Why aren’t Atlanta fans buying sports tickets?
Metro Atlanta fans tell the AJC that, partly as a result of the extended economic slump, they’ve cut back on buying tickets to sports events. Attractive rates for TV sports packages and convenient Internet access are also cited as factors keeping fans away from games.
The Braves, Hawks and Thrashers have all seen attendance decline, with the Thrashers showing the lowest drop at less than 1 percent. The Hawks saw the biggest drop in regular-season attendance, falling 5.4 percent from last season. The Falcons do not disclose season-ticket sales and renewal figures.
Tell us: Have you cut back on the number of sporting events you attend? Did you cancel season tickets for a favorite team? If so, was it because of the economy or better deals via TV or Internet?
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99 comments Add your comment
JB
May 27th, 2011
12:21 pm
As a diehard Braves fan I feel that bring the AAA team to Gwinnett was the greatst and worst decision ever. Since I live in Gwinnett, it is much easier, and cheaper, for me to drive 10 minutes down the road and pay $8 for a ticket as opposed to 1 hr and $25. Don’t get me wrong, I will definately go to an Atlanta Braves game to watch the big boys play but it is much simplier, AND CHEAPER, to drive down the road. Make the tickets at the Atlanta games cheaper instead of more expensive and it will be worth the drive.
Archie
May 27th, 2011
12:25 pm
The problem for me is that going to the games just isn’t any more fun than watching at home. Being at the game simply doesn’t enhance the enjoyment of the game itself, at least not enough to make me want to pay for it. I don’t need or want all of the silly, carnival-esque distractions that you find going on during the game. I hate the Kiss Cam, the Home Depot Tool Race is not only retarded but it’s a ripoff of the Milwaukee Sausage Race, the extra entertainment they’ve added to make it family friendly and casual fan friendly is just not for me. When I go to a game, I go for the actual game and the electric atmosphere of the crowd. So I have no interest in going to any game that doesn’t have that. I’d rather watch at home or at the sports bar.
dtanner
May 27th, 2011
12:32 pm
cost’s a fortune to go, and i’m not gonna support these overpaid jerk prima donna pro athletes with my hard earned money.
leaness
May 27th, 2011
12:32 pm
I, personally, will miss the Thrashers if/when they move to Winnipeg. I’ve had many wonderful times attending many games for many seasons. However, I can understand the reason behind the move. The south does not have such a high market for hockey. Based on one visit to Pittsburgh, hockey was in the blood of the people. It’s not that way so much here. My nieces in New York grew up playing hockey. I do not know too many people here that can say the same. I know they are here, but I have met very, very few.
ticket prices are a BIG part of the problem
May 27th, 2011
12:38 pm
I’ve still been buying tickets but not as often as I did 20 years ago. Ticket prices have gone up much, MUCH higher than the rate of inflation. I’m not going to pay $80 to sit lower level at a Hawks or Thrashers regular season game – sorry. Nor am I going to pay over $100 to go to a Falcons game or $60 to sit in the prime lower bowl at a Braves game.
Whether the owners and management want to admit it or not, ticket prices are behind a lot of the attendance problems. The sports media doesn’t pick up on it b/c the sports media doesn’t have to pay for tickets.
howard
May 27th, 2011
12:39 pm
I have absolutely cutback and this has been going on for several years now. Our economy is a long way from a recovery and prices of goods and services just keep rising.
my take
May 27th, 2011
12:41 pm
I agree that ticket prices have gone beyond reason. I also think that Atlanta has a somewhat unique “traffic/public transportation/stadium location” problem that contributes mightily to the attendance problems.
Combine these 2 factors with the fact that the teams haven’t been in Atlanta near as long as the Boston, New York, Philadelphia, and Chicago team and you understand why the attendance isn’t the same here. Not to mention the demographic factor of a lot of people here not having deep Atlanta roots.
Bill Campbell
May 27th, 2011
12:41 pm
Prices too high to watch over-paid jerks play children’s games!
working joe
May 27th, 2011
12:46 pm
these guys think these games are so important,but after the braves won the world series back in 1995,i was at work the following monday morning and realized it did’nt do a damn thing for me,hav’nt been a fan since
DH
May 27th, 2011
12:54 pm
EVERYONE is cutting back, and considering how the Stadium Vendors GOUGE everyone with grossly inflated prices for processed garbage “food” and the crappiest beer on earth, you better believe I’m skipping “going to the game” this year. Probably next year, too.
At least you can get fairly priced baseball tickets and then bring your own food/beverage. That makes for a very nice and very economical time (but I won’t spend a nickel at the concessions – I wouldn’t mind seeing some of those businesses go bankrupt).
