Didn't realize how bad the Redskins' stadium situation is

I don't think this is just a Redskins thing. MetLife has been empty too, as have a number of stadiums throughout the country.

their attendance is down in the first year in a long time where their team looked like a division winner. It's one thing to have poor attendance when the team is in the dumps, another when you have a new QB to believe in, a stellar defense, and a good lead in the division.

That article was pretty damning, especially when you consider it was written prior to losing Colt McCoy and reflects attendance after their hot start to the season.

to attend games even in the upper decks.

All NFL games are much more catered to the business white-collar crowd nowadays. If the teams suck, it's not as much fun to bring clients there.

At the same time, the at-home experience is much better then is used to be.

Attendance is down, but places like NYC, the stadium is still sold out or else you wouldn't be seeing them on TV. The NFL is still getting their money, they don't care if you don't actually attend.

and don't go to games anymore. Some don't even watch the team anymore. They have lost interest.

Think about it, what player is the "Identity" of the skins? They don't have any stars to follow.

At least the Giants have Odell and Barkley to get fans excited about, even if the Giants stink.

That FedEx is awful. Expensive, hard to get to, no atmosphere, etc. And the Redskins were starting the Sanchize and playing a 4-8 Giants team, not exactly a huge game.

That said I think going to NFL games in general is basically not enjoyable and can not compete with the experience of watching at home or in a sports bar. It is a TV sport. I would not be surprised if we see smaller stadiums built in the future.

go see a terrible product that costs a fortune, wait in ridiculous lines, deal with drunks, and be miserable as my team probably loses when I can watch it in the comfort of my own home in glorious HD.

It's not the old days when you knew everyone in your section at the stadium.

In comment 14212846 Eric from BBI said:

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I don't think this is just a Redskins thing. MetLife has been empty too, as have a number of stadiums throughout the country.

Plus viewership is down.

Between the product deteriorating, the officiating/player safety discussion and the political undertones of the game in the last 2-3 years a lot of lifelong fans just aren't as into it as they used to be. Many people just use their free time on Sundays for different things now.

On a micro level just think of your own circle of friends. I guarantee that at least one person who used to be a die hard is now kind of lukewarm on the game. Extrapolate that around the country and the world.

And I would say the stadium has been pretty packed every game.

Sometimes it takes until the middle of the 1st Q, but it does fill out.

I also did a quick Google search to find this link confirming my drunken bias is not misleading me.
2018 NFL Football Attendance - ( New Window )

It has peaked and is on the decline.

IMO, the owners' greed, working partly through Roger Goodell and directly through their own initiatives, has taken the heart out of the sport. It's a fantasy league now.

Some of the penalty calls in yesterday's Eagles-Cowboys were mind boggling. Contact is discouraged in a contact sport. What happens to the contact sport? It becomes a shell of its former self.

By contrast, take a look at MLS and Atlanta United in particular. Over 1 million fans attended Atlanta United games this year. The three playoff games I attended, including the championship game, had over 70,000 spectators, plus a television audience. The championship game had 73,019 rabid fans in attendance, including several thousand who traveled from Portland (a very expensive trip). It was televised nationally on Fox.

I went to the Monday night Falcons-Giants game. I had a great time, but the atmosphere was nothing like a United game.

MLS is growing. The NFL is declining.

especially during the game of the week and night games

in the stadium, which, in turn, improved fan perception and increased in-stadium revenue even at the lower prices?

Funny how that works...don't look at your patrons as cash cows to be milked and show them a little respect, and they respond in kind.

I was actually "impressed" with the Redskins fan base. No rabid skins fans I know went into the season with the "pre-season champions" mentality. The fans have finally hit a wall and understand that the team isn't going to magically be good and they are tired of supporting it. And too their credit, they didn't buy in during the hot start. They all expected the bottom to fall out, and they are being rewarded for their skepticism today. I think Snyder will have to truly take a long hard look at his product and business operations and turn over control to an actual GM. We will see if he takes the hint.

And the stadium truly has been empty this season for every game.

