wrong with you?!! We paid for the d@mn arena!! If it wasn't for us, you probably won't have any Rockets games to watch for pass 3 seasons, So running your mouth on us!!
I've been to two games. But I can only go on weekends. I have to get up too early for work during the week. That's more of a problem for me than the money. ****, I can't even stay up long enough for the end of west coast away games.
Actually, unless you often stay in Houston hotels, or rent cars in Houston, then you DIDN'T pay for the arena... the tourists did. Just semantics... Speaking of the tax, did anybody else see the article about how the Sports Authority debt is being put on the credit watch list...? I guess not enough people are staying in the hotels or renting the cars fast enough... just wait till the Superbowl people.
Unfortunately the Rockets have priced themselves out of a large contingent of fans. That's simply the way that pro sports are these days. Blue collar fans like basketball, but they don't have the kind of budget to pay $30-40 for a piss poor upper level seat. Now I haven't been to the Toyota Center yet, but I imagine that beers are like $6, while hot dogs are about $3-4 each. So a family of four can spend close to $150-170 for a night at the new arena. That means your average blue collar worker or student cannot afford to attend any more than a handful of games at most. To make matters worse, fan support has hit an all time low for the Rockets. Most Houstonians don't even know our team. They know we've got a flashy guard and a big Asian center, but that's about it. Whereas, back in the mid-90's the Rockets were the toast of the town. Hakeem was seen as an icon, the chicks loved Horry and Mad Max, Clyde Drexler was the hometown hero, and Sam Cassell was the young and fearless clutch playmaker. Nowadays, it seems like people have all but forgotten about our pro basketball squad. Not surprisingly, the Texans have taken over as Houston's team. The Texans have a much better advertising campaign and much better citywide exposure. The Rockets had those stupid "Be Part of Something Big" billboards last year, while failing to meet the playoffs. Not to mention the piss poor commercial with Yao, the little girl who climbs the ladder, and the two power dances.
Good post! I would also like to add that the Texans do give the ticket buyer more value for their money as well. Most of my friends go to tail gate parties before the Texan games start. They tell me it is alot of fun to sit out, drink their OWN cheap beer and eat their own BBQ before heading into a Texan game. As such, the overall duration of a Texan experience is much longer than that of a Rockets experience. For the Rox, we just go in watch, and leave. Why would I as a Rockets fan want to pay $150 per head for 2 hrs of entertainment when I can pay the same amount and get maybe 5 hrs of fun? Also, the Texans have much fewer games so going to all of them is not as prohibitively expensive. Going to 30 Rox games at $150 a pop will put major hurts on one's wallet. And this doesn't even include the drinks and food.
I would see all Rockets games if I am in clutchcity.But now i am in china. I hope I can see yao in rockets game afer 3 years. Because yao would be 1st center in NBA.
I wish I could. I'm an out of town fan and I can't afford the ticket until I can find a job. Any job openning in Houston? It'll be great if I can get a job here and go to Rox game all season long.
is the dallas arena better then the rockets? to me it looks nicer and i really like the water shooters in the front.