Attendance at Finals

[FinanceBuzz]

2018...ugh. I knew LOS was the site for a while, but I did not realize it was that long. It is a nice stadium and, from where I live in Atlanta, I can make it a weekend road trip which helps the cost. But I HATE drum corps in Domes - LOS and the Georgia Dome. Even more than football, DCI needs to be outdoors. I have gone to DCI Minnesota the last two years and that is a great place for drum corps. I also enjoy DCI Masters at MTSU in Murfreesboro. But I would love to see DCI get out of these domes or, in the case of LOS, at least open the roof.

[craiga]

The Lucas Oil venue has gotten such bad publicity in terms of acoustics...I won't go til they move it.

As a Northeasterner I'm real lucky. I'll get my late season fill of LIVE drum corps with BAC's show in Lawrence, MA...2 nights in the Allentown Regional...and then the TOC in East Rutherford, NJ. 4 Great Shows all within driving distance! The guy sitting next to me at TOC did the same thing and he lives in Rhode Island and I'm in Connecticut.

Why would I even think of going to Indy?

Same here..I live in Maine, and I do the Lawrence, MA show, Allentown both nights, and this year, the TOC in NJ. I see everyone, and my ticket prices per seat this year were $30/$35/$35/$29 (and those $29 seats at TOC Finales were box seats at the Lexus Club up on the mezzanine)!

From where I am in Maine, Allentown is a 7 hour ride...Lucas oil is two days-each way.

And the tix are a whole lot less!

[Shadowtron]

Perhaps Midwesterners are a little...not bored, but less excited as they could be since its in Indy every year?

If Finals came back to my region (let's assume it rotates areas of the country every 5 years). That'd be a special event I'd mark way in advance. I think we're overrating acoustics, and seeing the effects of a championship that is in the same place every season.

[Tim K]

My vacation this year started with the Lawrence show (I live minutes away so it was not a drive). I then went to Allentown, East Rutrherford, and finished in Indy. It was my first trip to Indy, and I will have to say I thought Lucas Oil worked well and the food prices were reasonable as compared with East Rutherford. It was a great venue for the souvenir booths and sponsors, which given today's economic woes has to be taken into account. I knew prelims would be sparse as the day began, but it was not as filled as I would have expected. Friday's attendance was better, and in my section (140's) finals was pretty full, but there were plenty of empty seats. The interesting things is that the seats were sold. My understanding is that corps buy blocks of tickets and then resell them. I know I purchased my tickets through a corps. So from DCI's perspective, the seats were not empty unless the corps can return unsold tickets, which is probably unlikely.

My recommendation: If you are going to Indy next year, buy from a corps first. You'll get great seats and you'll be supporting the corps. If the corps does not have the tickets you want, then go to DCI where you'll be directed to Ticketron.

[Stu]

a) Look at the stands at other major events on TV; the numbers are down in all genres of sports/competition.

b) Look at DCI (as a whole within the context of "all" events) and you will find attendance is up.

c) If NASCAR only had all of drivers in one place at just one event, say the Daytona 500, then that race would sell out each year.

d) If DCI only had all of the corps in one place at just one event, just at Champs, then that event would draw way more people.

e) Holding "major" DCI events each weekend where the top 20 plus WC corps perform is akin to say NASCAR holding weekend events where all drivers compete.

f) So why could attendance possibly be down at DCI Finals yet up as a whole across the nation? It is a cost vs. availability issue; and "most" people cannot tell the difference, or even care about the difference, of a corps performance as they progress to Indy. When a person living near or around Texas can see all corps, why spend the extra cash and time to go to Finals? If a person living near or around Georgia can see all corps then why spend the extra cash and time to go to Finals? If a person living near or around Minnesota can see all corps, then why spend the extra cash and time to go to Finals?

Edited August 13, 2012 by Stu

[bstar82]

I'll also add that on Saturday, DCI reps were handing out flyers with the schedule of the parade. On the back was a coupon for Indiana residents who could buy a finals ticket for $15 and bring two children with them free of charge, though the seats were in the two cheapest levels, that and giving every ageout a ticket the next year tells me DCI just needs to get butts in the seats and hopefully they will buy concessions and a souvenir or two.

I used to be in charge of doing crowd estimates for a large city government at sporting and music events and my best guess from high above in the press level and looking from the field, I would estimate there were 10k for semis and 14-15k for finals. And for finals you need to subtract all the freebies for corps who didn't make the top 12.

[Phillygwm]

The stadium still gets a (largely deserved) bad rap for the acoustics. Plus, I went the first year, bought "VIP tickets" and sat on the 30. That's the real reason why I haven't bothered since. But one also has to take the travelling fans into account. Indy is a nice enough town, but drum corps is often a vacation too and I would imagine that Indy gets old after the first year or so.

I live near Philly so I'm always in Allentown as well as most of the Cadets' sponsored shows. Occasionally, a friend and I will do a field trip; this year to Atlanta, but in the past we've gone to the Rockford show (the best run show I've been to...)

For me, the decision not to attend Indy is primarily one of value. If I'm going to spend $1000+ per person for the weekend (airfare, hotel, food, rental car, parking and, of course, tickets) I want to make darn sure I'm in a great seat. If I can't, I'll just find another use for my money.

[JGuy1288]

Also, every year the Quarterfinals broadcast gets put in more and more theatres, allowing fans to see 15 corps for ~$18, plus usually a short drive. It's a much better deal than driving or flying to Indianapolis, or even to the nearest regional. Even though it's not the same as seeing it live, a lot of the time it's the best that people can get.

[Zeke]

DCI got their hopes up with a great turnout for the regional events. The fact is .. people hate the Oil Can. Everyone I know .. and I mean EVERYONE .. that is a DCI fan will not and never will go to finals in that venue. It's a waste of money. I live in Michigan and thankfully we have one or two decent shows here every year .. and the route to Indy late season gives us the opportunity to see corps at their finest within a 4 hour drive ... 5 max ... and we can see them 3-5 times the week before finals at a much cheaper price. So yeah ..... why would I go to that cruddy enclosed stadium with horrible acoustics and overpriced seating just to see a predetermined outcome (for the most part)?

I would venture a guess that they had about 13,000 in the seats .. with about 9-10K paid for. It's a far cry from the figures at Camp randall, Buffalo or even KC. Those were 20K+ events. And the Rose Bowl I believe was a record. I can't remember the figure but I believe it was upwards of 30K in attendance.

Cough..INVESCO...cough :rolleyes:

[chaos001]

Just to add more anecdotal proof...the dome sucks. I've been to nearly twenty shows this year and know just how loud some of the corps are. I could barely tell they were above forte in LOS. It really destroys the sound.

I also went to Finals in '09, and the sound still isn't much better with the extra curtains. I won't be back until they move it...if they ever wise-up and realize how bad it is there.