ewokpelts

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ May 6, 2014 -> 09:20 AM) I went to Wrigley last night. They said 33k but closer to 25k IMO if that, where actually there. It was so cold. One thing about USCF, those boards in the OF block some wind. Nothing to block the wind at Wrigley. My hands were frozen. I didn't anticipate needing gloves in May. One thing they don't do at Wrigley that they do at USCF now is the pat down and wand check of your being. I wonder why the Cubs don't have to do it. everyone has to do it by 2015. cubs are just stalling.

QUOTE (ChrisLikesBaseball @ May 6, 2014 -> 10:07 AM) I had to leave my season ticket package, not because I couldn't afford the tickets, but because I couldn't afford the parking. At $18/game my parking was about 1/3 the cost of going to the games in seats I truly enjoyed (Upper Deck, Row 7, section 531 behind home plate). I considered finding a reasonable public-transportation method, but from Westmont/Downers Grove there isn't anything as convenient as driving. Food/bev is a little easier to manage once you figure out a plan to grill outside the stadium, but it's always tempting to grab something to eat on the inside. If parking were $10 every day.. Maybe $15, the amount of games I'd go to would increase significantly. Paying $10 a few Sundays ago hardly put a dent into what that game cost me.. That, added to not drinking and grilling Brats and eating chips outside the game made for a grand-total of $61 (girlfriend just HAD to have some ice cream, and I just HAD to have some peanuts inside) for two of us to go with seats in the lower bowl. $30 per person for a day/night out is a manageable expense in my book. Once you break $50, it becomes a luxury. Did you have a full season or partial plan? The weekend plan made the parking as low as $14 a game(when you average out the 18 and 10 dollar passes). Honestly, i would have told you to invest in a neighborhood guest pass and just park on the street. $50-$100 for the season pays off real quick.

QUOTE (Thad Bosley @ Apr 17, 2014 -> 03:44 PM) The White Sox have topped two million fans in only 13 of the 33 years during the Reinsdorf ownership, so Jerry's not going to win any awards for getting those turnstyles to spin. My point is that the primary reason for this inability to draw better is that the location simply doesn't have the greatest reputation. There is a perception, rightly or wrongly, that the area isn't the safest, but it also has to do with the fact the area around the ballpark isn't considered to be all that exciting. That has been the rap for years, and unfortunately no matter what the organization has tried, from ballpark renovations to price reductions to 10 pound ice cream sundaes, they have not been able to overcome that stigma to consistently draw the types of crowds one would expect from a large market team.Yet you IGNORE that the Sox have never drawn better under any other ownership group. The TOP TWENTY attendance totals are under the current ownership. And with 16 of them in the current facility that apparently no one likes. Numbers don't lie. The 2013 White Sox, the 2nd worst of all time, still outdrew the 1960 team that was coming off a world series appearance.

QUOTE (HickoryHuskers @ Apr 17, 2014 -> 03:06 PM) Did the increase in Cubs popularity spur the increase in Wrigleyville popularity, or was it the other way around???a little bit of both.

July 6th will have Lamar Hoyt signing. He's rare at Chicago events.

QUOTE (jasonxctf @ Apr 17, 2014 -> 02:19 PM) Im thinking about going on a Sunday here this month. Would love to get your experiences on running the bases afterwards. How crazy is it? Is the line an hour long?? Can anyone run? Thanks. Most of the experiences are for kids. More info here: http://chicago.whitesox.mlb.com/cws/ticket...ily_sundays.jsp here's the info for 4/27 specifically: http://www.mlb.com/cws/images/promotions/y...april27_300.jpg Some of these dates have codes, so you can get tix even cheaper. 4/27 - FIN 6/1 - SPAW 9/14 - FIN

QUOTE (Thad Bosley @ Apr 17, 2014 -> 01:34 PM) Comparing the attendance of the last 30 years to that of the previous 80 is damning with faint praise at best. The attendance of the past 30 years has still been quite pathetic for the most part, and in particular when you consider this is a large market we are talking about here. Fairly or not, the location has been maligned over the years, resulting in many people finding it to be somewhat undesirable; hence, attendance suppression. I don't see any other plausible reason to explain this chronic attendance problem for the South Side ballclub.I should point out that ALL of the top 20 most attended Sox seasons were under Reinsdorf, with all but four(as of the 2010 media guide) being at the new, unhip, undesirable, park. All of these years have had the black, i mean unsafe, element in the area. Because that's what you're getting at, right?

