Pocono's Brandon Igdalski |
This week, Pocono CEO Brandon Igdalski told Associated Press sportswriter
Dan Gelston that ticket sales for Sunday’s return engagement are down
substantially from 2013, adding that he will speak to IndyCar CEO Mark Miles
this weekend about pulling out of the final year of their three-year contract.
Igdalsky said ticket sales for this year’s race were “kind of scary" when
compared to last year, and would not guarantee a return of the IndyCar series
to Pocono in 2015. Igdalsky said that if IndyCar does not return, “it's because
the fans did not come out and support the event."
In some corners, IndyCar’s Pocono struggles are seen as an indictment of
the series and its popularity. In truth, however, the Open Wheel Series is
suffering the same attendance maladies as virtually every other professional
sport, including NASCAR.
Packed houses at Bristol, a thing of the past? |
The days of 160,000 fans at Bristol, 150,000 at Texas or 140,000 at
Talladega are long gone and unlikely to return, at least in the foreseeable
future. Blame a faltering economy, unsettling employment news, gas prices that
hover near $3.70 per gallon and health insurance premiums that have doubled (or
even tripled) for many consumers in the last 120-18 months. Blame an
instant-gratification society that has 1,000 entertainment options at its
fingertips at all times and is unwilling to spend four hours or more in the
grandstands at a professional sporting event. Blame breakthroughs in
television, radio and internet technology that have made it easier (and
cheaper) to watch the game from the comfort of home, rather than travel to the
stadium or race track.
It’s a situation that has professional sports franchises crying the blues.
And it’s not just NASCAR and IndyCar.
In-person attendance figures for Formula One racing are not readily
available, but that circuit’s television viewership is down dramatically this
season. F1’s global audience fell from 515 million in 2011
to 500 million in 2012 and 450 million last season, with staggering losses in
many of the sport’s most critical markets. Viewership is down 50% in In Latin America over last season,
13% in Germany and 20% in Italy, and while France’s recent move to Pay-Per-View
F1 broadcasts makes a direct comparison difficult, the loss of viewership is seen
as nothing less than catastrophic by the sport’s organizers.
Major League Baseball is down... |
In the National Basketball Association, attendance was been flat or
slightly down in recent years. Many teams are now battling
sagging attendance by running promotions that deeply discount tickets and offer
other incentives for attendance. In mid-December, the Phoenix Suns offered a
money-back guarantee for their game against the Dallas Mavericks, promising
full refunds if fans were unhappy with the team’s performance. On secondary
ticket markets like StubHub, many franchises now have tickets available for as
little as a buck. That was not the case even a few short years ago.
Last season, only the Miami Heat were able to fill 100% of their seats. The
Detroit Pistons brought up the rear at just 78.3% of capacity; selling approximately
13,000
seats per game in the 21,000-seat Palace. Piston games regularly featured yawning
voids in the stands that television viewers could not help but notice.
...as is the NBA. |
In terms of attendance, the National Football League
remains the 600-pound gorilla of professional sports. Last season, six different
franchises – the Dallas Cowboys, Green Bay Packers, Denver Broncos, Philadelphia
Eagles, Minnesota Vikings and Chicago Bears – boasted tickets sales of greater
than 100%. The Packers top the list at 104.2% of capacity, meaning that every
seat is sold (both home and away) along with a number of standing-room-only
tickets. Even with television blackouts imposed in local markets where the home
team fails to sell out, most teams now sell between 85 and 90% of their
available tickets.
It’s complex problem, and concrete solutions will be difficult to come by. Ticket
prices have already begun to fall; a direct result of the inexorable link
between supply and demand. Arenas and speedways now provide more “value added” per
dollar spent, discounting parking, food and drinks and providing
behind-the-scenes VIP Tours and other amenities that were traditionally not
available to the average fan.
In the short term, however, men like Brandon Igdalski will continue to face
difficult decisions concerning the future of their venues.
