[BuiltRamTough]

http://cover32.com/rams/2015/09/02/a-fe ... ones-dome/

A few thoughts on all those empty seats at the Edward Jones Dome

Heading into the St. Louis Rams first game of the season, well, preseason that is, many had their eyes on the kind of presence fans would have with the possible loss of their second NFL franchise on the line. In being brutally honest, the showing was brutal. The announced ticket distribution was 37,460, as reported by Jim Thomas of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

But, as fellow Rams bloggers Patrick Stewart, Jonathan Shank and I discussed, it was obvious that all of those fans didn’t make it to the game. We each estimate around 25,000 seats were actually filled. The aftermath on Twitter showed around the same number having been eyeballed by a multitude of others as well. And what’s even worse, by the start/middle of the 4th quarter, there was no doubt fewer than 10,000 fans left in the stadium, many of whom were wearing Colts attire.

And 15 minutes after the final kneel down, the echo of Andrew Siciliano saying, “See you guys next week” to the preseason crew could be heard a few sections away.

Now don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying all of this as a slight to Rams fans.

There are plenty of variables at stake that make going to a game for a casual fan seem ridiculous. Not to mention it being just the preseason and people not wanting to waste hard-earned money on what has so far been a very mediocre product on the field. But, as Randy Karraker of 101 ESPN pointed out, an EJD ticket director reportedly informed him that as of the day of the game, only 40,000 tickets had been sold for the Rams home opener against Seattle. Though to be fair, it has not been confirmed whether that is counting secondary markets or not.

Another foreboding sign has been the dramatic drop in ticket prices on the aforementioned secondary markets such as StubHub for example. As fellow cover32 writer Robert Forehand brought to my attention, the cheapest ticket prices on StubHub are currently sitting at just over $40, good for the 3rd cheapest prices for Week 1 games, down nearly $10 from just a couple days ago, by my own viewing. The cheapest ticket price for a Rams home game the season? Just $15.

It’s becoming glaringly obvious fan support is quickly withering away, but just as had happened when the Rams left Los Angeles in the first place, it’s possible as fans, we’re just making it even harder for owners and the NFL to see keeping a franchise in St. Louis a possibility.

[BuiltRamTough]

10-15 bucks for a ticket to the Dome? Daym that's a bargain.

[Hacksaw]

It's really not about the fans, but if they don't show up, that will be the kiss of death.

[bubbaramfan]

Someone explain "secondary markets"?

[bubbaramfan]

Think I'll be able to get a 15$ ticket after they move to LA?

[Hacksaw]

Someone explain "secondary markets"?

The following list is, from what I can tell, an unofficial list of secondary markets for each team. There are two rules affecting these markets: a) they must air all road games of the pertinent team, and b) are to be blacked out of home games that don't sell out. Some markets not listed here may air all games of a certain team, but that does not mean they are a secondary market - they only do so at the network's (or station's) own volition.

Arizona: Tucson
Atlanta: none
Baltimore: Washington, Salisbury, Harrisburg PA
Buffalo: Rochester, Syracuse, Erie PA
Carolina: Greensboro, Raleigh, Florence SC, Columbia SC, Spartanburg SC
Chicago: Rockford, South Bend
Cincinnati: Dayton, Lexington KY
Cleveland: Youngstown
Dallas: Sherman, Wichita Falls, Waco, Tyler
Denver: Colorado Springs
Detroit: Flint/Saginaw, Lansing, Toledo
Green Bay: Milwaukee, Wausau
Houston: Beaumont, Bryan
Indianapolis: Fort Wayne, Lafayette, Terre Haute
Jacksonville: Orlando, Gainesville, Savannah GA
Kansas City: Topeka KS
Miami: West Palm Beach, Fort Myers
Minnesota: Mankato, Rochester MN, Mason City IA
New England: Providence
New Orleans: Baton Rouge, Biloxi MS
NY Giants/NY Jets: none
Oakland/San Francisco: Sacramento, Monterey
Philadelphia: Harrisburg, Scranton
Pittsburgh: Altoona, Wheeling WV, Clarksburg WV, Youngstown OH
St. Louis: Cape Girardeau, Jefferson City, Columbia
San Diego: Los Angeles, Palm Springs
Seattle: none
Tampa Bay: Orlando
Tennessee: Chattanooga, Jackson TN, Bowling Green KY
Washington: Baltimore

[bluecoconuts]

Sounds like the task force tried to hold a rally for the game to draw some fan support, they had about as many tickets given away (not sold) and word of less than 20K in the seats for the game (most KC fans), with a few hundred fans at the rally.... That's gotta hurt...

[dieterbrock]

Sounds like the task force tried to hold a rally for the game to draw some fan support, they had about as many tickets given away (not sold) and word of less than 20K in the seats for the game (most KC fans), with a few hundred fans at the rally.... That's gotta hurt...

In all fairness, the St Louis Cardinals were playing th... Oh wait...

[bubbaramfan]

Did anyone do a real head count for the KC game? I watched it on TV, looked to me like there were more empty seats than ones with people in them.

[The Ripper]

Did anyone do a real head count for the KC game? I watched it on TV, looked to me like there were more empty seats than ones with people in them.

The NFL does. They track everything. Food sales, alcohol sales, when sold, merchandise, which merchandise, parking, gate clicks and then they use charts to graphically represent everything. None of it is released.