People tell me why They cannot designate one game out of the season to the fans ( Hell even vs a Sorry team). And make all tickets same price so we can just see for once what it would be like to see a packed house... I mean it would be exciting for some of the regular fellas (including myself) to be screaming up and down at courtside.. Instead of some rich snobs doing nothing but sipping there beer with there legs crossed.
because they're making more money the other way. 3rd in revenues in the league since the new building was finished, poor attendance notwithstanding. selling drinks and dinner in the suite level. high end NBA experience. the game has changed. a packed house means less than it used to.
Personally I think the toyota center is just poorly located. Compaq center was in a prime spot and it was easy to get to. Downtown is just horrid to drive to for most people I know especially during a weekday. I used to go all the time when it was at the compaq center but now it's a hassle to fight through downtown construction and traffic to get there. That's just my reason why I don't go as much anymore I'm sure some feel the same way I do.
alot of the problem is because there is a large fan base that would go but cant go cause they either cant afford it, in school at the time, have to work shifts, or a combination of any of those.
the work/school/business of life problems are problems for all pro sports teams trying to draw. i think the biggest factor is the cost, frankly.
that presumes they won't sign anyone to replace them. but..doesn't matter. they've drawn 3 million fans twice. last year and in 2000. clemens wasn't here in 2000. they never got anywhere near that in the Astrodome. the downtown location is great. you have a built in fan base right there downtown...200K people work downtown and are in walking distance of your games after work.
I'm not familiar with baseball but aren't most games during the day? or late afternoon compared to basketball where it's during primetime and around traffic hours? I think that might have something to do with the attendance as well. Plus I think astros last season is an exception with beltran and clemens and pettite on the team but I think it's mostly just the hours you'd have to drive to get to rockets game and the location. But that's just from my experience with my small sample of friends. I can't speak for the entire town.
Baseball is a tough analogy to compare basketball to, they play 80 more games a season than the rockets...of course they're going to have A LOT higher attendance numbers. Price is probably the biggest reason followed by "corporate absenteeism."
they play 80 more games, sure. so look at attendance per game. they draw 35-37K per game. obviously, you couldn't draw that to basketball...a more intimate game with intimate arenas. that's fine. the point is merely that the downtown location isn't hurting the Rockets. i'm guessing attendance is actually UP from the final year in the Summit, but I could be wrong. downtown is the center of a lot of activity now. and again...for a corporate game like basketball, it's perfect given the workforce downtown at the end of every day. to whoever asked...most baseball games start at 7:05 p.m. on weeknights locally. there are just a few weekday day time games during the season.
i live in austin too and i've been to about three games. and everytime i'm home for a break or a weekend, i try to make it to a game. i don't know if the stats count the number of people that show up or the number tickets that are bought, but i know that a lot of the lower ring seats are bought out by businesses for clients and whatever, and a lot of times they don't even show up. there are a lot of true fans in the upper deck paying under 50 bucks per. i hate how the lower deck seats are always empty when i catch the rocks on tv. but the upper decks are usually pretty crowded from the times i've been to TC... and clutch the bear is awesome. he is ALWAYS entertaining.
Is attendance the same thing as purchased tickets? I bought my dad two half-season tickets, but he hasn't really been going. Sometimes, he'll sell them on eBay, but usually the seats remain empty. I'd go (like when I showed up for the last 1:30 of the Lakers v. Rockets game on Sunday after spending Saturday in New Orleans for a lame Mardi Gras), but I live in San Francisco.
This makes me sick..... Houston is such a huge city, to always see attendance near the bottom is ridiculous.
they're not always near the bottom. we sold out for over 3 consecutive seasons in the 90's. attendance was fine. but no NBA franchise continues to sell out when their team fails to make the playoffs over and over and over again. this franchise went 4 years being one of the teams that didn't make the playoffs. there will be ramifications at the gate for that, PARTICULARLY in bigger cities where there are more options. less true in smaller markets where the NBA is the only show in town (San Antonio and Salt Lake City, for example) the celts were in the ECF a few years back...Boston is heralded as the best sports city in the country...and their attendance sucks, too.
I for one don't worry too much about the low attendance... it just means that I never have to worry about not being able to get tickets!
