Empty seats today in California

[boltfan72]

how much for a psl in inglewood??

Based on the interest so far, probably about $1.95.

 

[Lakers+USC=#1]

For a weekday 7pm start you're correct. But at 1pm on a Sunday it's pretty easy to get around.

Do you stay in LA?

 

[GeekSportsFan]

As a life long resident of So Cal (with the exception of a hitch in the military) I can honestly say that unless L.A. has winning teams, people won't go to the games. For one, there are a ton of things to do in fall/winter, and two, traffic is an f'ing nightmare. I have not been to a pro game in close to 25 years. I would much rather watch a game in the comfort of my home, than deal with So Cal traffic jams, outrageous parking/concession prices, etc. Both UCLA and USC also suffer attendance issues when they don't win.

 

[boltfan72]

Do you stay in LA?

I've gone to Lakers and Kings games during the week and on weekends. There's always traffic but during the week is much worse. I go to Asia frequently and always take a flight on Sundays around 4pm, and never hit significant traffic going to LAX, which takes me right past Stubhub.

 

[eaglesnut]

No, but more than the pro teams because of students already living on campus and people there early to tailgate.

Here on the real side of the country we tailgate for pro games.

 

[GeekSportsFan]

Here on the real side of the country we tailgate for pro games.

Fuck tailgating, we sip lattes in the parking lot out on the West Coast.

 

[Scooby-Doo]

LA is the worst sports town. You put a NFL team in ANY other major city and it sells out regardless of the teams performance. Yet another reason LA county is the shit stain of America.

 

[tabascojet]

The NFL Is Seriously Concerned With Empty Stadiums

 

[DJ]

Two terrible teams last season and mainly the heat kept people away. And to be fair the Coliseum has a capacity of like 93k so it's easy for that stadium to look empty.

The Rams will be fine in L.A. as they do have somewhat of a pre-established fan base but it'll take time for them to get rooted and grow the fan base.

It's not that there isn't a market for a team in L.A. because there is actually a ton of football fans in SoCal but they grouped up into fans of different teams.

So like the Angels baseball team in SoCal you'll need about two generations before you grow a really strong and faithful fanbase as the kids who don't have a favorite team adopt the local team and pass that fandom onto their kids.

This guy gets it. And people in LA have the extra $ to go to a game.

 

[DJ]

You guys are missing important facts.

1) The Rams are fighting against 2 fan bases. They are fighting against the Raiders, who has the largest fan base in LA. Then, you have the Chargers.

2) The Rams are new to a lot of people in LA, so you have to give them time to adapt to them. There wasn't a team here for 20 years so everybody had different teams to root for.

3) Look where they are playing. Everybody and their mama knows the Coliseum is a dump. Not only that, it fits over 95k people, so it will look more empty than stadiums that fit 60k people.

4) A lot of people are waiting for the new stadium in Inglewood to be finished.

5) If this was the Raiders, then that stadium would be sold out, period! It's not a city thing, it's a team thing.

Bam.

 

[DJ]

That is not why they moved. Get your facts straight.

Morons.

Al moved the Raiders because he wanted the Coliseum renovated and the city wasn't too keen on helping. Georgia moved the team because of similar reasons, wanting a new stadium to boost revenue. Saint Louis offered incentives for the Rams to move there.

 

[HaroldSeattle]

Put out a great team and folks will attend, even in California. Put out bottom of the division teams....then not so much.

 

[DJ]

For a weekday 7pm start you're correct. But at 1pm on a Sunday it's pretty easy to get around.

You'd be wrong.....

 

[DJ]

Traffic in the greater LA is always rough......you're lucky if it's smooth sailing.

 

[boltfan72]

You'd be wrong.....

I've taken the same flight about 30 times. Never hit such bad traffic on a Sunday that I came close to missing a flight. Plus assuming I'm not driving to the game alone I could take advantage of carpool lanes.

But, if traffic is as big a culprit as you think, I doubt you'll see any support at the new stadium. Talk about a clusterfuck of a drive to get to that location...

I agree LA is a lot like SD in the sense that you have to put a solid product on the field to get support. But even if the stadium didn't sell out every week, we had enough diehards in SD that would go every week regardless - at least enough to fill Stubhub and then some. And when the team was good from 2004-2010, we sold out every game. Imagine the visual of the Chargers opening up as tenants in the Rams new stadium on the heels of Philip Rivers' retirement. Talk about a shit show.

Bottom line is it will take a lot of time to win LA fans over, but if those two teams suck for the next 10 years, it may be too late. My dream is to get my team back in San Diego with a new owner, and the only way that happens is if the Chargers fail miserably in LA, so that's what I'm pulling for.

 

[ATL96Steeler]

Yikes. The niners crowd is more surprising, imo, noticed it before the game started. Stick with my prediction Chargers or Rams leave L.A. after 5 years or before.

I think the Rams are there to stay for a while...Kroenke is not going to pump a billion into the stadium and surrounding development and leave. I could see Spanos getting tired of getting LA sand kicked in his face and going back to SD in 5 yrs.

 

[tabascojet]

I think the Rams are there to stay for a while...Kroenke is not going to pump a billion into the stadium and surrounding development and leave. I could see Spanos getting tired of getting LA sand kicked in his face and going back to SD in 5 yrs.

kroenkeland will make money wether fans come to see the rams or not....he aint leaving

 

[ATL96Steeler]

kroenkeland will make money wether fans come to see the rams or not....he aint leaving

Yep, these new venues are cash cows for at least a decade...the new Mercedes Dome in ATL already had the final four, CFB national champ game, and the SB...JerryWorld is about to double down on all of these large scale events.

The worst teams in home attendence (2016, OAK, SD, TB, DET, CHI all had less than 500,000 fans for their 8 home games)...All made a profit.

 

[shopson67]

Yikes. The niners crowd is more surprising, imo, noticed it before the game started. Stick with my prediction Chargers or Rams leave L.A. after 5 years or before.

Rams aren't leaving, their owner is paying for his own $2B stadium.

 

[shopson67]

Very true as far as pro football goes.
However, basketball & baseball have been thriving in LA for decades, and so has hockey too oddly enough.

LA supported the Rams very well before Frontiere started cutting corners towards a fat relocation deal.