QUOTE (KyYlE23 @ Apr 17, 2014 -> 11:59 AM) 99 percent sure ewok pelts was referring to the "coming back to coach" part of your statement, not visiting the clubhouse. I'm sure Ozzie has been in a clubhouse since he lost his job actually no. he cant go inside another ballpark while a ballgame is scheduled without permission of the marlins. he was able to go to the boxing match because it wasnt a baseball event. mlb has tampering rules for a reason. he would need to forgo his salary with the marlins to take any position with the sox. not sure how the rules work with his espn duties.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Apr 17, 2014 -> 12:51 PM) Very true. Yes, there are tons of options, but they aren't cheap for the most part. Even a movie starts at $10 a person, without food or snacks.Sox ticket on a saturday night? $7 Movie ticket at the showplace icon on roosevelt BEFORE 6pm? $10.50

QUOTE (Thad Bosley @ Apr 17, 2014 -> 01:12 PM) For decades now, "Average Joe" has resoundingly sent the message that he/she does not find the location at 35th and Shields to be an appealing one, no matter how nice, affordable, and/or accessible the ballpark is. There has been a negative stigma associated with that location that has dogged this organization for years, and 34 years into his ownership, Mr. Reinsdorf still hasn't found a way to get past it.yet sox attendance the last 30 years has been better than the previous 80. when the location was more desirable, i mean white.

QUOTE (Greg Hibbard @ Apr 17, 2014 -> 11:25 AM) You're including transportation to and from the ballpark and food, right? want to keep moving the goal posts? Gas is a sunk cost regardless where you take the kids. But I imagine $10 parking offsets that. Food? You don't NEED to buy the $5 hot dog at the stands. Sox allow tailgating and you can bring in food and water. And if suzy and junior want a soda, sign up for teh designated driver reward. And on sundays, the "Chisox bar and grill" has the kids menu free with paying adults. Any more excuses?

QUOTE (Greg Hibbard @ Apr 17, 2014 -> 12:04 PM) Specials aside, though, what is the AVERAGE cost for a family of four to go to an AVERAGE white sox game? Also, I was talking about HOME entertainment options being better these days. On any day not counting opening day or cubs games, the lowest you can go is $48 with parking. 4 $7 tix plus one $20 parking pass. That's with no codes or deals. Sundays are $30. 4 $5 tix plus one $10 parking pass.

QUOTE (Greg Hibbard @ Apr 17, 2014 -> 11:16 AM) I think it has much more to do with other factors than anything necessarily intrinsic to the White Sox. Recent home entertainment options have made the value of going to a baseball game vs. the cost of going to a baseball game absurdly disproportionate. If MLB teams do not wise up, they will lose almost everybody eventually. I'm sorry, but it is simply no longer worth $50-$100 to go to a regular season baseball game. A family of four can go to a sox game on a sunday for $30 which includes parking. Brookfield zoo is actually more expensive.

Also of note is that companies are dropping ticket plans left and right the last few years. They see the season long expense as too great, with many opting to buy as needed. Brokers also dropped plans hard when the teams fortunes sunk. My rep had ONE ORDER(likely a broker, but he didnt ask) in january 2006 that was for SIXTY FULL SEASON TICKETS in the bleachers.

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Apr 17, 2014 -> 10:01 AM) But why did it erode? Making the playoffs didn't help. Being in first place most of the season didn't help. Signing pretty big names and bringing fan favorites back didn't help. Many people want to jump on the bandwagon, but IMO now it has to be a championship bandwagon. Sox gained so many season ticket holders in the 2005-2006 offseason that they had a waiting list. hence the record attendance. ticke tprices went up. 2006 was a team that missed the playoffs, but the sox offered playoff tix with automatic renewals for 2007. hence the slightly lower overall attendance, as individual sales took a hit in a s***ty season. ticket prices went up. 2007 was a disaster. and many sth took off as their sth investment wasn't bearing fruit(playoffs or financial success). my brother had FOUR full season tix under my account in 2006-2007, and dropped them(i still had my partial plan). The sth base dropped big time, making pre-season sales of tix much lower in 2008 than in the previous few seasons. tickets prices went up. 2008 sox did make the playoffs, but they started slow and walkup sales took a while to pickup. But the sox didn't really sell a lot of season ticket plans coming off the hype of a playoff run. ticket prices went up. 2009 started strong, but the poor and inconsistent play turned crowds away, or made them look at stubhub first. and even more STH left. ticket prices went up. 2010 was a suprise, but like i said low sth base once again kills any gains from walkup sales. ticket prices went up yet again to thier highest levels before the slight reduction in 2011. 2011 was supposed to be all in, but poor and lazy play really pissed the fans off where there was little walkup. And tickets went up except in a few spots in the upper deck. 2012 had MASSIVE ticket plan cancellations, but they were an exciting team and walkup and other advance sales picked up but never made up for the loss of sth plans. prices were a bit lower, but still more expensive than 2005's prices. The ticket situation was so bad, the sox offered ALDS tickets to ALL ticket plan holders, even 7 game plans. 2013 was a diaster. The only thing that saved the attendance(even though it went down) was the massive discounts on ticket prices. But even then fans still found excuses. 2014 is bearing the fruit of many years of fan anger over bad pricing and bad ballclubs. Tickets didnt go up, but people seem to really have a wait and see approach.

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Apr 17, 2014 -> 09:56 AM) I don't think this is for Ozzie to return to White Sox employment. It is for him to return to the park. Maybe visit the clubhouse.he CAN'T. he's an employee of the marlins.

It would only be in a ambassador role. BUT, will he want to give up the 4 million he's making the next 2 years to be a glorified greeter?