I agree with your article, people cant afford the money to go to these events! I go to both Pocono Races and they have done a great job at the track , taking out every other seat makes it more enjoyable and the racing has been pretty good overall for Nascar there, I also always went to DOver 2 times a year and cut out the spring race only because of the racing, There isn't the action that was always there and the same goes for Richmond. I can remember never sitting down during a race because of so much action, now I have to fight to stay awake.
ReplyDeleteI believe that for most sports you are correct, Dave. In my opinion, IndyCar would be the exception to the economic and technological challenges the others face. IndyCar damaged themselves long before any of that came into play and either they are not trying hard enough or the damage is too extensive.
ReplyDeleteI was impressed with the size of the crowd at the Kansas City race this year. If these sports venues would lower their prices a little, most of their fan base could afford to return. Until the economy starts acting like this is the USA instead of some backwater Socialist country, the average fan will continue to be priced out of the market. By the way, I got to go to Kansas City because I got a taxpayer supplied free ticket from the US Army. I never complain about getting a gift, and I support our Army 100%, but doesn't it strike people odd that the cheapest way into a sports stadium is a free pass from the taxpayers? Get rid of these clowns in Washington and maybe sanity can return to this country. But I digress, I'm sure.
ReplyDeleteWell, you just permanently lost me as a reader, Hot Shot.
ReplyDeleteAll of the factors mentioned are true.Ticket prices, parking,hotel rates that are outrageous.These prices have not came down,so they are cutting their own throat.
ReplyDeleteThe problem is that TV coverage is now superior to the live experience. Just look at all of the chain link fencing at Daytona this weekend. Daytona Rising isn't going to solve that problem.
ReplyDeleteEvents still draw huge crowds. Look at the crowds for the Goodwood Festival. In this country we have the Monterey Historics and the Long Beach race. Both draw huge numbers. They're both total events that offer a variety of different experiences.
Who wants to fight the traffic and then be in a grandstand seat for the whole day?
Agree, Dave. The economy is the largest problem. Races are much better in person but folks just can't afford tickets. It is a major sacrifice. Corporations are making money but people aren't working. Even if they have a job, there are no raises. It will take years to recover. I hope racing, as we know it, survives.
ReplyDeleteRacing's issues go beyond attendances and to the fratricidal economics of the sport; the lack of spending controls for raceteams has meant a long-term decline in quality of fields and it has now begun eating into Cup with a short field at Kentucky. Racing has to stop hiding in the sand and start facing that it needs spending controls for raceteams - no more of these $10 million per year budgets that sponsors more and more are balking at.
ReplyDeleteTechnology breakthroughs that ostensibly make it easier to watch events instead of attending them live are at best just part of the problem because live experience fundamentally is superior to electronic monitoring. Issues of cost are nauturally changing given how the market works. If I get the chance I'm going to Pocono in August.
Issues of the competitive quality of the racing are more serious, shown in negative reaction I've read on last night's Firecracker 250 - the race was good, and the finish great, but it needs to be better - the push-drafting seen at the end needs to be allowed more for more passing. Incentivizing winning and going for the lead, and making the draft more important than handling because that is what breeds passing, remain the sport's biggest competitive issues directly related to attendances.
I have to defend my beloved Pistons, most of the issue with attendance in recent seasons, has more to do with the product on the floor. I guarantee you, that if the Pistons were still contending for a championship, we would be talking about a consecutive sell-out streak, just like during the Ben Wallace-Rip Hamilton-Chauncey Billups era from 2003-2008.
ReplyDeleteA lot of Dodge fans don't attend the races anymore. And the high cost of healthcare. How can a person making $25000 a year afford healthcare at $250 a month, and that has a $6000 deductable. Pay there rent, car payment, child support, buy gas for there car to get to work, buy groceries, pay for utilities and don't forget your car insurance bill. And them you get laid off in the winter. Thanks Obama.
ReplyDelete