Perception of Dolans vs Attendance

[ajz20]

I mean you arent wrong with overall prices compared to how much regular people earn nowadays. The problem is when you pay players millions upon millions you have to be able to earn that back and then some as an owner. Only way to fix this issue is stop showing up/stop buying tickets in general, but that will never happen so in no way will the prices ever go down until then. It's a sad world in a sense when it's a mini vacation price for some to go to a local sporting event.

Also wanted to point out that without a salary cap ticket prices are not going to decline anytime soon. Some markets can deal with those prices much better then others. There are some hardcore fan bases in New York Boston, Chicago and St. Louis and a few other other places but a decent amount of the ticket buyer in the year 2020 is probably more of a casual baseball fan than 30 to 40 years ago. A family of four can Also easily get their baseball fix by going to a minor league game too.
Some franchises are also more fan friendly and creative about getting people to go to games in April and early May before the weather turns for the best.

For me with my time, I just can’t follow or invest the time in a 162 game season like I did in my twenties either. Whole lot going on with why there are plenty of empty seats in stadiums across the country. It is not just a cle issue.

 

[Benway]

Even With a salary cap, ticket prices are not going to decline until demand declines. They've never been tied to salary; salary has been tied to revenues. Tickets will continue to meet the market regardless.
A salary cap would, however, cause profits to explode for teams in the top markets. (Not that this is ever going to happen.)

 

[PPark]

I believe both take hits warranted and unwarranted because of the way MLB does business.

 

[secretasianman]

personally, i consider the dolans some of the best owners in MLB - their front office is respected and other teams poach our staff. they've made mistakes, but they've learned. their biggest mistake was showing their naivete in expressing expectations of competing in cycles. the haters haven't stopped howling even though every team in MLB has gone through cycles since the dolans took ownership. the haters who seem to think rich people have nothing better to do than waste their money entertaining the haters don't necessarily represent a majority opinion because well balanced people who understand how the world actually works don't post their opinions ad nauseum. but even so, now the dolans are going to try and reboot without tanking - and with their ability to replenish starting pitching and a little luck with international scouting, they have a good chance of remaining competitive.

baseball has a number of disadvantages compared to the other major professional sports. one of the most significant is the average age of the fan base. enough of them are old enough to be out of the target demographic for advertisers. that affects TV/RADIO revenue. today's younger ADHD crowd can't be bothered to watch an entire game. even at games, the pace of the game is such that they're typically on their smartphones and happy to watch replays on those phones. the indians FO understands this, which prompted them to try and accommodate these types with the space behind RF. besides the slower pace of the game - i mean a couple of hours might go by before a team scores - baseball is not played with a time clock. that makes it difficult to schedule broadcasts and ensure that all purchasers of advertising time get their money's worth as well as ensuring the rest of their programming remains on schedule. that's why MLB is trying to change the rules to eliminate down time, such as the reliever 3 batter rule, which is also likely to result in more offense. it is what it is.

 

[BMAN]

Please for the love of god put the attendance talk into here.

 

[DCTribefan]

Not sure I agree with the “suburb” factor as a reason for lagging attendance in Cleveland. Public transportation to games IMO is used to avoid horrific traffic congestion to which I can personally attest in DC having lived in the Virginia suburbs for 30+ years. That level of traffic disincentive simply doesn’t exist in Cleveland.

Nor does downtown livability play a major role in attendance. Cities with 5,000 downtown residences (likely a high number in most metropolitan areas) would probably not result in much of an attendance bump despite its perceived attractiveness to some millennials.

A bigger factor in declining attendance is the area’s slow and steady economic and demographic decline. A smaller pot of people and discretionary income is an ongoing handicap to Guardians‘attendance.

 

[DCTribefan]

Please for the love of god put the attendance talk into here.

Done

 

[AZ_]

 

[Out of the Rafters at the Q]

Not sure I agree with the “suburb” factor as a reason for lagging attendance in Cleveland. Public transportation to games IMO is used to avoid horrific traffic congestion to which I can personally attest in DC having lived in the Virginia suburbs for 30+ years. That level of traffic disincentive simply doesn’t exist in Cleveland.

Nor does downtown livability play a major role in attendance. Cities with 5,000 downtown residences (likely a high number in most metropolitan areas) would probably not result in much of an attendance bump despite its perceived attractiveness to some millennials.

A bigger factor in declining attendance is the area’s slow and steady economic and demographic decline. A smaller pot of people and discretionary income is an ongoing handicap to Guardians‘attendance.

It's okay that you don't agree. You're wrong and hopefully we can lead you to the light.

