Declining NFL Attendance

[DC_Area_Panther]

The magnitude of the Washington Redskins attendance decline is amazing to me. Their record in (~2005?) was about 86,000 per game. Last year it was about 75,000 and this year only about 62,000 per a news paper report.

Not a redskins fan, and I knew NFL attendance was down, and I know they have been playing poorly; but, I was surprised by the size of the drop in the Redskins attendance numbers, nevertheless.

 

[McKee Place]

I attribute it to screens, large (giant TVs with tremendous resolution) and small (smart phones).

New generations who don't seem to care as much about going to sports events (at least not their "dads" sports). Younger people who are into it seem to be at least as much into the fantasy football aspect. No single team.

A lot more prime time games. Those are probably popular to the networks but i don't know anyone who relishes attending 830 Thursday, Sunday, Monday night games etc. when they have to work on the next day.

And to some extent, erosion of tailgating in many places. That is a big reason more empty seats are seen even at Steelers games. It was always more about the party for a subset.

 

[Zeldas Open Roof]

The magnitude of the Washington Redskins attendance decline is amazing to me. Their record in (~2005?) was about 86,000 per game. Last year it was about 75,000 and this year only about 62,000 per a news paper report.

Not a redskins fan, and I knew NFL attendance was down, and I know they have been playing poorly; but, I was surprised by the size of the drop in the Redskins attendance numbers, nevertheless.

Going to a redskins game is a logistical nightmare.

Not a huge fan of Heinz but it really is a breeze to get in and out of. Not only with roads but parking, gates etc. the yellow jacket mafia is even easing up a bit at the gates.

 

[Mikefln]

I attribute it to screens, large (giant TVs with tremendous resolution) and small (smart phones).

New generations who don't seem to care as much about going to sports events (at least not their "dads" sports). Younger people who are into it seem to be at least as much into the fantasy football aspect. No single team.

A lot more prime time games. Those are probably popular to the networks but i don't know anyone who relishes attending 830 Thursday, Sunday, Monday night games etc. when they have to work on the next day.

And to some extent, erosion of tailgating in many places. That is a big reason more empty seats are seen even at Steelers games. It was always more about the party for a subset.

I am middle aged and I use to go to all Pitt home games, a handful Steeler games and at least 20 or so Pirate games. Now I go to a few Pitt games, no Steeler games, and 1 Pirate game a year. I much prefer the home experience then the game experience. Also about the prime time games, I remember there use to be 1 home prime time game (MNF) for the Steelers and it would get the fan base jacked up. That Prime Time Game jumped the shark a long time ago, as now there are multiple prime time games. With the NFL moving the Steelers Chargers game Prime Time that shows how little the NFL cares about the ticket buying fan. They care about the TV fan more than the ticket buying fan.

 

[happjack]

The magnitude of the Washington Redskins attendance decline is amazing to me. Their record in (~2005?) was about 86,000 per game. Last year it was about 75,000 and this year only about 62,000 per a news paper report.

Not a redskins fan, and I knew NFL attendance was down, and I know they have been playing poorly; but, I was surprised by the size of the drop in the Redskins attendance numbers, nevertheless.

When you have the stadium in a horrible location along with the cost of going to a NFL game, a team that has only won three playoff games since George Herbert Walker Bush was President, a better viewing experience at home and an owner everyone hates you get attendance like that.

 

[Zeldas Open Roof]

When you have the stadium in a horrible location along with the cost of going to a NFL game, a team that has only won three playoff games since George Herbert Walker Bush was President, a better viewing experience at home and an owner everyone hates you get attendance like that.

Going to a skins game is a 6+ hour investment, best case. Even if you don’t want to pre/post game tailgate.

 

[rmf05]

Many reasons. One that hasn't been mentioned is that fewer kids have been playing. No exposure to the game at all for almost a generation. All sports seem to be declining.

 

[recruitsreadtheseboards]

The magnitude of the Washington Redskins attendance decline is amazing to me. Their record in (~2005?) was about 86,000 per game. Last year it was about 75,000 and this year only about 62,000 per a news paper report.

Not a redskins fan, and I knew NFL attendance was down, and I know they have been playing poorly; but, I was surprised by the size of the drop in the Redskins attendance numbers, nevertheless.

Well I wouldn't base everything on the Redskins. They have been horrible and hopeless now for decades. At some point this takes its toll. Contrary to what some think on these message boards, it is not an obligation for people to attend football games. And if the product isn't there, then it is not the fans fault, especially in the NFL where you draft and sign talent.