Jim Adams
May 27th, 2011
12:57 pm
MLB teams, like the big oil companies are pricing themselves so the real baseball fans can no longer afford to attend games.
nonsportsfan
May 27th, 2011
1:01 pm
There is more to life than sports.
Pete Mitchell
May 27th, 2011
1:13 pm
I don’t go to sporting events anymore. It’s a whole cheaper to buy a TV Sports Package through the TV Company. You get better coverage and dont even have to leave your couch!! And besides when was the last time a team any team from Atlanta even sniffed the Finals??
Christian B
May 27th, 2011
1:13 pm
I plan on going to as many games this year as I did last year though I am less likely to go to games that are not subject to special pricing (e.g. Buck Mondays). I also take my on food and drink to the game when I can. I would probaby be more inclined to go if I could avoid parking fees and MARTA ran a better service to Turner Field.
willow
May 27th, 2011
1:14 pm
ban all sports agents remove the scum of the earth lawyers and see how smart the players or so called competitors are most pro athletes are basic jerks clean up the city by starting with the most powerful and most protected
Pro "truth"
May 27th, 2011
1:17 pm
The “Great Recession”, as named by the media, has definitely played a role of attendance in sporting events but the situation is much more complicated. Various people on this board have brought up valid points but instead of having an overall combative tone and felling towards each other, you dont address whom is to blame. Corporations own a lot of these teams (Braves, Hawks, Thrashers… etc) and they are only interested in providing the cheapest and cost affordable way to make a profit. They could care less about the product they put out there for consumers. As long as it is “good enough” they are fine. People are struggling out here! (white, black, gay, straight, poor) Even those who were once considered to be “rich” are having to hold back. People get angry and attack each other when things are going bad and their true racist or bigotry feelings come out. Yes, we know this is a metro city and it was never prepared for this huge population increase within a 10yr span after the Olympics. But it is the State governments fault (Dems, Reps, Libs!) that Atlanta has become a city of under-performance. You can’t enjoy a game when you the city wont provide the consumer an effective way to get to the game. You cant expect people to spend their hard earned money when they dont feel safe going out to the stadiums. Minorities are just as afraid as these racist people of the “criminal element” that lurks downtown. This shouldnt be a white or black thing, this should be a “rally thing” and we need to demand that the government take an active and logical role in providing jobs, mass transit and safety for the public. Until that is happening no one is going to go to any games! These people out here are either too poor, or to afraid to go out and explore a game in Atlanta and will remain a prisoner in their own home. And things only become worse when you are either motivated or unmotivated by fear and oppression/poverty. Dont ask the fans why we wont support the city and their teams, you need to ask the city and the teams why they wont help us support them!
God
May 27th, 2011
1:18 pm
I really dont like black people
Old Violin
May 27th, 2011
1:27 pm
Could it be that the fans are finally saying out loud what they’ve been thinking for a long time ? We’re tired of supporting teams that don’t give it their all, don’t respect the fans, and think they’re the kings of the walk ! Tickets cost too much, players are paid to much, and we’ve been sitting back taking it for a long time….The JP Wentworth commercial says “It’s my money and I want it now ” and the fans are saying ” It’s my money, and I can spend it better than that “! Stop the Bleeding before we totally stop coming to the games………just saying !
99Champ
May 27th, 2011
1:28 pm
Love the Thrashers!!!! Hate the traffic!!!! If hockeywas in North Fulton, Gwinnett or Cobb, I’d be there all the time.
Old Violin
May 27th, 2011
1:36 pm
Since I haven’t found a place to blog about Derick Lowes charges being dropped, I’ll do it here…..Mr. Lowe, you have allowed a terrible mistake (giving you the benefit of the doubt) to turn into an unacceptable outcome for what you did! When you issued a statement taking reponsiblity for your actions, you won some respect, now with the charges dropped, all I smell it “Stank”, and I will never consider you a man again, I will never pull for you to win again, and I will hope that your career with any major league sport is short lived. To the children that you have now taught that wrong is acceptable if you have the money to cover it up, you should issue another statement ! You are now, no better than the thugs in football that do this on a regular basis !
TV Watcher
May 27th, 2011
1:47 pm
I live 50 miles from downtown Atlanta. With the price of gas, parking and tickets, I stay home and watch on TV. The athletes, like the rest of us should take a paycut and managements should get real in their expectations. Contrary to what Wall Street thinks, GREED is not good. Using the word ATLANTA is also a misnomer–it should be the Atlanta AREA team–Atlanta proper is shrinking in spending population like a pair of cheap shorts.
