Time to revisit the attendance concerns

[soxfan420]

You wait until you move to Chicago.  Even then you still have no right to b**** about the attendance.

are you even a sox fan or a lonley little boy?

[Gene Honda Civic]

 

Wahhh.. The attendance is only up 11%

 

 

STFU

[soxfan420]

I will answer you in the form of a question, a la Jeopardy...

 

Why bother worrying about the attendance when you f***ing live on the west coast?  Does it hurt your feelings that badly when the park is not full when you are watching Sox games from your home?

 

By the way, I have a Minnie Plan with my girlfriend and go to many other games and I still don't give a s*** if other people go to the games or not.

 

he is worried because no fans=no money

[soxfan420]

And #2 is the entire reason this thread is pointless.

so skip over this thread god knows i have to do it to all your posts 99% of the times.

[WHarris1]

 

Wahhh.. The attendance is only up 11%

STFU

/end of thread

[Yossarian]

OK, I have read the whole thread.  Actually I think it's one of the better threads recently.

 

Commentary on the thread

 

1.  Attendance is a legit topic to discuss.  There is a direct correlation to revenue vs. what the White Sox spend on payroll.  They run the team as a zero sum operation and have increased payroll steadily.  Steff knows all the numbers by heart.

 

2.  I disagree with bashing the guy who started the thread.  Yes, the topic is somewhat worn out but so is Timo bashing, Crede bashing, Ozzie bashing, etc.  Since everything is fair game on this site, so is discussion of attendance.

 

3.  For the "you don't go to games so you have no right to b**** about attendance" crowd:  B.S.  He brought it up for discussion vs. b****ing about it.  Everybody has their reasons for going or not going to games.  We are all fans.  Anything about the franchise is fair game to discuss.  Maybe this guy goes to Sox road games in California.  Part of the gate always goes to the visiting team anyway.  It's a very small portion but that is the case.

 

4.  b****ing about attendance (if he is indeed b****ing) is no different than b****ing about anything.  He presented the argument very well, to say he isn't entitled or qualified to b**** about attendance is ludicrous.  The same goes for all of you who b**** about Timo ad nauseum, what makes you qualified to b**** about that?  Because you are a fan, and it's a relevant topic to the Chicago White Sox.  Stop the elitism crap.  I have probably been to more Chicago White Sox games in my lifetime than almost everyone here, save for Steff and quickman and possibly a few others. When I didn't live here I went to their road games (Anaheim and Milwaukee) and traveled in whenever I could.  Attendance and lack thereof has been an issue since I can remember and that dates to the mid 1960's.

 

How to Increase Attendance

 

1.  First of all it will not be an overnite thing.  Attendance is on the upswing as Mike stated in his post.  IMO the casual fan is beginning to notice (rediscover?) the White Sox.  People like to do the "in" thing.  The Sox are becoming more "in" but this never changes overnite.  It took the Cubs 20 years to become the "in" thing (from early/mid 60's to the mid 1980's).  The PR people need to keep pressing forward and doing the promotions they do.  Over time it will make a difference.

 

2.  Continue redeveloping the neighborhood.  I grew up there.  There's a mistaken impression about Bridgeport, people hang onto old stories and draw conclusions.  Talk to some housewives in Naperville, they think Bridgeport is a slum.  Then take them to a few establishments in Bridgeport and watch them go "wow ... this is not that bad, this is kinda nice".  Word of mouth is very powerful.  They are cleaning up Halsted St. big time, that will help.

 

3.  The White Sox and local establishments should aggressively joint venture.  The Sox should promote the neighborhood spots, and vice versa.  Example:  on the back of every ticket they have a Dunkin Donuts promo.  Why not rotate it with a promo for the neighborhood places?  "Take your ticket stub to Ricobene's within one week of this game date, get $3 off a pizza."  Get the fans out into the neighborhood and they will see it's safe and a nice area to hang out.  The establishments in Bridgeport need to press this with the White Sox and the White Sox need to be more open to this idea.  Embrace the neighborhood.

 

4.  Continue the focus on marketing to kids.  Have even more kids promotions.  Fundamentals is a good start, community outreach is a good start.  Promote the players at kids events, there are millions of kids activities in Chicago.  The White Sox should partner with those organizations more than they do.

 

5.  Do special promos for the upper deck and stop treating it like a red haired step child.  Give upper deck people a coupon for concessions, more special meal deals, etc.  Market the upper deck to community newspapers.  I can't remember the last time I saw a Sox promo piece in my local newspaper.

 

6.  Market the Club Level to the swankier audience.  It's a marvelous place to sit, they need to promote it to the higher end audience.  Chicago Magazine is a good place to start.

