Attendance

[The Mighty Mite]

20,000 to watch Sale go up against Scherzer. Piss poor.

Something is seriously wrong up there, a big market team and we are averaging 19,000+ a game. 28th in MLB in attendance. We have a nice team with a great new star in Abreu and one of the best pitchers in MLB, the team does not give up and deserves some support.

Right now if I owned the Sox and the stadium contract was up I would move this team to somewhere were it would be appreciated. Chicago does not deserve the White Sox. I want all of you to know that I'm a 68 year old die hard White Sox fan who has lived and died with this team since 1953, I still get up in the middle of the night and check the Sox score on my I Phone and for me the to say this is sacreligious. I know the Sox have addressed some of the pricing issues but Sox fans seem like they have just lost interest in the team. I have lived in Florida for over 20 years but I supported the team the 48 years I lived up there and would still do so, every year when the Sox come to Tampa you will see me at the Trop. I worked evenings when we lived up there but always tried to make one game every home stand.

I also belong to another Sox Board and there were 3 threads about last nights game. That's sad coming from a membership of 8,000.

Edited June 13, 2014 by The Mighty Mite

[Eminor3rd]

20,000 to watch Sale go up against Scherzer. Piss poor.

Something is seriously wrong up there, a big market team and we are averaging 19,000+ a game. 28th in MLB in attendance. We have a nice team with a great new star in Abreu and one of the best pitchers in MLB, the team does not give up and deserves some support.

Right now if I owned the Sox and the stadium contract was up I would move this team to somewhere were it would be appreciated. Chicago does not deserve the White Sox. I want all of you to know that I'm a 68 year old die hard White Sox fan who has lived and died with this team since 1953, I still get up in the middle of the night and check the Sox score on my I Phone and for me the to say this is sacreligious. I know the Sox have addressed some of the pricing issues but Sox fans seem like they have just lost interest in the team. I have lived in Florida for over 20 years but I supported the team the 48 years I lived up there and would still do so, every year when the Sox come to Tampa you will see me at the Trop. I worked evenings when we lived up there but always tried to make one game every home stand.

I also belong to another Sox Board and there were 3 threads about last nights game. That's sad coming from a membership of 8,000.

 

Wow. Congratulations on the dedication. You check your iPhone every night? What a hero.

[LittleHurt05]

20,000 to watch Sale go up against Scherzer. Piss poor.

Something is seriously wrong up there, a big market team and we are averaging 19,000+ a game. 28th in MLB in attendance. We have a nice team with a great new star in Abreu and one of the best pitchers in MLB, the team does not give up and deserves some support.

Right now if I owned the Sox and the stadium contract was up I would move this team to somewhere were it would be appreciated. Chicago does not deserve the White Sox. I want all of you to know that I'm a 68 year old die hard White Sox fan who has lived and died with this team since 1953, I still get up in the middle of the night and check the Sox score on my I Phone and for me the to say this is sacreligious. I know the Sox have addressed some of the pricing issues but Sox fans seem like they have just lost interest in the team. I have lived in Florida for over 20 years but I supported the team the 48 years I lived up there and would still do so, every year when the Sox come to Tampa you will see me at the Trop. I worked evenings when we lived up there but always tried to make one game every home stand.

I also belong to another Sox Board and there were 3 threads about last nights game. That's sad coming from a membership of 8,000.

 

From 1953-1983 the Sox averaged more than 20,000 per game twice, so you should be used to seeing such small crowds.

[NorthSideSox72]

20,000 to watch Sale go up against Scherzer. Piss poor.

Something is seriously wrong up there, a big market team and we are averaging 19,000+ a game. 28th in MLB in attendance. We have a nice team with a great new star in Abreu and one of the best pitchers in MLB, the team does not give up and deserves some support.

Right now if I owned the Sox and the stadium contract was up I would move this team to somewhere were it would be appreciated. Chicago does not deserve the White Sox. I want all of you to know that I'm a 68 year old die hard White Sox fan who has lived and died with this team since 1953, I still get up in the middle of the night and check the Sox score on my I Phone and for me the to say this is sacreligious. I know the Sox have addressed some of the pricing issues but Sox fans seem like they have just lost interest in the team. I have lived in Florida for over 20 years but I supported the team the 48 years I lived up there and would still do so, every year when the Sox come to Tampa you will see me at the Trop. I worked evenings when we lived up there but always tried to make one game every home stand.

I also belong to another Sox Board and there were 3 threads about last nights game. That's sad coming from a membership of 8,000.

A 19k average is still higher than the Sox were getting during many seasons in the 70s, 80s and even late 90s. This is not a new phenomenon.