Tana
May 27th, 2011
1:51 pm
The issue in Atlanta is the prices nad the quality of the teams. I wish I could say that our teams were money pinchers like some other city teams. Everyone is saying they don’t put effort into putting a winning product on the field. Oh they do. They spend mega millions on under performing guys. Derek Lowe, Dan Uggla, Marvin Williams, Josh Smith, Joe Johnson. The only team who plays to their talent salary is the Falcons.
Let’s face it too. All of us complaining on here are ‘real fans’. ‘Real fans’ do not attend our sporting events, which is what drives away many fans in itself. The fan who is up and down the whole game, the fan who doesn’t know half the team, the fan who is uncomprehensively drunk….these are all big reasons I dislike some events. Falcons games are different. Everyone in the Dome treats each other as a brother or a sister. Braves games are just intolerable. Strike me down for this, but I am a big opposer to giving away tickets to one hundred different youth groups. Then on those days they give away promotions to just kids. Roger McDowell had it right on kids being at the baseball game.
The Ghost of Norm Van Brocklin
May 27th, 2011
2:02 pm
NOW WHY IN THE WORLD would a clinically sane sports fan give up pricey tickets and lost all of the following attractions…..
…Gridlock Traffic….enduring gridlock only to face insane parking lot fees…..Panhandlers verbally and often physically assaulting you and your family to and from the parking area to the arenas….morons wearing Mike Vick jerseys mixing it up with drunken morons who don’t drink Vick Kool-Aid…..only to see a bunch of thug-like millionaires who are poor role models for any adult or children….and only to witness off the field verbal fireworks between the thug millionaires and owner billionaires who jack up our prices to pay the millionaires in a poor economy?
WHY WOULD WE WANT TO MISS ALL OF THAT?
gtkenz
May 27th, 2011
2:06 pm
Unless the tickets are free, very much so. Between parking and the concession prices, professional sporting events are far too expensive for the average Joe. If I do go, I always taligate before hand to fill up before the game and avoid the high pricing inside, but let’s face it, a couple of stadium drinks or hotdogs are the price of a case at the grocery store. And all so Chipper and company can make 10+ million a year to play a game. Insane.
Real American
May 27th, 2011
2:08 pm
LOL…just gotta love the people shrilling about the location. That’s funny.
AngryRedMarsWoman
May 27th, 2011
2:19 pm
I will echo the sentiment of others – it is the location (and traffic), not the cost. Even if I can achieve a virtually uneventful trip down 400 and/or 75, I will sit forever in traffic on surface streets trying to get into a parking lot (APD sitting on the corners doing a bang-up job). Who can regularly leave the office at 3pm to ensure they make it to a 7pm first pitch? MARTA is not the answer – it still takes more than an hour to get from here to there and requires transfers. And when you leave Turner Field they normally wind up directing you somewhere “new” and unless you are very familiar with the city streets you wander around until you find a sign for I75. That being said, I love the Braves so much that I venture to The Ted a dozen times a year at least…and on all of the other days they are on my radio and television. GO BRAVES.
Dolph Lundgren
May 27th, 2011
2:27 pm
@Pro “truth”
“we need to demand that the government take an active and logical role in providing jobs, mass transit and safety for the public. ”
The problem is that the government is trying to do too much! Saftey…yes. It is not the role of the government to provide jobs…idiot
The democrats only solution is to “tax the rich”…who just so happen to be the lifeblood of the economy. When you piss the “rich” off, they just take their money out of our economy…then everyone else suffers
ATL Observer
May 27th, 2011
2:34 pm
If one of the “rich” would pitch in for a transit system, I’d be more sympathetic.
e l pratt
May 27th, 2011
2:54 pm
@ tana>>It would be nice to go to a game without the concern that your car won’t be there when you get out to the parking lot. Or, that you won’t get mugged when you are walking to the socialist bus-stop. I looked at my initial comment just now before answering you and I can’t find anything in it relating to racial concerns. Where did you get that from? Maybe they are just your own bigoted projections about SAWBs. As for my protection, What good did it do for Ronald Reagan to have 1100 Secret service agents on duty the day Hinckley shot him? Coincidently, the stats that the FBI gave for proper policing of a community at that time were the inverse of the numbers for Ronald Reagan. They said there should be one cop for every 1100 citizens. That’s why I carry a gun. There’s never a cop around when you need one. And, besides, cops are too heavy to lug around on your hip all day. Just remember the next time you need a cop, when seconds count, the cops are only minutes away. When trying to deal with someone who is intent on stealing more than just second base, a bat is not the tool to use.