 

7.  Continue the crackdown on idiots at the ballpark in terms of fighting, abusive behavior, etc.  Make it known that idiots have to pay consequences, put out a press release when some assclown goes to jail for starting a fight at the ballpark.  Reinforce that the Chicago White Sox support a friendly, safe environment.  Have fun at the ballpark, kick back a few beers and enjoy yourself but don't get out of line.  If you do, you are not welcome here.  This supports families going to games.  And it makes moms feel safer, a very important factor because we know that moms and wives have significant say so in terms of the entertainment $$.

 

8.  Have more raffle drawings, i.e. Lucky Seat winners.  Give away stuff from places in the neighborhood.  Not at all hard to do.  Show your ticket stub at Guest Relations and win a gift certificate if your name is called.  Or, have a Lucky Row contest.  They do this in Tucson and the whole row wins a pizza.  Makes the game more fun and it's good PR for the franchise and the establishment.

 

There are a lot more ideas but that's a start.  Another thing they should do is "personalize" the players more.  Boyer is trying to do this.  Many of these guys are really nice and their personalities would resonate with White Sox fans.  Let the fans get to know the players a bit more.  Lots of ways to do this.

Wow. I'm jealous, this is an absolutely first rate post. The history in point one is as the British say "spot on."

[Jabroni]

 

Wahhh.. The attendance is only up 11%

STFU

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

LOL, owned.

[sox-r-us]

Uh?????

 

That graph shows we are doing better than last year, which I knew even before starting this thread. But it still does not answer the question as to why we have only 23K on a Fri night with a winning team in June.

 

You cannot be that stupid, Jabroni. Wake up and smell the coffee, and get with the program.

[Jabroni]

Uh?????

 

That graph shows we are doing better than last year, which I knew even before starting this thread. But it still does not answer the question as to why we have only 23K on a Fri night with a winning team in June.

 

You cannot be that stupid, Jabroni. Wake up and smell the coffee, and get with the program.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I say again...

 

OWNED!!!

Edited June 5, 2005 by Jabroni

[southsider2k5]

Uh?????

 

That graph shows we are doing better than last year, which I knew even before starting this thread. But it still does not answer the question as to why we have only 23K on a Fri night with a winning team in June.

 

You cannot be that stupid, Jabroni. Wake up and smell the coffee, and get with the program.

 

Typical. Nitpick at a scab instead of looking at the whole body.

[Mike Kreevich]

I could care less. Let Jerry or some trouble stirring reporter worry about attendance. I like being able to buy a seat to the game without paying some scalper. Don't you have anything else to worry about?

[Texsox]

Another issue is the division we play in. All those games against the Royals, Tigers, and Indians, with very little drawing power, also hurts our attendance.

 

We killed out selves 30 years ago when the team went pay per view and the Cubs had SuperStation WGN. I forget the TV system ON_TV or something like that. Prior to that we were on UHF Channel 44, poor reception in the suburbs, and the Cubs were beaming WGN with a better picture. We lost a generation.

 

I'm guessing the die hard, knowledgeable, baseball fan base is split about 45-55. The casual, goes to one or two games a year and couldn't tell Crede from Walker are split 80-20 to the Cubs. That's the battleground. The casual "bandwagon jumpers" we make fun of. Those are the fans we need at the games. Instead of looking at them in disgust and talking about being a "true fan"; we need to suck it up and welcome them and hope they bring 10 friends to their next game.

[drowninginflame]

Wow. I'm jealous, this is an absolutely first rate post. The history in point one is as the British say "spot on."

 

 

yea that was a top notch post.

[drowninginflame]

I think you should send that big ass attendance list to Brooks boyer.

[sox-r-us]

Another issue is the division we play in. All those games against the Royals, Tigers, and Indians, with very little drawing power, also hurts our attendance.

 

We killed out selves 30 years ago when the team went pay per view and the Cubs had SuperStation WGN. I forget the TV system ON_TV or something like that. Prior to that we were on UHF Channel 44, poor reception in the suburbs, and the Cubs were beaming WGN with a better picture. We lost a generation.

 

I'm guessing the die hard, knowledgeable, baseball fan base is split about 45-55. The casual, goes to one or two games a year and couldn't tell Crede from Walker are split 80-20 to the Cubs. That's the battleground. The casual "bandwagon jumpers" we make fun of. Those are the fans we need at the games. Instead of looking at them in disgust and talking about being a "true fan"; we need to suck it up and welcome them and hope they bring 10 friends to their next game.

 

You are correct about WGN helping promote the Cubs. The Cubs-Padres game is on now (Cubs up 11-1) and all you can hear in the stadium is "Let's go Cubs". And this game is in San Diego.