 

It probably FEELS new because 1) The Cubs used to be just as bad or worse but since the mid-80's have become a huge attraction, and 2) We saw such big numbers 2005-2007 and we've been in decline since 2009, so each year feels successively worse.

 

Also remember, this team more than ones in some other regions of the country gets much bigger numbers in the warmer summer months, regardless of opponent.

 

If the team is in contention in August (not likely but who knows), the numbers will start to go up. More importantly, if the team can be a contender for a multi-year stretch again, then the season ticket base will go up again. It's not that complicated, and the fan base hasn't suddenly died off. It's pretty close to what it was as a % of the city.

 

[southsider2k5]

20,000 to watch Sale go up against Scherzer. Piss poor.

Something is seriously wrong up there, a big market team and we are averaging 19,000+ a game. 28th in MLB in attendance. We have a nice team with a great new star in Abreu and one of the best pitchers in MLB, the team does not give up and deserves some support.

Right now if I owned the Sox and the stadium contract was up I would move this team to somewhere were it would be appreciated. Chicago does not deserve the White Sox. I want all of you to know that I'm a 68 year old die hard White Sox fan who has lived and died with this team since 1953, I still get up in the middle of the night and check the Sox score on my I Phone and for me the to say this is sacreligious. I know the Sox have addressed some of the pricing issues but Sox fans seem like they have just lost interest in the team. I have lived in Florida for over 20 years but I supported the team the 48 years I lived up there and would still do so, every year when the Sox come to Tampa you will see me at the Trop. I worked evenings when we lived up there but always tried to make one game every home stand.

I also belong to another Sox Board and there were 3 threads about last nights game. That's sad coming from a membership of 8,000.

 

Sox fans are bandwagon fans. If you have been a Sox fan, you should know this by now, having living through the lean years of the 70's. Also, who made you judge of who deserves a baseball team or not from your throne in Florida?

[Eminor3rd]

Sox fans are bandwagon fans. If you have been a Sox fan, you should know this by now, having living through the lean years of the 70's. Also, who made you judge of who deserves a baseball team or not from your throne in Florida?

 

Seriously. The land where the local team can't even sellout playoff games.

[Quin]

20,000 to watch Sale go up against Scherzer. Piss poor.

Something is seriously wrong up there, a big market team and we are averaging 19,000+ a game. 28th in MLB in attendance. We have a nice team with a great new star in Abreu and one of the best pitchers in MLB, the team does not give up and deserves some support.

Right now if I owned the Sox and the stadium contract was up I would move this team to somewhere were it would be appreciated. Chicago does not deserve the White Sox. I want all of you to know that I'm a 68 year old die hard White Sox fan who has lived and died with this team since 1953, I still get up in the middle of the night and check the Sox score on my I Phone and for me the to say this is sacreligious. I know the Sox have addressed some of the pricing issues but Sox fans seem like they have just lost interest in the team. I have lived in Florida for over 20 years but I supported the team the 48 years I lived up there and would still do so, every year when the Sox come to Tampa you will see me at the Trop. I worked evenings when we lived up there but always tried to make one game every home stand.

I also belong to another Sox Board and there were 3 threads about last nights game. That's sad coming from a membership of 8,000.

 

Bro tells cool story

[Dick Allen]

20,000 to watch Sale go up against Scherzer. Piss poor.

Something is seriously wrong up there, a big market team and we are averaging 19,000+ a game. 28th in MLB in attendance. We have a nice team with a great new star in Abreu and one of the best pitchers in MLB, the team does not give up and deserves some support.

Right now if I owned the Sox and the stadium contract was up I would move this team to somewhere were it would be appreciated. Chicago does not deserve the White Sox. I want all of you to know that I'm a 68 year old die hard White Sox fan who has lived and died with this team since 1953, I still get up in the middle of the night and check the Sox score on my I Phone and for me the to say this is sacreligious. I know the Sox have addressed some of the pricing issues but Sox fans seem like they have just lost interest in the team. I have lived in Florida for over 20 years but I supported the team the 48 years I lived up there and would still do so, every year when the Sox come to Tampa you will see me at the Trop. I worked evenings when we lived up there but always tried to make one game every home stand.

I also belong to another Sox Board and there were 3 threads about last nights game. That's sad coming from a membership of 8,000.

Attendance is an issue without a doubt. Moving the team makes no sense IMO. Where else are you going to go? This team is a sleeping giant. Eventually, they will come. The team fixed some pricing issues, but until they can the dynamic pricing, most days, just going to a game on a whim, doesn't make sense if you are going to buy a ticket that hasn't been already purchased. Their day of game prices are silly.

[Eminor3rd]

Also, we should have three gamethreads apparently, rofl.

