pbeau Posted August 16, 2011 Share Posted August 16, 2011 I've been watching Dan for many years up close and from a distance, and I don't remember a single time when he was not smiling. He's way too professional to wear his worries on his sleeve. And he's overall a nice guy. Let's keep this thread in perspective with DCI's recent history regarding attendance announcements. When they tell us the official numbers then we'll know. Until then it's all just speculation and here-say. My observation was that semi's crowd was up over last year and finals night crowd was way up. I agree with what you say about Dan and as he was seeing what I was seeing, both in the stands and on the field, he could not help but smile. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grumpy Posted August 16, 2011 Share Posted August 16, 2011 I will be the first to admit that I could not honestly tell from my vantage point how many fans were in the upper decks...Finals night appeared to have at least the same crowd as last year. In a venue as large as LOS, you could probably add 1,500 people and not be able to tell just by sight. IF the attendance was higher, that's great and there are probably a number of factors-more entertaining shows, the parade (which was very well attended, at least from what I saw), $10 resident/college tickets; I believe last year's age-outs could also get free/discounted tickets? and I saw a definite TV tie-in with local TV station channel 6 that had ads directing people to their website to get tickets. What completely baffles me is that where I sat in section 240, literally right ON the 50, there were two seats next to me that went unoccupied the entire show ALL THREE DAYS. FWIW, I saw what I perceived to be LOWER attendance on Thursday and Friday until the 5-6 pm time frame, when the seats noticeably started filling. This too has it's reasons-anyone that camped out Thursday from 9 a.m. until 11 p.m. is a true die-hard, and is either travelling solo or with other similar die-hards because the "drum corps spouses" would not sit through 41 corps-and I presume, probably not even the 25 that moved on to Friday. If souvie sales were up for the week, the corps can thank DCI directly for forcing fans through the Marketplace to reach their seats, AND convenient to the crowd upon exit instead of sticking them down in some far-flung basement corner of the building. If you look at some of the masters of marketing (Disney, Universal, etc.) you are always forced to exit the ride through the gift shop. I would like to see DCI "come clean" with some numbers, though...if this "senior DCI official" is correct, it would seem to me that DCI would be very eager to share this information with their fans and supporters. You know, "get your tickets now, they may not last long" type of thing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff Ream Posted August 16, 2011 Share Posted August 16, 2011 I hope it's true. I also hope DCI will publish the numbers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff Ream Posted August 16, 2011 Share Posted August 16, 2011 I've been watching Dan for many years up close and from a distance, and I don't remember a single time when he was not smiling. He's way too professional to wear his worries on his sleeve. And he's overall a nice guy. Let's keep this thread in perspective with DCI's recent history regarding attendance announcements. When they tell us the official numbers then we'll know. Until then it's all just speculation and here-say. here's how much respect I have for Dan. At some point Friday, some of the sponsors were moved from a room where they got no traffic to out in the concourse. Dan himself dove in and helped move them. the friggen CEO. That's cool. That's class I wish I could say that for many of his past board members 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FlamMan Posted August 16, 2011 Share Posted August 16, 2011 See what happens when corps play fan friendly shows? Lets hope this trend continues. If Cavies, Bluecoats, SCV, & Blue Stars get the memo for next year, all will be good. Those 4 shows were ZZZZZZZZZZZ for me. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlexL Posted August 16, 2011 Share Posted August 16, 2011 Attendance and paid attendance are different things... hell, paid attendance is different from full price paid attendance (big deal if you sold 100k tickets at $2 a pop). What really matters is total revenue\profit. If that is turning out good for DCI, good for them i guess. It could just indicate that theyre making headway in attracting indiana residents but doesnt say much about the rest of the drum corps community, so it doesnt really refute a lot of DCPers arguments that a lot of fans that used to travel to finals are sick of going there every year already. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
somerville Posted August 16, 2011 Share Posted August 16, 2011 Excellent news. This is what it is all about. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peel Paint Posted August 16, 2011 Share Posted August 16, 2011 See what happens when corps play fan friendly shows? Lets hope this trend continues. If Cavies, Bluecoats, SCV, & Blue Stars get the memo for next year, all will be good. Those 4 shows were ZZZZZZZZZZZ for me. I can see where you might feel those shows were less fan-friendly than others, but I found LOTS to enjoy in those four shows and every other show this year. This is the first time in a long time where I did not have a Coke corps. Plus, I think a few somewhat more conceptual shows are much easier to enjoy when it's not the norm. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G-Rott Posted August 16, 2011 Share Posted August 16, 2011 I would have to agree that perhaps the entertainment value of the shows this summer was part of the puzzle, but I would be curious as to how many people attending DCI Finals are first timers or repeats? We went the 1st year at LOS, and while the tickets were pricey for the 5 yeard line, and the sound was just ok...I think our biggest reason for not returning was that this was our family vacation...and there is only so much you can do in Indianapolis for 10 years before it gets boring....and since we attend Allentown every year, we don't "need" finals for our drum corps fix. It was our excuse to go away for a few days to a different place each year.....AND see some more drum corps. I guess that's a personal decision on my part, but I much preferred the location moving around.. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FHdork Posted August 16, 2011 Share Posted August 16, 2011 <a Coke corps> Insert joke here... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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