Tuesday, March 25, 2008
Most empty seats
A recent article discussed the lack of attendance at lower level Scottish soccer games, opening the story with a reference to the Queens Park club that draws around 500 people per game in their 52,000 seat stadium. The author goes on to list what may be the records for most empty seats to see a soccer game.
This story got me thinking about capacities for sports here in the U.S. Data from the 2006 college football season show that Rice University held the dubious honor of filling the lowest capacity of seats for the season (21.1 %). Rice suffers from the fact that they play in a large stadium (capacity: 70,000), yet their heyday is certainly behind them. Additional schools at the bottom of list also play in large stadiums that don't quite fit with the size of their fan bases: Temple (filled 23.7 % of Lincoln Financial Field, capacity: 66,000), Tulane (filled 27.2 % of the 70,000-seat Superdome), and UAB (filled 27.9 % of the 83,000-seat Legion Filed). Among the schools in more appropriately sized venues, Utah St. came in low by filling only 37.6 % of their 30,000-seat stadium, while Florida Atlantic filled only 45 % of their 20,500-seat stadium.
Among BCS schools, Duke holds down the bottom, filling only 57.7 % of their capacity (Wallace Wade stadium capacity: 34,000). Somewhat surprisingly, the BCS school that is only slightly ahead of Duke is one of college football's most storied programs: the University of Miami. The Hurricanes filled up 58% of the Orange Bowl. They also suffer from playing in a large venue when their team does not do as well as expected. It will be interesting to see how the team draws when they move their home games to Dolphins Stadium.
I may take a look at this metric for other sports. My predictions for the teams filling the lowest capacity of seats in their respective leagues: NFL: Dolphins, MLB: Tampa Bay, NBA: Atlanta, NHL: Atlanta.
This story got me thinking about capacities for sports here in the U.S. Data from the 2006 college football season show that Rice University held the dubious honor of filling the lowest capacity of seats for the season (21.1 %). Rice suffers from the fact that they play in a large stadium (capacity: 70,000), yet their heyday is certainly behind them. Additional schools at the bottom of list also play in large stadiums that don't quite fit with the size of their fan bases: Temple (filled 23.7 % of Lincoln Financial Field, capacity: 66,000), Tulane (filled 27.2 % of the 70,000-seat Superdome), and UAB (filled 27.9 % of the 83,000-seat Legion Filed). Among the schools in more appropriately sized venues, Utah St. came in low by filling only 37.6 % of their 30,000-seat stadium, while Florida Atlantic filled only 45 % of their 20,500-seat stadium.
Among BCS schools, Duke holds down the bottom, filling only 57.7 % of their capacity (Wallace Wade stadium capacity: 34,000). Somewhat surprisingly, the BCS school that is only slightly ahead of Duke is one of college football's most storied programs: the University of Miami. The Hurricanes filled up 58% of the Orange Bowl. They also suffer from playing in a large venue when their team does not do as well as expected. It will be interesting to see how the team draws when they move their home games to Dolphins Stadium.
I may take a look at this metric for other sports. My predictions for the teams filling the lowest capacity of seats in their respective leagues: NFL: Dolphins, MLB: Tampa Bay, NBA: Atlanta, NHL: Atlanta.
Detroit can't seem to let go
First, the city of Detroit struggled to determine what to do with Tiger Stadium. Nearly 8 years after the Tigers moved to Comerica Park, Tiger Stadium still stands empty. Demolition is expected in 2008, but the city spent a lot of money maintaining an empty ballpark. Now, people in Pontiac are debating the future of the Silverdome nearly 6 years after the football team moved into Ford Field in Detroit. Possible plans call for a racetrack and casino or a baseball stadium. These are the challenges that we face in this country when we abandon still-functioning stadiums in favor of glitzy new models with luxury suites, sky boxes, and club-level lounges.
Thursday, March 20, 2008
The University of Minnesota has placed a neat virtual tour on its website of TCF Bank Stadium, the on-campus football stadium that is under construction. The open air stadium will feature artificial turf and all of the amenities expected of new stadiums. A host of club level seats and executive suites will make up part of the stadium; the suites will even feature radiant heating for those cold St. Paul days in November. The two-tiered stadium is initially designed to seat 50,000 and will have a brick exterior that blends into the surrounding campus. One side of the stadium will be open-ended, providing views of the Minneapolis skyline to spectators. The virtual tour also shows off the classy locker rooms that will make the football players quite happy. Not only are the athletes' needs addressed in this stadium, but the marching band will also be given their own spaces for storage, dressing, and practicing. As one who takes an interest in sustainability, I am happy to see that the stadium will be one of the first college stadiums to achieve a LEED status that certifies it as a Green Building. The stadium is scheduled to open in time for the 2009 season.