Rich
May 27th, 2011
3:00 pm
As one of the northern transplants mentioned above, I’ll support the statements about lack of loyalties to local teams. My wife and I only care about the Chicago Cubs (my team) and Pittsburgh Steelers (hers). We go to 1-2 Cubs-Braves games at Turner each year (and 1-2 at Wrigley) and the Steelers haven’t come to Atlanta lately. No interest in Atlanta sports teams for their own sakes. Hard to imagine what would ever change that situation.
e l pratt
May 27th, 2011
3:01 pm
@ Rich>>You probably don’t drink Coca-Cola either.
Rich
May 27th, 2011
3:06 pm
Coke Zero these days, thanks.
e l pratt
May 27th, 2011
3:15 pm
@ Rich>>Actually, that is a product they get from ‘Union” county to serve to Yankees.
e l pratt
May 27th, 2011
3:33 pm
The real reason ticket sales are lagging is that Atlanta just doesn’t produce winning teams. We hire all the best athletes and showcase their talents as individuals but never demand that they play effectively as a team. the sign of the times came from a fan in the cheap seat during the football strike in the late ’80s; He held up a banner that read, “Falcons go home and take the Braves with you.” The other reason for slow ticket sales is the classic example of insanity; when you just keep laying out good money for repetitive losers and expect that somehow your investment will produce world class teams. Oh well! Go figure..
balony
May 27th, 2011
3:35 pm
Because it’s a rip-off
Jason
May 27th, 2011
3:56 pm
“TopperCat
May 26th, 2011
9:54 pm
If the games weren’t so inconvenient to get to, I’d go to many more. Living in Cobb County, it is an absolute pain to take I-75 all the way down to Turner Field and then pay 12$ to simply park. Seriously, let’s move these stadiums out of the slums of downtown and somewhere more practical to get to. The money of Atlanta isn’t inside the perimeter…”
Wow, this is so stupid I don’t even know where to begin. Buckhead and Druid Hills are inside the perimeter last time I checked. Name an OTP neighborhood with that much old money in it. You can’t because it doesn’t exist.
You make a good point about location. Downtown Atlanta is not very nice. The Thrashers, Hawks, and Falcons, however, are right on the train line. But then again you probably don’t want to be on a train with “those” people do you?
As for the Braves, you think $12 for parking is expensive? Either you just aren’t the “money” person you pretend to be, or you’re just a complete tightwad and you wouldn’t ever go to any sporting event anyway. It’s $12 to park right next to the stadium for a major sporting event in a major metro area. That is NOT, by any stretch of the imagination, expensive. As an added bonus, anyone can go online and buy and print a parking tag before going to the game. There’s no driving around aimlessly looking for an open lot.
jeff
May 27th, 2011
4:18 pm
Let’s see, at least $50 per person for a decent seat, a minimum of $10 parking, $8 for a beer….shall I continue?
Brandon
May 27th, 2011
4:25 pm
“It’s the economy stupid!”
Baseball has abandoned it’s fans, not the other way around. When I was in Philly and they weren’t doing well, they gave deals to everyone. The Braves want people to sit in the nosebleed seats. In Philly, they would sell hotdogs for a couple bucks. At the Braves, it’s what? 6$ 8$? The point it that baseball teams spend millions on players and not a dime on fans. Give us a break and we’ll come.
Brandon
May 27th, 2011
4:29 pm
@Toppercat
Braves on a train line? Really? What train are you taking?
Brandon
May 27th, 2011
4:32 pm
er. . . I’m sorry. . . that comment was for Jason….
Well hey Rockefeller, if $12 to park, $50 for a decent seat and $8 a hotdog means nothing to you, perhaps you can invite my family sometime.
DTB711
May 27th, 2011
4:54 pm
Enter your comments here
I don’t even watch the Braves anymore. If they moved it wouldn’t bother me.
Brandon
May 27th, 2011
4:55 pm
Let’s review a rough price for a family of four for one night:
Parking $12
Seats decent seats x 4 $226
Hotdogs x 4 @ $8 $32
Sodas x 4 @ $4 $16
TOTAL $286
So that’s $286 (give or take) for one evening lasting around 2 to 3 hours. And we’re supposed to make it to how many games in order to be considered “fans”? At 20 games my family is supposed to drop $5,720? Let’s say we’re HUGE fans. If we made it to 80 games it would cost $22,880. I could take my entire to Italy and Greece for that.
