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Attendance SHAZZAM!


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A few years ago, Michael Cesario made a big plea for drum corps to entertain the fans more. Five years ago I would only really like 2-3 shows in the top 12. Now, I basically like them all, as well as the 13-15 shows and the 16-18 shows, etc. In the past, there would be a lot of shows I wouldn't care if I missed, but now I don't really want to miss anyone. The shows are all also very different. There was a time it seemed every corps was trying to use the same formula, but now it seems every group has their own style, more so than in years past.

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Something else to consider. As the economy has improved over the past few years people have more disposable income. Anyone who has went on vacation this year can tell you people are traveling more. We go to the same beach every summer and the crowds are way up from 4-5 years ago.

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Based on a lot of the remarks, it may be a confluence of factors. But, the competitive angle may be a contribution. This year at San Antonio, the distance between 1st and 12th was just under 9.5 points. In 2011, it was 12.35 points. I always felt the activity needed closer, less predictable competition.

I also want to echo what people have said about the quality of the lower ranked corps. With corps like Cascades and Jersey Surf doing entertaining shows at the beginning of the evening, it's making for a complete experience.

I haven't been going to more shows than in the past for geographic reasons. The closest show to me was a 2-hour drive, but on a night where I had to go to work the next day. There are so few shows close to me that I have to make a vacation out of going to a drum corps show. But, I'm glad others have more choices...and less traffic between them and the nearest show.

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So, some of you know that our show, Dublin, was last night. I'd like to throw this out to see if there's any other anecdotal corroboration of what I'm seeing and hearing.

I won't say which corps, but I was chatting with a souvie manager early in the day about his sales and his season. He was almost shocked as he repeated what fabulous sales they'd had all season but, in particular, heading into Texas and ever since. A $10,000 (m) day, a $25m day, a $70m!! He said that it's not just him; most all of the souvie people he'd talked to during the year (and I'd guess that's all of them) were experiencing substantially higher sales.

Attendance, he said, has been fabulous all season.

And to attendance, I'll repeat what I was told yesterday with the utmost of respect: "...word is that Dan Acheson is changing his underwear nearly hourly with the record attendance being reported at every show".

Anecdotally, our show attendance numbers seem to back this up. It's not official, but it appears as though our attendance will be up by over 30%. Yes, we had two of the top-5, and yes we had the "hometown" 'Coats but don't be quick to credit the lineup - we've had at least two of the top-5 in each of our shows for nearly a decade (especially since we switched to late-season seven years ago).

And it wasn't our food trucks, as good as they were.

We may be able to place substantial credit on our Social Media outreach finally reaching maturity with a very capable manager.

But, I think there's something else. In general, across the activity, it appears that attendance is up across-the-board.

Anyone have other corroborating evidence, anecdotal or otherwise?

I'm seeing some amazing pictures from show sites being posted. I do believe the fact that the winner hasn't been determined has played somewhat of a part in this. I expect Allentown to be jammed this weekend. I mean packed. And if the leaders keep topping each other this week leading up, i'll really expect it to grow.

is DCi for the big shows doing as they are in Allentown...discount offerings in the local paper? I know Allentown had a deal in their paper Sunday.

Oh, and the shows seem to be pleasing the crowds top to bottom.

Despite the rumors, DCI is enjoying a rebirth this season that should be up from last year, and even may offset the loss from fan network subscriptions. I think this is outstanding, and will STFU many naysayers.

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Despite the rumors, DCI is enjoying a rebirth this season that should be up from last year, and even may offset the loss from fan network subscriptions. I think this is outstanding, and will STFU many naysayers.

Well, it could be that the sayers were right to say "nay" when attendance was down.

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Despite the rumors, DCI is enjoying a rebirth this season that should be up from last year, and even may offset the loss from fan network subscriptions. I think this is outstanding, and will STFU many naysayers.

I thought Troopers were the neigh-sayers

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I went to the Houston show without a ticket. It was sold out. I waited outside the stadium for about an hour and was finally able to buy a ticket from a band director who had one left. There was a long line of people at the box office hoping to buy tickets, but most of them weren't able to get in. I've always been able to get a last minute ticket at the gate but not this year. So yes attendance is up.

Love to see this show moved back to Rice Stadium. It's a huge stadium with great views and is actually in Houston. Lots of parking and close to the light rail.

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I have been attending the Atlanta Regional since it started in the mid-2000s and it has always been fun to see how many tickets are sold. It was great to hear yet another record was broken and I hope we can hit the 20,000 mark soon! This year the crowd was definitely into the shows, though it annoys me when people don't at least stand up at the end of a show (all shows) to recognize the performers for what they do. As a poster earlier mentioned, the CSC Guard posted at the tunnel entrance at our section also was really into the shows. I could tell he was very surprised with the level of entertainment he was witnessing. Made me wonder what he may have mentioned to family or friends later.

I do wonder what the plans are for 2017 and beyond when the Georgia Dome is no longer in existence. As I mentioned in the Southeast Regional Thread on here, DCI is not considered one of the legacy events of the Georgia Dome and therefore the management of the new stadium being built, to be managed by the Atlanta Falcons, has no obligation to host upcoming DCI events as they do for the legacy events (Supercross, Monster Jam, Chick-fil-A Bowl, etc...). I'm not even sure if the Bands of America event is a legacy event either. I sure hope the event continues at the new stadium but since they will host the new major league soccer team, there may be scheduling conflicts with this.

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Ours went MIA for most of the entire show. There were even folks wandering the aisle beside me trying to walk past Spirit's DM during Encore. Sigh and SMH!

Well I don't see a problem people moving around during an encore....that is just me I guess...

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