Finals Attendace

[oldtimedrummer]

I think he was adjusting for inflation. 

Imagine 41,000 people at 75$!!!!

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

How could he be adjusting for inflation at $50 a ticket? Makes no sense.

[apoch003]

How could he be adjusting for inflation at $50 a ticket? Makes no sense.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

No, he was showing how MORE PEOPLE attending at a lower than "today" ticket price would still make more money.

[wishbonecav]

I think it's over when someone shows up with a ticket from 1981.

[wishbonecav]

And I just went to "The Inflation Calculator" at westegg.com. Here's what I found:

What cost $4.00 in 1981 would cost $8.95 in 2005.

So DCI is a little ahead of the curve.

[apoch003]

So why does it cost 75$ to 125$ NOW????

[Guest DrumCorpFan]

Logic? I'd call more wishfull thinking in an attempt to make a failed point.  I don't remember paying $50 a ticket in 1981. More like $10.00. Bottom line, the crowd was great this year. Look at the picture.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I've seen the picture. Now you go and look at a few pictures from the '80s.

[bluehull]

You seem to be looking at pictures of Montreal and making attendence estimates. I was at Olympic Stadium in '81, I still look through the program on occasion.

1994 Boston,the attendence was 25,000 in th old stadium,even with the rain!

At any time during finals ,there were at least a 1000 people roaming around the stadium and standing in the area behind the end zone. I looked at the full concert side and the overflow into the end zone, the entire side was full. The stadium holds 68,000. A Patriots season ticket holder said there were 30,000,and he has been to Gillette stadium since it was built.

I have liked other venues better for other reasons (Denver for example) Perhaps the question should be ,what was the paid attendence?

[byline]

How is this attendance up?  I haven't been following attendance datum at all I must admit.  But I DO remember 41000 in 1981.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

My '79 DCI yearbook says that attendance figures set a record for that time: "A record 31,000 witnessed finals in Denver, Colorado, site of the '77 and '78 championships." Just scanning through my yearbooks, I can't find attendance figures for '79 and '80, the years the championships were held in Birmingham, Alabama, but I remember that the crowds were huge both times (and as I recall, the prelims audience in '80 was huge, as well).

My '82 DCI yearbook states the following: "What began in Whitewater, WI, in 1972 as one championship for 18 corps and 9,000 spectators has grown to an annual championship that attracted nearly 100 entries and 37,000 fans to Montreal in '81. Between DCI's first and tenth anniversaries, there were record audiences in Ithaca, NY; Philadelphia, PA; Denver, CO; and Birmingham, AL."

And my '83 yearbook says: "Drum Corps International's first week-long Championships in 1972 drew just 9,000 dedicated fans and only 40,000 spectators for the whole year's worth of shows. But in 1981, more than 40,000 fans turned out at the Montreal Championships, alone, with more than 300,000 spectators at 72 DCI-sanctioned corps competitions throughout the year."

Finally, my '86 yearbook (the '85 championships were held at Camp Randall Stadium in Madison, Wisconsin), says: "With the final results of an entire year's work hanging in the balance, the suspense is savored in a moment of mutual tension for performer and fan alike -- 40,000-plus sharing a breath before the placements are announced."

The Gillette Stadium site lists seating capacity at 68,756. If half the stadium were filled, then it would be possible to have around 30,000 in attendance.

Edited August 21, 2005 by byline

[byline]

Thats imposible. The crowd seeped out past the "0" yardline ......

I'm thinking the poster you're replying to might be talking about people who bought tickets directly from DCI. I don't know how it works now, but every year my corps competed in prelims (and we attended finals), we were given tickets as a group and sat in the stands. So, depending on how many corps did that, it would greatly inflate the numbers sitting in the audience. But DCI might not be able to count that in its regular ticket tally.

Edited August 21, 2005 by byline

[Machine]

I think everyone here gets that 20,000+ does not equal 40,000. However, last years attendance of 22,000+ was reported to have been the highest since 24,000 showed up in Foxboro in 1994. This years attendance looks to be about on par with last year. People were sitting in the endzone. Positive progress has been made in the last 10 years! Let's be happy about that instead of naysaying it because it doesn't come close to 20 years ago. Given the number of corps, the cost of tickets, and many other variables, we won't be seeing 40,000+ in the near future, not even if amps are repealed. In fact, given those factors, it's surprising that the attendance figures are even as high as they are.