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Apr 16, 2014 -> 10:03 AM) The ice might have been a nice excuse, but it doesn't happen if attendance is 20,000. I also kind of wonder if it was a bit of an experiment into trying the open stadium plan again, as a trial. They have been doing that for every game BUT OD and 4/12.

QUOTE (HickoryHuskers @ Apr 16, 2014 -> 08:40 AM) Tickets, no? Tickets are pretty reasonably priced. You aren't getting lower level seats behind home plate at any ballpark for less than $60. Between ticket packages, discount codes, etc., you can score pretty good lower level seats that aren't behind home plate for $20-30 for a lot of games. Food, yes, but nobody forces you to buy food. Parking I think is the biggest turnoff. I haven't studied the issue like I'm guessing the organization has, but I think lowering parking a bit might help improve attendance. I also think it has to do with what you're looking for in an experience. When I lived in Oak Park and could easily get to 20+ games a year, I never paid for parking, and I very rarely bought food. I was using all my money to be able to get 20+ tickets, and I was sitting in the outfield in order to be able to do that. Now that I live almost 300 miles away and can only get to 1-2 games per year, I don't mind as much paying for parking and food and paying higher prices for better seats. Parking WAS lowered. $20 mon-sat, and TEN f***ING DOLLARS ON SUNDAYS.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Apr 16, 2014 -> 08:22 AM) It's worth adding, $1.25 in 1955 adjusts to $11 in 2014, and I'm pretty sure you can go to the upper deck for that amount pretty readily.$7 is the cheapest seat on all but three games.

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Apr 17, 2014 -> 08:13 AM) I think Caulfield said 2005 has had a negative effect on White Sox attendance and I think he has a point. Titles will pack USCF, just contending and being in first place, apparently won't anymore. At least it didn't in 2012. We heard the excuses...People just knew they would fold. I don't know why folding the last half of September keeps you from attending a game of a first place team in July or August on a beautiful night, but apparently, that is where the Sox fanbase is at right now. It's pretty sad. Unless they win some more titles, I don't think there is much they can do to get the average close to or over 30k, like other teams with the same amount of success. White Sox fans have so many excuses, and when the Sox address those excuses they come up with more. I don't blame them for not going last year, but 2008 they were a playoff team and couldn't draw what they did in 2007. In 2011, they were "all in" and couldn't sell as many tickets as 2010. In 2012 they were in first place most of the season and couldn't match the 2011 total.The season ticket base erosion from 2008-2013 is what brought us here. NOT winning a WS in 2005. Walk up sales are being cannibalized by stubhub sales, as most people look there first before going to whitesox.com. BUT, in the years since 2005, the Sox have offered untold ammounts of comp tickets, moreso than from 2000-2004. The kids club, which is free, gives each member FOUR free tickets(up from 2). That plays a factor in the attendance debate.

QUOTE (Harry Chappas @ Apr 16, 2014 -> 12:08 PM) US Celluar is the most easily accessible stadium in Chicago and has the best ammenities. There are no neighborhood places to go after Bears, Bulls or Blackhawk games. Metra built a stop for the White Sox and usage was so low they discontinued the post game train and run nothing special for the White Sox except possibly on Opening Day. White Sox fans could be among the worst in sports. Love the half-truths perpetuated by sox fans looking for an excuse to b****. The rock island line offers normal service on weeknight games. They still run one extra train on weekend games, as those days have different schedules.

QUOTE (GoodAsGould @ Apr 13, 2014 -> 08:33 AM) Little off topic but pretty annoyed if the attendance was in the 27k range and we got into the ballpark 30 minutes before game time it's complete bulls*** that they had blankets for the first 20k fans but were out when we got there. Which is fine but next time say you only have 15 or whatever the true amount was. The announced attendance was 27k. And when you factor in comps, it was closer to 30-32k. So not really bulls*** at all. I got to the park around 12, and gate 2 was almost out of blankets, but gate 3 had them until closer to first pitch. Believe it or not, they have a system for making sure certain gates have enough.

QUOTE (HickoryHuskers @ Apr 10, 2014 -> 08:09 AM) The blackout rules have been in place for a long time, well before MLBEI and mlb.tv became popular. They desperately need to be revised. There is no reason to have any location be in a blackout area for more than one AL team and one NL team.* Iowa is blacked out for six teams. So is Las Vegas. And, in case you aren't familiar with the blackout rules, every team has a home (blackout) territory. Within that territory, you can only watch the games on the local channel that provides the game (CSN, WGN, WCIU). Games are blacked out on MLBEI and mlb.tv. Outside of that territory, you can only watch the games on MLBEI or mlb.tv, and the games will be blacked out on the local channel if you happen to get it. WGN is a grandfathered exception. You can get WGN games no matter where you live. One change that has helped a bit is that FOX no longer has an exclusive window every single Saturday. Some of the Saturdays are on their cable channel FS1 and they don't get exclusivity on those Saturdays. *EDIT: I had forgotten that HOU and TEX are now both AL teams. I would have an exception to allow their territories to overlap within the state of Texas. Both texas team have the entire state as territory.

QUOTE (lord chas @ Apr 4, 2014 -> 03:32 PM) Deleted mine like a moron. Hope they resend it They dont