 

[Burgh15]

The home experience is really good for many fans. They get to keep track of all of the games with Redzone, high definition on a big screen, can track fantasy football, cheap food, no nasty bathrooms and no traffic.

Going to an NFL is a 7-8 hour event for me. About 1.5 hours commuting if we don't hit tunnel traffic and about 50 minutes from car to stadium and back. We get in our seats an hour before the game. I sign up for DD for a free drink and split some food because it's so expensive. Reduce commercials and replay to get the game down to 2.5 hours, or at least for night games. No fun getting home at 1:00 am after all of these home prime time games get. It feels more like a chore to get to them than a fun experience.

 

[Toddy_Too_Hotty]

The Redskins need an on campus stadium...that will fix attendence.

I am curious how the NFL attendence decline compares with attendence trends in other sports. Are these people leaving to go somewhere else, or just stay home and fart in front of the TV?

I don't really care to go to sporting events because you pay more and spend more time to be uncomfortable, sometimes near a-holes, deal with traffic, etc, when you can alwasy be comfy at home with a nice TV image of the game.

 

[Dan1911]

Some are sick of the kneeling/PC league. They allowed all of that and marketed heavily to the next generation which is full of betas that would rather watch glee and play video games. Alienating your core never a good idea...see ESPN for another example.

 

[FreddieFunk]

The NFL game is so much different as well. Flag football and has turned many off and it will continue

 

[greenpeach]

When you have the stadium in a horrible location along with the cost of going to a NFL game, a team that has only won three playoff games since George Herbert Walker Bush was President, a better viewing experience at home and an owner everyone hates you get attendance like that.

In addition, there's a lot of competition for the entertainment dollar in the D.C. metroplex too.

 

[SoufOaklin4Life]

The Redskins need an on campus stadium...that will fix attendence.

I am curious how the NFL attendence decline compares with attendence trends in other sports. Are these people leaving to go somewhere else, or just stay home and fart in front of the TV?

I don't really care to go to sporting events because you pay more and spend more time to be uncomfortable, sometimes near a-holes, deal with traffic, etc, when you can alwasy be comfy at home with a nice TV image of the game.

And traditional script skins on the helmet

 

[DiehardPanther]

The magnitude of the Washington Redskins attendance decline is amazing to me. Their record in (~2005?) was about 86,000 per game. Last year it was about 75,000 and this year only about 62,000 per a news paper report.

Not a redskins fan, and I knew NFL attendance was down, and I know they have been playing poorly; but, I was surprised by the size of the drop in the Redskins attendance numbers, nevertheless.

It would be interesting to see who their opponents were in those years. Steelers vs Redskins was packed. A ton of Steeler fans.

 

[SoufOaklin4Life]

The live sports experience is fairly lame .
High definition tv renders it moot.

Really- I think only hockey (because the speed in real life is impressive) and I do enjoy college hoops live, because of the atmosphere

 

[paulbl99]

The Redskins need an on campus stadium...that will fix attendence.

.

Omgosh prett near soiled my pants.
Isn’t there a Mall inside DC which is nothing but grass.
Or that cement pond.

Could be done for less than 2bil, otherwise Redskins will continue to be the NFL laughingstock.

 

[bwh05]

The NFL experience of today struggled to compete with the TV experience of today. It costs nothing to sit at home and watch 60 inch HDTV. I costs a fortune to spend almost an entire day with spotty WiFi and limited replays in the stadium.

 

[anon_d97v9o3a8b6xr]

If they dropped their racist name and logo they’d have 130,000 a game.

 

[jtownknowitall]

They just need to rightsize their existing stadium

 

[gbgpanther]

They just need to rightsize their existing stadium

Money is viewership is up attendance is up . I see no problem

 

[TJFAIRLIE]

I agree the prime time thing is out of hand.
I’m a NYG fan. Between Oct 11th and Nov 12th they played..
TNF, MNF, 1pm, BYE, MNF

I used to look forward to Sundays, but in a 5 week span this season, my team only played one game on Sunday afternoon

 

[McKee Place]

It's only loosely related, but i can barely handle what they've done the MNF broadcast now. Like or hate the MNF announcing teams of the past, they were iconic and had some gravitas. It's degenerated into a clownshow now. I couldn't name the turkeys doing it, and i'm proud of that. They are tough enough to get through for a Steelers game, let alone some lame random match up.

 

[pittzap]

I attribute it to screens, large (giant TVs with tremendous resolution) and small (smart phones).

New generations who don't seem to care as much about going to sports events (at least not their "dads" sports). Younger people who are into it seem to be at least as much into the fantasy football aspect. No single team.

