NFL ATTENDANCE DOWN

NFL to Improve In-Stadium Attendance

Barney Carleton

Sport Business Now

April 16th, 2013

The NFl has Plenty of lucrative contract deals with all of the major networks to promote their league and make it viewable for the fans. NFL RedZone is a program on sundays on the NFL channel that shows every scoring play as it happens and anytime a team enters the red zone or in lames term inside the opposing teams 20 yard line. The advancement of Televisions in the past decade are making it hard for people to leave the house but it seems maybe the most on football sundays. Ticket prices in the NFL on average has risen 16% since 2011 from $67 dollars a ticket to $78. The steady increase year to year limits the amount of people that attend events on a regular basis, making the TV a little more convenient and easier on the wallet.

The NFL it seems is trying to renovate their most dated and almost obsolete stadiums by either renovations or starting from scratch with a brand new stadium. The 49ers are the latest to erect a billion dollar pus home for their San Fransisco franchise, following the new Meadowlands shared by the Jets and Giants, not to also mention the biggest church in the south, the Cowboy's Texas Stadium. The NFL hopes these new venues can encourage fans to the gate and into the seats to be involved with the magic of the NFL environment. Also with the addition of the New England Patriots pioneering the future of the game day experience by installing WiFi though out the entire stadium for fans to enjoy with the purchase of their ticket. Roger Goodell commissioner of the NFL also mandated that all NFL teams will have cameras inside the locker rooms available to fans and select video that can only be seen in the stadium. 

Although the $9 billion dollar NFL is not hurting for the extra ticket sales but they need to offset all the renovations and rebuilding of these sports temples. All these great features are all great to increase the fan involvement at games but I believe if ticket prices continue to rise as they have year after year, it will motivate more and more fans to stay in and watch from their HD flat screen investments.