Will never get close to the NFL in my lifetime. I say that as a season ticket holder for the local MLS team. No chance.

it was one of the toughest tickets in the country, and that was in that RFK dump. Their waiting list was longer than the Giants. I knew interest had waned but wow that's staggering.

In comment 14212846 Eric from BBI said:

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I don't think this is just a Redskins thing. MetLife has been empty too, as have a number of stadiums throughout the country.

And I don't agree with this to the same level of what appears to be happening down there. Sure when the Giants are out of it there are empty seats, but I went to the Saints game virtually every seat was taken. From this article it appears there were plenty of empty seats even when they were in 1st place earlier in the year.

Concession prices at Mercedes Benz stadium are not inflated from restaurant prices. And the food is really good (I'm a non-drinker, I know nothing about the beer situation). I had a killer burger from a quality Atlanta-area restaurant, The Iberian Pig. Not a chain, a "real" restaurant. It cost $11.25. Iberian Pig is a pricey restaurant, so I had no problem with the price. BBQ from Fox Brothers, which is pretty darn good BBQ - you get a huge portion for the same price you pay the restaurant.

Mercedes Benz is a great facility. Arthur Blank is a quality owner. And his wife is a great influence on him.

MLS may never be as popular as the NFL, it would be surprising if that were to happen. I can tell you that in Atlanta, MLS is far more popular than the NBA. And that's in two years. Atlanta United just completed its second season, and the team is more popular than the Atlanta Hawks. I would not be surprised if Atlanta United became more popular than the Falcons. That's partly because college football is King here.

In comment 14212846 Eric from BBI said:

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I don't think this is just a Redskins thing. MetLife has been empty too, as have a number of stadiums throughout the country.

I don't know about other stadiums but the crowd at MetLife has been good as far as I can tell. Against TB 3 weeks ago, a non-rival without a large national fanbase, the stadium was packed.

In comment 14212875 ij_reilly said:

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It has peaked and is on the decline. IMO, the owners' greed, working partly through Roger Goodell and directly through their own initiatives, has taken the heart out of the sport. It's a fantasy league now. Some of the penalty calls in yesterday's Eagles-Cowboys were mind boggling. Contact is discouraged in a contact sport. What happens to the contact sport? It becomes a shell of its former self. By contrast, take a look at MLS and Atlanta United in particular. Over 1 million fans attended Atlanta United games this year. The three playoff games I attended, including the championship game, had over 70,000 spectators, plus a television audience. The championship game had 73,019 rabid fans in attendance, including several thousand who traveled from Portland (a very expensive trip). It was televised nationally on Fox. I went to the Monday night Falcons-Giants game. I had a great time, but the atmosphere was nothing like a United game. MLS is growing. The NFL is declining.

MLS? Lol. An NFL preseason game will have more viewers and people in the stadium than any MLS game.

packed. They may leave at halftime or before the end, but once settled in, there are no empty seats to speak of

In comment 14212895 Stu11 said:

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In comment 14212846 Eric from BBI said: Quote: I don't think this is just a Redskins thing. MetLife has been empty too, as have a number of stadiums throughout the country. And I don't agree with this to the same level of what appears to be happening down there. Sure when the Giants are out of it there are empty seats, but I went to the Saints game virtually every seat was taken. From this article it appears there were plenty of empty seats even when they were in 1st place earlier in the year.

It's an entirely different situation. Are the Giants advertising on TV and on the NYC subways? Because the Redskins are. I've lived in this area for 20 years, and this is the first year they've ever advertised for ticket sales.

As much as Giant fans complain about the owner, it's nothing compared to the situation in DC.

it is amazing how low the redskins are when considering percentage.... less than 75% attendance? That is historically low and the lowest in the league. Even both LA teams are beating this. Most of the teams that you would expect are above 90%. There is definitely something specific to the redskins going on here, not country wide. I wonder if it has anything to do with the name stuff along with horrible ownership?

?

In comment 14213023 lawguy9801 said:

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?

No. That rule was repealed in 2014.
Link - ( New Window )

stadiums. Food and drink is outrageous. Shirts and hats much cheaper in stores locally or online. It's cold and sometimes wet. Replays are better on TV.Bathrooms more accessible at home and beer and eats much cheaper. The experience? As you get older all you see is a bunch of drunken fools. No place to take the kids most of the time unless you get lucky and the people around you are civil which is a 50/50 chance.