A lot more prime time games. Those are probably popular to the networks but i don't know anyone who relishes attending 830 Thursday, Sunday, Monday night games etc. when they have to work on the next day.

And to some extent, erosion of tailgating in many places. That is a big reason more empty seats are seen even at Steelers games. It was always more about the party for a subset.

Tickets have also become ridiculously expensive. That, in addition to the number of stoppages per game; full commercial breaks, reviews, and the awful penalties that are now called in the NFL (and the regularity with which they are called, seemingly every other play), and the average fan doesn't want to go anymore.

 

[WiseAndGlorious]

And traditional script skins on the helmet

Alternative take: Change the name from just Washington to Washington D.C. or DMV Redskins, so that it appeals to the greater population. Maybe change the font of the numbers to something that evokes the style of the Bill of Rights?

 

[passedout]

I am middle aged and I use to go to all Pitt home games, a handful Steeler games and at least 20 or so Pirate games. Now I go to a few Pitt games, no Steeler games, and 1 Pirate game a year. I much prefer the home experience then the game experience. Also about the prime time games, I remember there use to be 1 home prime time game (MNF) for the Steelers and it would get the fan base jacked up. That Prime Time Game jumped the shark a long time ago, as now there are multiple prime time games. With the NFL moving the Steelers Chargers game Prime Time that shows how little the NFL cares about the ticket buying fan. They care about the TV fan more than the ticket buying fan.

NFL makes WAY more on tv right and merch than the gate. They are ALL about the dollar. AND THAT IS WHY FOOTBALL IS DECLINING. Used to be people looked up to athletes, nowadays you got asshats like Lev Bell in the NFL, plus the bad concussion rap, exhorbitant pricing --- it's had its hey day and needs to reinvent itself. TV viewership was down as well after the Kaepernick sideshow, but that has leveled off as the "politicalness" has waned...

 

[WiseAndGlorious]

I was going to make a Joe Gibbs II: Back to the Future joke, but remembered that they actually DID go down that road. Lol.

 

[McKee Place]

Tickets have also become ridiculously expensive. That, in addition to the number of stoppages per game; full commercial breaks, reviews, and the awful penalties that are now called in the NFL (and the regularity with which they are called, seemingly every other play), and the average fan doesn't want to go anymore.

The long delays for "officials timeouts" aka commercials, and interminable half time (for network halftime breakdowns) are the downside of attending "big" Pitt games in person too. As much as many hate the nooners on espn3 when we are playing a fellow soup can, the breaks are relatively short.

When sitting in pouring cold rain like at the PSU game, that red official standing on the field forever was even more offensive than Franklin!

 

[McKee Place]

A perverse item of interest in watching games now, particularly games not of teams i follow, is to see which borderline hits will draw the BS roughing or targeting penalties.
Some one more clever (or with more deep seated problems) than me should make a drinking game out of it. Big hit, take a quick sip. Wait in suspense. Will he be flagged??? Yes! There it is! Down the rest of the drink! You have to double it if they huddle and then pick up the flag.

Related, the amusement that comes when a DB makes a pass breakup and begins to celebrate with the back to the play, meanwhile the decrepit 80 yr old geezer ref has dug his flag out 13 seconds after the fact and rung the guy up for PI.

Sadly these are increasingly becoming the main reasons to bother.

 

[happjack]

NFL makes WAY more on tv right and merch than the gate. They are ALL about the dollar. AND THAT IS WHY FOOTBALL IS DECLINING. Used to be people looked up to athletes, nowadays you got asshats like Lev Bell in the NFL, plus the bad concussion rap, exhorbitant pricing --- it's had its hey day and needs to reinvent itself. TV viewership was down as well after the Kaepernick sideshow, but that has leveled off as the "politicalness" has waned...

TV ratings were going down before Kaepernick and the NFL hasn't had the same drop in viewers the rest of broadcast & cable TV has so that argument is useless.

The entertainment landscape is changing at a breakneck pace and it's killing the ratings for broadcast and cable tv. Why should I watch the same old tired cop shows, dopey sitcom or Jaguars vs. Bengals when I have cheap and easy access to pretty much every movie, tv show, music act, or sport that's out there?

 

[Ski11585]

NFL makes WAY more on tv right and merch than the gate. They are ALL about the dollar. AND THAT IS WHY FOOTBALL IS DECLINING. Used to be people looked up to athletes, nowadays you got asshats like Lev Bell in the NFL, plus the bad concussion rap, exhorbitant pricing --- it's had its hey day and needs to reinvent itself. TV viewership was down as well after the Kaepernick sideshow, but that has leveled off as the "politicalness" has waned...