Brandon
May 27th, 2011
5:06 pm
I disagree. I love the Braves. I’ve been a fan for 20 years. I watch them every night. We simply can’t afford to go more than once or twice a year. I’ll tell you what. Drop Uggla who is hitting .180 for a $9 million salary, replace him with Mather and give the fans a break on the price of tickets.
gapeachpit
May 27th, 2011
5:36 pm
Coming in from the southside, it is primarily money and the surrounding area of the stadiums. Let’s break this down:
1. Ticket prices-they are over-priced in most instances, unless you want to sit in the outfield bleachers of the Branves’ games or up so high that the players look like bugs. In that case, you’ll see better if you stay home and watch on the TV. Let’s be honest here. Why pay money to sit out and sweat, get rained on, have that beer-brained jerk slop his brew down your back, the donkey kid kick the back of your seat or whatever-and still not be able to really see what you came to see? Unless of course what you paid to do was to get sloppy drunk in public and act stupid-in which case, be my guest. I don’t want to be around you. You’re not a baseball fan-you’re an idiot.
2. The price of food and novelties-t-shirts, caps, etc.- are outrageously high. Even Ted Turner-and he’s a billionaire-stated publicly that he wouldn’t pay those prices. Yet we are EXPECTED to do so and do so willingly. NO, I won’t do it and NO, I won’t be back until you do something about it. Besides, the quality of the food is abysmal-even for stadium food.
3. The area around Turner Field. Egads. I know those people have to live somewhere and I know the Catholic Cancer hospital is there and that it has been there for ages. I don’t mind it. They keep the place up. But the rest of the area-when you leave to go to your car-it is dangerous out there in a lot of places-and you don’t have to walk all that far from the stadium to get there either. Desperate people will do desperate things and I have seen the residue of the break-ins of car being entered and things taken with my own eyes. It is frightening to me and I’m a native. I can only imagine the impact to a visitor. This city wants people to come in for this kind of entertainment? Well, you have to make it safe for them AND their vehicles-and they have so far failed to do so.
I don’t know about Falcons, Hawks, or Thrashers. We’re priced out of all of the Falcons games so we don’t even try anyway. Basketball and hockey are non-starters in this household. If either of those teams fell into a black hole, we probably wouldn’t even know it.
Oh, and while I’m registering gripes-I want Braves broadcasting back on the radio. I follow the games while driving, working in the yard, doing housework, etc. Just what do these fools think they’re doing?
Brandon
May 27th, 2011
5:50 pm
@ gapeachpit
I think they changed the radio stations. You can now hear the Braves on AM 680 and FM 93.7 or FM 100.5, depending where you are.
jtdawg
May 27th, 2011
7:07 pm
UGA still sells out every football game – even with a down season. A lot of those fans come from Atlanta.
Digital Sniper
May 27th, 2011
9:56 pm
Listen to Colin Cowherd and it becomes very simple. The Southeast is all about college and SEC football. Plus, crazy fan guy (like Philly fans) are usually less educated, don’t travel abroad, stay close to home (or live with mom) and don’t have anything better to do. Don’t hate the messenger, those are statistics and poll number facts. Why the hell would someone with common sense pay big money to deal with ATL traffic, line the pockets of ingrate pro athletes and owners, and get less comfort than sitting at home to watch the game on their HD or 3D TV? Plus, it’s been said a few times already in this thread, most of the people in ATL are not from here and don’t care. The stands are full of Cubs and Red Sux fans when they come to town. I like the Bravos, just not that much.
Brandon
May 27th, 2011
10:51 pm
@ Digital Sniper
Did you have a point? We were talking about the Braves ticket sales. Please keep up or crack another beer and convince yourself that you’re clever. Your point was that you went to Europe (traveled abroad), don’t like traffic, watch sports on an expensive tv, don’t like natives (i have a degree from UGA and Georgia State), etc… Where are you going with this? The question is why don’t more people go to Braves games? Your answer is because they didn’t go to Europe?
Larry Steele
May 31st, 2011
2:56 pm
If you really want a “Reality check”, check out “Professional” Ticket prices in Toronto Canada, Raptors vs Hawks, Braves vs The Jays, hang on to your under garments, Thrashers or any other NHL team south of the Border vs Toronto Maple Leaf Ticket Prices. You think that individuals cannot afford in Atlanta or others regions of the USA. Also do not forget the incidentials, Pking, programme, a beverage for you and the children, maybe a little something to go home with. A family of 4 in Toronto figure 500 to 750 for a Leafs game, thats reality.
Larry, a Cdn that cannot afford a Leaf Game, PS, Check out the Suites.