Then something is wrong with my eyes because MetLife looked 1/3 to 1/2 empty against the Bears (the middle and upper decks).

even e-mailed me last week and asked me why the stadium was so empty. He's a life-long Giants fan who lived through the the terrible 1963-1980 era when the stadium was always full.

1964-1980

viewership is down around the NFL, and in other pro sports too, FedeX is one of the worst fan experiences in the country for so many reasons. Snyder needs to find a way to build a new stadium where RFK currently stands.

RFK may have been a dump but it was an awesome home field advantage. Only sat 56,000 but everything close to the field. A cauldron of noise.

They built that new place as too generic, boring, soulless. Too big too seating capacity wise

used to shake or bounce. literally, it shook when the fans would get loud.

FedEx is nicer but still a dump and might be the steepest upper deck I've ever been in. I've seen people walking up those steps with a hot dog and a beer have to stop and sit on the steps because they're afraid of the heights.

since 2000 when adjusted for inflation versus the cost of a ticket to an NFL game in NY (NJ) or Washington.

I remember buying tickets at face value for around $60 back then for the upper deck, versus $120 now. And the upper deck has moved up/back considerably from where it was.

In that same time, the size and resolution of my TV has increased significantly, while the tolls, parking, cost of concessions, etc. have also increased dramatically.

I think the cost of the tickets doesn't merit the in game experience anymore.

In comment 14213116 Pete in MD said:

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viewership is down around the NFL

Overall, NFL ratings have been up from last year consistently, most weeks up in the 5-10 percent range. - ( New Window )

vs. Bears & it was a pretty packed house. Rowdy too for a team going nowhere.

In comment 14212958 slov72 said:

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it is amazing how low the redskins are when considering percentage.... less than 75% attendance? That is historically low and the lowest in the league. Even both LA teams are beating this. Most of the teams that you would expect are above 90%. There is definitely something specific to the redskins going on here, not country wide. I wonder if it has anything to do with the name stuff along with horrible ownership?

It has nothing to do with the name. A major part of it is the fanbase finally coming to grips with the fact the team sucks. The team also was called out for inflating their ticket sales numbers over the last decade. This was the first year they attempted to address the ticket sales honestly with the fan base. They hired an outside group that specializes in stadium experience and they are in control this year. They are implementing practices to entice the fans to come out to the stadium and enjoy the live game. They admitted it will take some time and it sounds like Snyder is going to let them work on it and not just fire them out of the gate. The two guys spear heading the plan are on local radio from time to time discussing the situation.

In comment 14212873 Eli2020 said:

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And I would say the stadium has been pretty packed every game. Sometimes it takes until the middle of the 1st Q, but it does fill out. I also did a quick Google search to find this link confirming my drunken bias is not misleading me. 2018 NFL Football Attendance - ( New Window )

Most stunning thing about that list was the Chargers. Last in attendance at around 25,000 per game, which is 25,000 less than the team ranked 31st. And this is 10-3 team. I know they play in a small stadium but they set the bar pretty low regarding attendance.

In comment 14213334 kinard said:

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In comment 14212873 Eli2020 said: Quote: And I would say the stadium has been pretty packed every game. Sometimes it takes until the middle of the 1st Q, but it does fill out. I also did a quick Google search to find this link confirming my drunken bias is not misleading me. 2018 NFL Football Attendance - ( New Window ) Most stunning thing about that list was the Chargers. Last in attendance at around 25,000 per game, which is 25,000 less than the team ranked 31st. And this is 10-3 team. I know they play in a small stadium but they set the bar pretty low regarding attendance.

I don't think capacity at StubHub Center is much more than 25,000.

The lower and mezzanine sidelines seats all have clubs associated with them. So often the seats look empty b/c people are in the clubs. This often true at the start/end of quarters and/or if the weather isn't great.

it's just too expensive and tedious to attend games any more. If you don't have tickets you have to get them on the secondary market like Stub Hub. Paying $150 to $250 a ticket in the upper deck is just too much. Then you figure parking and fighting the traffic going to and from...ugh. I can use the $250 to get Sunday Ticket and see all the games. I don't have to wait in line to go to the bathroom or get something to eat. After the game is over I just turn the TV off instead of having to walk to my car and take an hour or more just to get out of the parking lot.