Looking up to athletes is dumb whether it was in 1980 or 2018.

 

[paulbl99]

They just need to rightsize their existing stadium

That’s hilarious....can you say Tarp.

Looking up to athletes is dumb whether it was in 1980 or 2018.

or 1927, The Babe

 

[Las Panteras]

The NFL experience of today struggled to compete with the TV experience of today. It costs nothing to sit at home and watch 60 inch HDTV. I costs a fortune to spend almost an entire day with spotty WiFi and limited replays in the stadium.

Agree.

The NFL is the perfect sport for television.

The delicious irony to me, is improved television is hurting attendance.

 

[recruitsreadtheseboards]

Again, some of you are way overthinking this....

They have won 10 games 3 times in 25 years. They have won 1 playoff game in 25 years. That kind of mediocrity and sucking, along with the logistics and expenses of the Stadium and NFL, eventually people are going to say "eff it".

Contrast that with the Steelers, 16 seasons of 10 wins or more over the last 25 years, 19 playoff wins, 4 Super Bowls and 2 Super Bowl wins.......

 

[Mikefln]

NFL makes WAY more on tv right and merch than the gate. They are ALL about the dollar. AND THAT IS WHY FOOTBALL IS DECLINING. Used to be people looked up to athletes, nowadays you got asshats like Lev Bell in the NFL, plus the bad concussion rap, exhorbitant pricing --- it's had its hey day and needs to reinvent itself. TV viewership was down as well after the Kaepernick sideshow, but that has leveled off as the "politicalness" has waned...

The NFL biggest fault is making the buck now instead of fostering the business to continue to make money in the future. There are 2 sayings in business and the key is to come up with the right balance. The NFL has done a horrible job of it.

Give them what they want- The NFL was great at this. They have more scoring and passing and more games to watch.

Leave them wanting more- The NFL sucks at this. There is no "more" to want. There is too much scoring and passing because why not, as it will be a completion or interference call 80% of the time or better. Defenses are not allowed to play defense and that kills the game for the traditionalist/ hardcore fans. Plus the game is over-saturated. 1 Prime time game a week is more than enough. It is on so damn much and talked about ad nauseam. It is just NFL over load.

 

[Mikefln]

Looking up to athletes is dumb whether it was in 1980 or 2018.

For adults I agree, for kids it is natural. Yet even adults do it. Look at how many Pitt fans love that Conner is a Class Act vs Bell's antics. Not saying society look up to them, but we do hold athletes in a high regard right or wrong.

 

[passedout]

Looking up to athletes is dumb whether it was in 1980 or 2018.

Agree somewhat in today's landscape, but that is such a blanket comment... I was an 70s/80s kid, so the whole "I'm not a role model" phrase wasn't even addressed yet. But there were (and still are) players who are good people, have a work ethic, who you can say WOULD be a good role model. Today, the media reports and then sensationalizes EVERYTHING-- there are way too many narcissists and players with borderline personality disorder that ruin what is good about the game and this IS AND WILL CONTINUE to turn off fans.

 

[Mikefln]

Agree somewhat in today's landscape, but that is such a blanket comment... I was an 70s/80s kid, so the whole "I'm not a role model" phrase wasn't even addressed yet. But there were (and still are) players who are good people, have a work ethic, who you can say WOULD be a good role model. Today, the media reports and then sensationalizes EVERYTHING-- there are way too many narcissists and players with borderline personality disorder that ruin what is good about the game and this IS AND WILL CONTINUE to turn off fans.

Add in the fact is that for too many young people, Athletes are their only male role model available. Their fathers skipped town, and they are left with just a mom or grand mom. The only male influence they get, is what they see on TV. Again, right or wrong that is a story told way too often today. This was always the case with a small percentage of society but the percentage is growing.

 

[Ski11585]

Agree somewhat in today's landscape, but that is such a blanket comment... I was an 70s/80s kid, so the whole "I'm not a role model" phrase wasn't even addressed yet. But there were (and still are) players who are good people, have a work ethic, who you can say WOULD be a good role model. Today, the media reports and then sensationalizes EVERYTHING-- there are way too many narcissists and players with borderline personality disorder that ruin what is good about the game and this IS AND WILL CONTINUE to turn off fans.

But those narcissists and players with BPD existed back in the 80s and 90s too. So I think it's a tenuous claim to suggest that there is something demonstrably different about players in 2018.

 

[UPitt '89]

The NFL game is so much different as well. Flag football and has turned many off and it will continue

NFL TV ratings are up substantially over last year.

The problem is that high-def TV has made staying home the preferable option to going to the game.