Edited June 5, 2005 by sox-r-us

[Jabroni]

You are correct about WGN helping promote the Cubs. The Cubs-Padres game is on now (Cubs up 4-1) and all you can hear in the stadium is "Let's go Cubs". And this game is in San Diego.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

They aren't the "Lovable Losers" for nothing. What else can you say?

[GoodAsGould]

well our attendence could be worse look at this...

 

Twins vs Tribe

 

20,739 for 2nd game

17,351 for 3rd game

 

 

and they have won the division for 3 years in a row, have no competition in the city especially since no basketball or football is going on and they actually won a WS that the fans alive today can remember.

[sayitaintso]

well our attendence could be worse look at this...

 

Twins vs Tribe

 

20,739 for 2nd game

17,351 for 3rd game

and they have won the division for 3 years in a row, have no competition in the city especially since no basketball or football is going on and they actually won a WS that the fans alive today can remember.

They had (from what it looked liked on TV) a hell of a lot of people for the Yankmees onhand. But what does it matter how many people the Twins draw to each game.

[SoxFan562004]

I'm not 100% sure because I don't have the numbers right in front of me, but isn't the Sox attendance up a good amount from last year at this point? And didn't last year the Yankees series already happened and drew a huge crowd?

 

There were about what, 74k for the LAA series? Yeah, about 38k of that was on the first game, which was 1/2 price and Memorial day, but it was still a sell out and a well attended series. (and yes, I threw all those caveats in there on purpose because you can sit there and nit-pick positive attendance numbers all night, but the bottom line is it's improving)

 

The lack of season ticket base is a huge hinderance. Take today (6/4) for example. Not sure what the exact number was, but I'm sure it was hurt a great deal by the weather. While the storm only lasted for about a half hour, there were warnings and watches starting at noon, I'm sure a lot of people didn't want to risk getting to the park and having it rained out.

 

You can already start to see it around the city, more Sox hats being worn etc... if the Sox continue their strong push the casual fan will drop the Cubs like a bad habit and start coming out more often.

 

The Sox attendance won't magically average 30k overnight. That is asking for a lot of walk-ups and fresh tickets bought (meaning non-season tickets). The gain will be slow, but steady IMO. I think the Sox drew about 1.9m last year. I think they will break 2m this year and improve a good deal on last year. Also, it will help that they can offer a 8-10 game package for Aug/Sep with playoff ticket priority or something along those lines.

[JUGGERNAUT]

I think if you took a poll at UIC you would find most of the students there are Cub fans. Probably a good number of them have never even been to the Cell. That's why I don't include them.

 

Do the White Sox even have promotions for IIT & UIC fans? This would seem to me to be a no-brainer. They should have promotions for U of Chicago, De La Sallle, & the other nearby high schools as well. If they don't then they are ignoring potentially 1000's more in the fan base.

 

To appeal more to 20-30 somethings they need help from the state run Metra. This idea has been talked about before & I've even seen a column or 2 discuss it. If Metra were to build a station near the ball park & allow some restaurant/bars to rent space in it that would provide yet another reason to visit the park outside of the game of baseball. That again could pull potentially 1000's more. Especially if the places were to get good write-ups.

 

Justification? How many people in the Bridgeport area & the surrounding area around the park commute downtown to work each day? How many would opt to take the Metra vs the CTA? This is an important question because you need to build a basis for it getting year round service.

With that being the first stop on the RI line the cost would be in line with the proposed hikes by the CTA.

 

Again I look at the potential fan base of Metra monthly pass riders. The Metra could allow these people to ride to & from the park with monthly passes for other lines or for at most $1 more. It would give the South & West suburban families another option & reason to go to the park.

 

I think it has potential. The Red Line & Green Lines are saturated during rush hour. They don't need the ridership near the park. High schools & IIT could be serviced with Pace buses that provide door to door service from the station to their destinations for year round service. If you make it both affordable & convenient then there should be solid demand for use of the station year round.

[Yossarian]

I say again...

 

OWNED!!! 

Owned because attendance is up 11%?

[sox-r-us]

Owned because attendance is up 11%?

 

[mrzo2733]

I only read the first couple pages of this thread, and I'm sure it has already been talked about, but... its the Cubs. This winning streak does not help us. I think regardless of how they do our attendance will continue to rise, but the worse they do, the more it will help us. Need to get the casual fans.

[SnB]

The metra argument that jugg brings up is something i've been saying for years. I take the RI train whenever i go downtown and it goes directly past the park, why not put a quick stop there?

don't really understand it.

[Jabroni]

Owned because attendance is up 11%?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Maybe some of you guys should just go to games and enjoy them instead of b****ing about the attendance.