[southsider2k5]

Seriously attendance threads are the Jay Mariotti of threads. Everyone knows what they are about, and we have done this same topic about 80 gagillion times. If a board has three topics about attendance, it means they aren't smart enough to find other stuff to talk about. I sure as hell wouldn't hold that up as some sort of a thing to be proud of. It sure as s*** doesn't pass merit for someone to look down their nose at rest of the fans and give judgement as to what they deserve or don't deserve, that is unless you are ready for judgement to be passed right back.

 

[The Mighty Mite]

From 1953-1983 the Sox averaged more than 20,000 per game twice, so you should be used to seeing such small crowds.

 

Different time and age, in the years of the Go Go Sox, 1,000,000 fans a year was the holy grail and the Sox drew over a million every year from 1951 through 1965 except for 1958. They led the A L in 1960 with 1,640,000. I believe that's the last time we led the A L in attendance.

[fathom]

The attendance has been bad this year, but is anyone surprised? Last year was a terrible year for the organization, and that resulted in a loss of interest in the team by a portion of the fan base. I actually believe this year has been very good so far in terms of generating some excitement towards the organization. It's nice to see that Abreu and Sale jerseys are on sale at sporting goods stores instead of Konerko and Beckham. The Sox have two superstars to promote to their fans right now, and hopefully they add to that core in the next few years.

Edited June 13, 2014 by fathom

[The Mighty Mite]

Sox fans are bandwagon fans. If you have been a Sox fan, you should know this by now, having living through the lean years of the 70's. Also, who made you judge of who deserves a baseball team or not from your throne in Florida?

 

My throne in Florida? Grow up.

[The Mighty Mite]

Seriously. The land where the local team can't even sellout playoff games.

 

Who the hell cares about the Rays? They have stadium and location issues of their own and there is talk every day in the Tampa paper about their attendance problems.

Edited June 13, 2014 by The Mighty Mite

[ptatc]

The attendance has been bad this year, but is anyone surprised? Last year was a terrible year for the organization, and that resulted in a loss of interest in the team by a portion of the fan base. I actually believe this year has been very good so far in terms of generating some excitement towards the organization. It's nice to see that Abreu and Sale jerseys are on sale at sporting goods stores instead of Konerko and Beckham. The Sox have two superstars to promote to their fans right now, and hopefully they add to that core in the next few years.

This is true. Remember though this is still a below .500 team. As exciting as fans who follow the team think it is, as a fair weather fan you look and say "it's a losing team, who wants to see that, I'll find something else to do with my limited entertainment dollars" (yes, that's a quote).

 

As someone said earlier, most Sox fans are bandwagon fans. After last year, the numbers won't come back until they are winning and are near a playoff spot. If they are within a few games of the playoffs in August, the attendance will go up.

 

On a side note, I'm going to Colorado this summer. The Last time I went to Colorado in the summer was 2005 so..............

[Dick Allen]

Different time and age, in the years of the Go Go Sox, 1,000,000 fans a year was the holy grail and the Sox drew over a million every year from 1951 through 1965 except for 1958. They led the A L in 1960 with 1,640,000. I believe that's the last time we led the A L in attendance.

Attendance is going to be bad because season ticket sales are probably as low as they have been this century. With dynamic pricing, walk up sales are usually pretty weak. I read an article a couple years ago or so ago which stated the Sox were expecting a walk up of around 2500 for some game (this is when they were at least decent) and it was by far the highest walk up of the season. I remember half price Monday and Tuesdays with the Pepsi can. The lines at the ticket windows were huge. Those days are OVA! You get some same day sale with the K-Zone for Sale. But that is only when he starts.They should come up with a section for Abreu, for a daily thing. Maybe the back half of the bleachers or something, see if he can reach them. That would help day of game sales, but the fruits of this season attendance wise, if it winds up being successful, won't really be felt until next season when a few more season ticket plans are sold.

[The Mighty Mite]

This is true. Remember though this is still a below .500 team. As exciting as fans who follow the team think it is, as a fair weather fan you look and say "it's a losing team, who wants to see that, I'll find something else to do with my limited entertainment dollars" (yes, that's a quote).

 

As someone said earlier, most Sox fans are bandwagon fans. After last year, the numbers won't come back until they are winning and are near a playoff spot. If they are within a few games of the playoffs in August, the attendance will go up.

 

On a side note, I'm going to Colorado this summer. The Last time I went to Colorado in the summer was 2005 so..............

Where were all the bandwagon fans in 2012, we were in first place for 120 days and couldn't even hit the 2 million mark. Attendance has declined on the Southside every year for 6 straight years, first time that has happened in franchise history.

[shakes]

20,000 to watch Sale go up against Scherzer. Piss poor.