Option A: Drive yourself down to the game. Deal with traffic getting in. Stress out driving around looking for parking. Pay for gas. Pay $30 for parking. Don't drink much at the game because you eventually have to drive home. Debate leaving early to beat the traffic. At the end of the night when you're exhausted, you still have to drive back home, dealing with traffic getting out of the parking garage and out of downtown.

Option B: Get on the metro, have it drop you off at the ballpark. Go fucking nuts. Stumble back on the metro and have it take you home. Zero hassle, probably costs you 5 bucks.

Option B is significantly more appealing.

You don't need LA or DC traffic to make option A a hassle--even though it would make the option significantly worse.

 

[AZ_]

It's okay that you don't agree. You're wrong and hopefully we can lead you to the light.

Option A: Drive yourself down to the game. Deal with traffic getting in. Stress out driving around looking for parking. Pay for gas. Pay $30 for parking. Don't drink much at the game because you eventually have to drive home. Debate leaving early to beat the traffic. At the end of the night when you're exhausted, you still have to drive back home, dealing with traffic getting out of the parking garage and out of downtown.

Option B: Get on the metro, have it drop you off at the ballpark. Go fucking nuts. Stumble back on the metro and have it take you home. Zero hassle, probably costs you 5 bucks.

Option B is significantly more appealing.

You don't need LA or DC traffic to make option A a hassle--even though it would make the option significantly worse.

Option C, stay home and watch the game on a massive television from the comfort of your favorite room.

But seriously, option B is the easiest choice ever. Most people simply aren't interested in public transport or can't take themselves out of their comfort zone to utilize it.

 

[Out of the Rafters at the Q]

Option C, stay home and watch the game on a massive television from the comfort of your favorite room.

Easy choice for suburbanites.

It's what I do now (although the projector might win over the TV today. We'll see)

Although, the greatest option is Option D: Walk over to the game, walk back to your apartment. Feel free to hit up any restaurants/bars downtown as you see fit.

 

[petes999]

And, here is the antithesis of how MLB is working with networks to increase their audience ... Yes, they got they $$$$ from ESPN to show the games over the next 3 days. However, ESPN is going to have a 3 hr college football pregame show on just a normal Sat and today when you switch over to ESPN just 1 hour before the series of games, they are still on First Take doing football topics (and most audience members are decked out in football jerseys).

Kind of like yesterday our local radio doing football during prime time vs baseball topics. It is no wonder baseball is dying -- if you can't get interest for the new WC games, you can get the extra $$$$ but get no excitement built up for it on national basis.

 

[33Y0]

Imagine that... when you treat your STH like crap... they aren't gonna come back. Quite simple.

 

[sportscoach]

And, here is the antithesis of how MLB is working with networks to increase their audience ... Yes, they got they $$$$ from ESPN to show the games over the next 3 days. However, ESPN is going to have a 3 hr college football pregame show on just a normal Sat and today when you switch over to ESPN just 1 hour before the series of games, they are still on First Take doing football topics (and most audience members are decked out in football jerseys).

Kind of like yesterday our local radio doing football during prime time vs baseball topics. It is no wonder baseball is dying -- if you can't get interest for the new WC games, you can get the extra $$$$ but get no excitement built up for it on national basis.

It's playoff time! Get baseball on!!!

 

[DCTribefan]

It's okay that you don't agree. You're wrong and hopefully we can lead you to the light.

Option A: Drive yourself down to the game. Deal with traffic getting in. Stress out driving around looking for parking. Pay for gas. Pay $30 for parking. Don't drink much at the game because you eventually have to drive home. Debate leaving early to beat the traffic. At the end of the night when you're exhausted, you still have to drive back home, dealing with traffic getting out of the parking garage and out of downtown.

Option B: Get on the metro, have it drop you off at the ballpark. Go fucking nuts. Stumble back on the metro and have it take you home. Zero hassle, probably costs you 5 bucks.

Option B is significantly more appealing.

You don't need LA or DC traffic to make option A a hassle--even though it would make the option significantly worse.

I don’t agree with you so I’m wrong? Really? Have you ever taken public transportation to a sporting event? I have in Washington, Chicago, Oakland, among many towns. Doubtful you have or you wouldn’t argue in favor of it. If your idea of hassle free is waiting 30 minutes for a subway/train car to have enough room to squeeze into then have drunks breathing in your face for another 30+ minutes ride, so be it. You have a higher tolerance level than I. But hey, keep feeding your narrative so you feel better.

Why not consider Option C: fewer argumentative posts?