In comment 14213419 Gman11 said:

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it's just too expensive and tedious to attend games any more. If you don't have tickets you have to get them on the secondary market like Stub Hub. Paying $150 to $250 a ticket in the upper deck is just too much. Then you figure parking and fighting the traffic going to and from...ugh. I can use the $250 to get Sunday Ticket and see all the games. I don't have to wait in line to go to the bathroom or get something to eat. After the game is over I just turn the TV off instead of having to walk to my car and take an hour or more just to get out of the parking lot.

The situation in DC is different. It's a culmination of years of anger at this franchise.

In comment 14212846 Eric from BBI said:

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I don't think this is just a Redskins thing. MetLife has been empty too, as have a number of stadiums throughout the country.

Empty?

I've actually been sort of surprised by how many people seem to still be going to our home games given the nature of the way this season has gone.

Maybe it's harder to tell on TV - but it looked like the stands were pretty packed during the Bucs game and I didn't see many empty seats during the Bears game either.

As for the Redskins... that stadium just LOOKS like fucking garbage on TV. You can tell it's a dump without even needing to go there.

Because it was my kids first game, I wanted lower level seats so the could SEE the game and what was happening. When Stub Hub was done with me it cost $1,300 to attend the game.
$260 a ticket
x4
------------------
$1,040
+$210 processing fees and tax
-------------------
$1,250
+$50 parking pass
-------------------
$1,300

I know the price per ticket is on me, but that is hard to do more than once or twice a year. And I'm sure a lot of fans experiencing the same thing

.

In comment 14213086 Eric from BBI said:

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Then something is wrong with my eyes because MetLife looked 1/3 to 1/2 empty against the Bears (the middle and upper decks).

Eric, I’ve been at all the home games this season and the stadium has been pretty full for the most part. There were a lot of Bear fans in the building last week. We’re in the end zone (mezzanine) and there are some empty seats around us. It’s gotten worse the last couple of years as a lot of people don’t bother showing up to watch a bad team and can’t find buyers for their seats.

had higher TV ratings in DC market than Giants-Skins.

That can't be good for the Skins...

In comment 14213270 pjcas18 said:

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used to shake or bounce. literally, it shook when the fans would get loud. FedEx is nicer but still a dump and might be the steepest upper deck I've ever been in. I've seen people walking up those steps with a hot dog and a beer have to stop and sit on the steps because they're afraid of the heights.

Walkng the bowels of RFK was like being in a cave. I felt like I was in an episode of the Flintstones.

The upper deck is steep at FedEx but from I-95 the Ravens stadium looks steeper.

In comment 14213309 schabadoo said:

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In comment 14213116 Pete in MD said: Quote: viewership is down around the NFL Overall, NFL ratings have been up from last year consistently, most weeks up in the 5-10 percent range. - ( New Window )

That’s interesting, I hadn’t heard the NFL was making a ratings comeback. FedEx field still sucks though. I used to go to a lot of DC United games at RFK and it had so much more charm, in spite of how crappy and outdated it is. Urban stadiums have a different feel that you can’t capture with concessions or marketing.

In comment 14213116 Pete in MD said:

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viewership is down around the NFL, and in other pro sports too, FedeX is one of the worst fan experiences in the country for so many reasons. Snyder needs to find a way to build a new stadium where RFK currently stands.

Sounds a lot like the mess that Mara gave us in the Meadowlands. We went from sitting in row 11 behind the Giant bench at the 25 to sitting in the mezzanine in the end zone. Our tickets cost a lot more plus close to 20k for the PSL. Now you see the seats empty out early in the section where we used to be; those are the people Beckham and the players talk about leaving early. The Giant home field advantage is gone in Met Life. The stadium was loud twice since it’s been built; for the Dallas game on New Years night 2012 and for the playoff game a week later. That’s the only time it was close to being what it was at Giants stadium.