Something is seriously wrong up there, a big market team and we are averaging 19,000+ a game. 28th in MLB in attendance. We have a nice team with a great new star in Abreu and one of the best pitchers in MLB, the team does not give up and deserves some support.

Right now if I owned the Sox and the stadium contract was up I would move this team to somewhere were it would be appreciated. Chicago does not deserve the White Sox. I want all of you to know that I'm a 68 year old die hard White Sox fan who has lived and died with this team since 1953, I still get up in the middle of the night and check the Sox score on my I Phone and for me the to say this is sacreligious. I know the Sox have addressed some of the pricing issues but Sox fans seem like they have just lost interest in the team. I have lived in Florida for over 20 years but I supported the team the 48 years I lived up there and would still do so, every year when the Sox come to Tampa you will see me at the Trop. I worked evenings when we lived up there but always tried to make one game every home stand.

I also belong to another Sox Board and there were 3 threads about last nights game. That's sad coming from a membership of 8,000.

 

 

If you are such a dedicated fan, and can't make games yourself, maybe you can buy tickets and give them away to increase sales?

 

Nothing more annoying than people complaining about attendance who don't go to games. I get it, you don't live here, but what does this accomplish?

 

The team has found ways to increase revenue and are doing a good job keeping payroll up through this down time. As mentioned, until the season ticket base goes up there will be low attendance.

[Dunt]

Been 6 years since they've had a playoff team, people aren't going to come if you dont put a consistent winner on the field. I think Rick is moving the franchise in the right direction, but it's going to take time. That said, I've been to 9 games already this season, so I am doing my part.

[The Mighty Mite]

If you are such a dedicated fan, and can't make games yourself, maybe you can buy tickets and give them away to increase sales?

 

Nothing more annoying than people complaining about attendance who don't go to games. I get it, you don't live here, but what does this accomplish?

 

The team has found ways to increase revenue and are doing a good job keeping payroll up through this down time. As mentioned, until the season ticket base goes up there will be low attendance.

 

Hey pal, I didn't start this thread so what's the problem with my throwing my 2 cents in. I can't believe how some of you can get so downright personal with other members instead of addressing the problem that the OP brought up.

 

[The Mighty Mite]

Been 6 years since they've had a playoff team, people aren't going to come if you dont put a consistent winner on the field. I think Rick is moving the franchise in the right direction, but it's going to take time. That said, I've been to 9 games already this season, so I am doing my part.

 

Yes you are and I commend you.

 

[Eminor3rd]

Where were all the bandwagon fans in 2012, we were in first place for 120 days and couldn't even hit the 2 million mark.

 

In Florida, being annoying.

[southsider2k5]

Hey pal, I didn't start this thread so what's the problem with my throwing my 2 cents in. I can't believe how some of you can get so downright personal with other members instead of addressing the problem that the OP brought up.

 

When you said that the fans didn't deserve the team, you made it personal for a lot of people. You can't poke a hornets nest that be shocked that you get stung.

[Dick Allen]

Where were all the bandwagon fans in 2012, we were in first place for 120 days and couldn't even hit the 2 million mark. Attendance has declined on the Southside every year for 6 straight years, first time that has happened in franchise history.

The problem is the White Sox fanbase on a whole has more excuses and complaints than any fanbase around. They didn't go supposedly because the seats were the wrong color. So they changed them. Read the guys on WSI and their excuses. Honestly this is true..the video board isn't big enough., the ushers don't smile at them, there isn't enough food options, they changed the song they play in the intro, and these are supposed hard core fans.

 

The other argument was the policy of upper deck ticketholders having no access to the lower deck. They definitely have loosened this on lightly attended games this year, but the WSI guys when it is pointed out on Sundays or for the K-Zone, you now can get a lower deck ticket for $20 or less, then cry the seat location isn't good enough. The White Sox fan will always move the bar. Like you said, 2012 was an example. Winning didn't draw people. Many said they didn't believe in the team and knew they would fade, so much to their relief in late September the team faded and thus apparently showed they didn't deserve the support the entire summer of the White Sox fan.

 

I think the mentality will eventually change. But it is going to take a lot of winning, for a decent period of time.

Edited June 13, 2014 by Dick Allen

[ptatc]

Where were all the bandwagon fans in 2012, we were in first place for 120 days and couldn't even hit the 2 million mark. Attendance has declined on the Southside every year for 6 straight years, first time that has happened in franchise history.

In 2012 the Sox still drew more than what they did in the early 2000's before the WS title. By the time it came to the "magic number games" at the end of the season the Sox had started the downward spiral so they didn't get as big of a jump as they could have with having the division lead in the middle of the year.

 

2013 was the first really bad team in a while. It will take time to recover from that even with winning. However, you will see an increase at the end of the season if they are in it.