Stadium Discussion

[Keith Putnam]

@NYCFC Avg attendance over first 3 games each season:
2015: 30,474
2016: 26,111
2017: 20,932
Fans need stadium news now. #NYCFCStadiumNow

— One Stadium Please (@NYCFCStadiumNow) April 2, 2017

I'm not at all convinced there's any correlation here between declining average attendance numbers and the fact that we're still playing at Yankee Stadium. There's certainly no supporting evidence presented to bolster that assertion.

For me, it seems pretty obvious that home attendance has been slack this season so far because the weather has been uninviting. It may be more informative to compare home attendance in, say, June, when the weather is glorious.

 

[Jon]

That's a staff announcement. He hired more people to do a job.

At the pitchside/suite event (you know, the people spending five digits a year without a decimal), he said there would be an announcement regarding the stadium soon.

Right, I understand he hired more staff. But throw supporters a bone. Give us something to keep us going. Even something like "we've narrowed down our search to 3 possible sites" or "we've been negotiating the purchase of land but it's a complicated process that will take time." Seriously, any news would be news.

 

[Midas Mulligan]

My tickets for OCSC already sold. Possibly due to my more aggressive pricing strategy, but that's still a good sign that we'll see more people st the next match.

 

[mgarbowski]

I'm not at all convinced there's any correlation here between declining average attendance numbers and the fact that we're still playing at Yankee Stadium. There's certainly no supporting evidence presented to bolster that assertion.

For me, it seems pretty obvious that home attendance has been slack this season so far because the weather has been uninviting. It may be more informative to compare home attendance in, say, June, when the weather is glorious.

Weather didn't cause a 15% drop in season ticket sales. I don't know what the causes are, but to say the reduced attendance has nothing to do with the stadium and is all about the cold seems as weakly supported as saying it's all about the stadium.

 

[Jon]

Weather didn't cause a 15% drop in season ticket sales. I don't know what the causes are, but to say the reduced attendance has nothing to do with the stadium and is all about the cold seems as weakly supported as saying it's all about the stadium.

Not saying it's "all about the stadium" but it can't be the team. We made the playoffs in our second year and our team is much better this year. So... What else could it be?

 

[Keith Putnam]

Weather didn't cause a 15% drop in season ticket sales. I don't know what the causes are, but to say the reduced attendance has nothing to do with the stadium and is all about the cold seems as weakly supported as saying it's all about the stadium.

Fair enough about the ST sales, but the tweet was about attendance generally and not ST sales specifically.

 

[joe]

Not saying it's "all about the stadium" but it can't be the team. We made the playoffs in our second year and our team is much better this year. So... What else could it be?

 

[Jon]

No friggin way is his absence from the team the reason we're down 15% We have that many fickle fans that drop their tickets when he retires?

 

[mgarbowski]

Fair enough about the ST sales, but the tweet was about attendance generally and not ST sales specifically.

The ST drop represents half of the attendance drop. Half the attendance drop cannot be weather related. So what is your point?

 

[Midas Mulligan]

The ST drop represents half of the attendance drop. Half the attendance drop cannot be weather related. So what is your point?

But at least half could be. And the other half could be in that people didn't buy season tickets, but still intended to attend the same number of matches.

I mean, if we're all just talking baseless bullshit, it's all equally non-verifiable.

 

[Kjbert]

This is a good post. They signed Maxi Moralez. Could have signed Bastian Schweinstager or Wayne Rooney. They chose the cheap route. I bet the other number that is down drastically is jersey sales.

 

[413Blue]

Weather didn't cause a 15% drop in season ticket sales. I don't know what the causes are, but to say the reduced attendance has nothing to do with the stadium and is all about the cold seems as weakly supported as saying it's all about the stadium.

I have not heard any credible reports stating our ST base is down that far. Has that been verified or reported by someone credible?

 

[thesauerchise]

This is a good post. They signed Maxi Moralez. Could have signed Bastian Schweinstager or Wayne Rooney. They chose the cheap route. I bet the other number that is down drastically is jersey sales.

Jersey sales per mls store.com
1. Pirlo
3. Harrison
6. Villa

Beyond that, I would venture to guess the team is better on the field with Maxi than with Schweiny and certainly better than if we had Fat Wayne. I would rather talk about jersey sales than what position to play Rooney in.

 

[Christopher Jee]

Jersey sales per mls store.com
1. Pirlo
3. Harrison
6. Villa

Beyond that, I would venture to guess the team is better on the field with Maxi than with Schweiny and certainly better than if we had Fat Wayne. I would rather talk about jersey sales than what position to play Rooney in.

Agree in principle with optimizing for effectiveness over jersey sales, but disagree that Rooney would he less effective on the pitch. Pirlo to Rooney to Villa would probably be a ton of fun to watch. And I love Maxi. And there's no reason to believe that Rooney would come.

 

[Midas Mulligan]

Agree in principle with optimizing for effectiveness over jersey sales, but disagree that Rooney would he less effective on the pitch. Pirlo to Rooney to Villa would probably be a ton of fun to watch. And I love Maxi. And there's no reason to believe that Rooney would come.

Ff was one thing, but Shrek is a bridge too far.

 

[Christopher Jee]

Ff was one thing, but Shrek is a bridge too far.

I guess we'll never know. We could use a guy who isn't afraid to pull the trigger from distance tho.

 

[Kjbert]

Jersey sales per mls store.com
1. Pirlo
3. Harrison
6. Villa

Beyond that, I would venture to guess the team is better on the field with Maxi than with Schweiny and certainly better than if we had Fat Wayne. I would rather talk about jersey sales than what position to play Rooney in.

Sure. But what are the total jersey sales? No one ran out to get a Maxi jersey.

I'm not advocating for a move to get a Schweini type player, but America is full of star f*ckers. People came out to see Lampard.

 

[Midas Mulligan]

I guess we'll never know. We could use a guy who isn't afraid to pull the trigger from distance tho.

Just not that one. For my own mental well-being.

 

[Ulrich]

This is a good post. They signed Maxi Moralez. Could have signed Bastian Schweinstager or Wayne Rooney. They chose the cheap route. I bet the other number that is down drastically is jersey sales.

No doubt jersey sale will suffer, save for a small Argentinian contingent of fans, but of the three, I think Maxi fits our style the best. I was initially against Maxi (because of his injuries and bench status), but he's given the midfield a real attacking presence.

 

[mgarbowski]

But at least half could be. And the other half could be in that people didn't buy season tickets, but still intended to attend the same number of matches.

I mean, if we're all just talking baseless bullshit, it's all equally non-verifiable.

Essentially my point, except I think our only known is that a ST drop is not weather caused.

To be clear, I think the folks who believe this attendance drop -- even if it does continue -- should cause the team to speed up the stadium process are perhaps even more deluded than those who are certain it is unrelated to the stadium. There is no evidence or any solid reason to think that the team has a clear path to building a stadium if it would only push the right levers and spend enough money.