whats with attendance?

[dfs]

sort of OT, but is cincy planning to ever build some sort of light rail between Dayton and Cincy? I think the metrolink has played a huge roll in drawing people to games in StL that maybe wouldn't have come.

Light Rail in Ohio was seriously torpedoed by our current Governer.
It would be shocking if it could start happening in the next 5 years.

More probably belongs in PandR.

[757690]

sort of OT, but is cincy planning to ever build some sort of light rail between Dayton and Cincy? I think the metrolink has played a huge roll in drawing people to games in StL that maybe wouldn't have come.

I love the metrolink in St. Louis. When I'm there, that's my choice to get to the stadium. It's fast, cheap, and lets you off rght at the stadium. It's also a great way to get to the airport.

[reds1869]

Like the Banks?

Let me rephrase: it won't happen quickly or easily. I love The Banks, I live there. But it was many years in the making due to politics. Light rail is always politically charged to start with.

[nmculbreth]

Don't make the "the drive is too far" argument. If the product on the field is good, which it has been, then people will drive from a long way to see it. The argument that hasn't been brought up yet is that northern kentucky and southern indiana are basketball dominated areas and Ohio is a football dominated state (generalizations of course). More of you live in the area, are people there just not big baseball fans?

There is a big difference between "too far" for weeknight games and weekend games. I live in Centerville (south side Dayton) and need to be on the road by 5:30 to be in my seat by opening pitch, if you live north of Dayton you'd probably need to tack on another 30 - 45 minutes to the drive because of the construction on I-75 and standard rush hour traffic. For a lot of people that means leaving straight from work or trying to get out of work early to have enough time to go home to change, pick up your kids / significant other, etc. Most people aren't going to go through that sort of hassle on a regular basis, nor do I particularly blame them.

I usually do it once or twice a year, but for the most part it's just a whole lot easier to do a weekend game where you're not running around like crazy to get there or leaving in the 7th or 8th inning to get home at a reasonable hour.

[Falls City Beer]

I'm with woy on this. Tons and tons of other teams to choose from @ Cincy, St. Louis area, it's, who?, the Rams? SLU? Mizzou? (lol). Please.

Ohio's a football state to the marrow; Kentucky and Indiana, basketball. Add in the fact the Reds have a habit of going on 2 decade skids of not just mediocrity, but total irrelevance, and there's your answer.

The better point of comparison is Pittsburgh.

[Roy Tucker]

I will say the Reds market the heck out of this team. And they run the stadium well too.

Lots of ticket specials, lots of advertising, and GABP is a great MLB game experience.

I think given the demographics and history of the area, they do well to pull in as many fans as they do.

[KYBatsFan]

I can make it from my place in Southern Indiana to GABP and in my seat in two hours, and that includes the ridiculous backtracking west/east I have to do to cross the Ohio in downtown Louisville. I've thought about driving up river on this side and crossing at Vevay or somewhere further east just to try it out. However in a couple years it won't be as much of an issue as the new East End Bridge should shave about 30 min off a trip to Cinci from here.

Either way it beats the 4hr trip from east KY we made regularly in the 70s to see the Reds/Bengals games.

[redman123]

Guys I understand the difficulties, but why is everyone concerned with St. Louis? I've been to a game there and it's a much better experience with an entirely different and dedicated fan base. My original post had nothing to do with St. Louis, it's more about why there is so much lacking in Cincinnati. The team is sizzling hot right now, as we were last year and we get these terrible crowds. How are guys going to want to play here when our college games draw more in one game as the Reds draw in an entire series.

Instead of comparing ourselves to an organization like Cardinals we should be looking at the Pirates as a closer model to us. Our attendance is pitiful besides being competitive, if we were under .500 would we look like the Marlins ballpark

[R_Webb18]

Gonna guess players look at the pay check before the attendance

[Hoosier Red]

If we're looking at Pittsburgh as a model, the Reds look much better in comparison.

Overall, it shows how hard it is to consistently sell tickets once you've hit a low point. The main problem is selling tickets beyond what you sell as season tickets is almost non-existent.

If I'm going to two or three games/year, I'm almost always going to buy my tickets from stubhub. Unless the games close to a sellout, I know I'll get below face value seats. So the other factors which could potentially impact a walk up crowd are nullified.

Overall, the Reds are going to set a GABP attendance record, and so long as they don't A) completely embarrass themselves in the playoffs, or B)Do something ridiculously stupid in the off season, they'll be surpass this year's total next year.

[RedFanAlways1966]

The team is sizzling hot right now, as we were last year and we get these terrible crowds. How are guys going to want to play here when our college games draw more in one game as the Reds draw in an entire series.

Instead of comparing ourselves to an organization like Cardinals we should be looking at the Pirates as a closer model to us. Our attendance is pitiful besides being competitive, if we were under .500 would we look like the Marlins ballpark

Terrible crowds? I guess it depends on your definition of "terrible". Terrible might be the Rays, Indians, Astros and Marlins. Comparing that to this season in Cincinnati? Not even close. Unless you expect a sellout/near-sellout in all games. But click below to get a full understanding of your overstatement.

http://espn.go.com/mlb/attendance/_/sort/homePct

College games?!? Tell me about this high-drawing college BASEBALL game that I missed. Perhaps you mean college FOOTBALL. If so, apples vs oranges... unless you want to tell all NFL teams they have terrible attendance too. This team was under .500 for many years and NEVER did it become like the Marlins. Nor is the attendance pitiful this year. It is middle of the road for all MLB teams. And when you consider market size and the economy... it is not so bad.

[SporkLover]

Exactly, you made my point. You go to five plus games a year. Most likely, weekends, or mid summer games. You probably can't afford the time to go to weekday games. If you have kids, it's even more difficult to go when school is in.

Lol. I live 30 mins from the ballpark and that's about my habits for going to the games.

Ive always wondered, if attendance figures are based on ticket sales or fans through the turnstiles. Every time I see STL on TV and they say a sellout crowd, but there are always a few sections with very few people.

[westofyou]

Gonna guess players look at the pay check before the attendance

Because they don't pay the bills sure

[Fil3232]

Reds/Cards series drew huge TV ratings:

http://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnat...s-sets-tv.html

Two specific nuggets from the story:

1) Reds rank 3rd in MLB in regional TV ratings
2) Said ratings are down 11% from 2012

Thought this was applicable to a discussion on attendance.

[redman123]

Reds/Cards series drew huge TV ratings:

http://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnat...s-sets-tv.html

Two specific nuggets from the story:

1) Reds rank 3rd in MLB in regional TV ratings
2) Said ratings are down 11% from 2012

Thought this was applicable to a discussion on attendance.

Interesting. There are some positives in there but at the end of the day a god mid size Midwestern city where I know people love sports I hope they can come up with attendance. Yes I know the team is a story of chokes, letdowns, and frankly failure but not everyone can be The Cardinals. I'd like to see a push into the top third.