Downtown Baseball Stadium

Discussion about new sports facilities in Kansas City
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phuqueue
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Re: Downtown Baseball Stadium

Post by phuqueue »

The fact that Tampa is outdrawing the Royals by "almost 1000" says way more about Tampa than about the Royals
Metro
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Re: Downtown Baseball Stadium

Post by Metro »

GRID wrote: Wed Apr 10, 2024 9:19 am
TheUrbanRoo wrote: Wed Apr 10, 2024 7:43 am I can’t believe people are so stupid they assume the Royals are just “good to go” now. They just denied a pro-team with a lease expiring in 6 years. They think they’re safe now? People are so stupid. Sorry, I just can’t take it.
Royals average attendance below Tampa Bay right now. Tampa Bay. The city that can't sell 20k tickets to a playoff game. Tampa is averaging almost 1000 more per game than KC through the first 7 or so games. If KC didn't sell out the opener (which has happened in recent years), they would be below Miami too.

The Royals are in more trouble than people there think and Sherman needs to do whatever it takes to get the stadium downtown. It does not matter if he makes the fans angry because he has nothing to lose. The Royals do not draw well at all and they have almost no season ticket base.
Baseball is only popular in this town when they are winning
TheBigChuckbowski
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Re: Downtown Baseball Stadium

Post by TheBigChuckbowski »

I'm almost 40 and the Royals have been terrible for pretty much my entire lifetime and even when they've had some success, it's only lasted a few years. You can't really discount how much of an impact that's had.
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Re: Downtown Baseball Stadium

Post by TheUrbanRoo »

Here's an article detailing what happens when the votes fail for baseball stadiums: https://www.royalsreview.com/2024/4/9/2 ... t-measures

In literally every single case, if the voters screw up and risk losing the team, the city/county/state jumps in and just pays the ransom without a vote. Wonder if that happens for KC.
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Re: Downtown Baseball Stadium

Post by Imarealperson »

Metro wrote: Wed Apr 10, 2024 9:39 am
GRID wrote: Wed Apr 10, 2024 9:19 am
TheUrbanRoo wrote: Wed Apr 10, 2024 7:43 am I can’t believe people are so stupid they assume the Royals are just “good to go” now. They just denied a pro-team with a lease expiring in 6 years. They think they’re safe now? People are so stupid. Sorry, I just can’t take it.
Royals average attendance below Tampa Bay right now. Tampa Bay. The city that can't sell 20k tickets to a playoff game. Tampa is averaging almost 1000 more per game than KC through the first 7 or so games. If KC didn't sell out the opener (which has happened in recent years), they would be below Miami too.

The Royals are in more trouble than people there think and Sherman needs to do whatever it takes to get the stadium downtown. It does not matter if he makes the fans angry because he has nothing to lose. The Royals do not draw well at all and they have almost no season ticket base.
Baseball is only popular in this town when they are winning
I suppose you weren’t around for the pre-Marty Chiefs
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Re: Downtown Baseball Stadium

Post by KCPowercat »

TheUrbanRoo wrote: Wed Apr 10, 2024 10:15 am Here's an article detailing what happens when the votes fail for baseball stadiums: https://www.royalsreview.com/2024/4/9/2 ... t-measures

In literally every single case, if the voters screw up and risk losing the team, the city/county/state jumps in and just pays the ransom without a vote. Wonder if that happens for KC.
Feel like that's how the city is trying to get this done.
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Re: Downtown Baseball Stadium

Post by shinatoo »

The Royals draw just fie when they are respectable. Not losing 90+ games. We stay on the pace we have set so far this season you will have near sellouts on the weekends by June. Biggest problem is over the last 30 years we are either in the playoffs or losing 90+ games, with a lot more of the latter.

If you are thinking the Royals would ever not sell out a playoff game, you are out of your mind.

Let's stop with histrionics.
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GRID
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Re: Downtown Baseball Stadium

Post by GRID »

Imarealperson wrote: Wed Apr 10, 2024 10:20 am
Metro wrote: Wed Apr 10, 2024 9:39 am
GRID wrote: Wed Apr 10, 2024 9:19 am

Royals average attendance below Tampa Bay right now. Tampa Bay. The city that can't sell 20k tickets to a playoff game. Tampa is averaging almost 1000 more per game than KC through the first 7 or so games. If KC didn't sell out the opener (which has happened in recent years), they would be below Miami too.

The Royals are in more trouble than people there think and Sherman needs to do whatever it takes to get the stadium downtown. It does not matter if he makes the fans angry because he has nothing to lose. The Royals do not draw well at all and they have almost no season ticket base.
Baseball is only popular in this town when they are winning
I suppose you weren’t around for the pre-Marty Chiefs
Chiefs attendance drops fast when they start losing. It was dropping like a rock right before Andy Reid came to town after just a couple of losing seasons. I can't imagine Arrowhead going through what Denver is going through right now. Denver still sells out every game and has a waiting list for season tickets and most games the stadium is pretty full (few no shows). Arrowhead would be 1/3 full.

I have heard Sporting KC was losing attendance very quickly recently when they were not playing well. I hope the KC Current continues to win games or they will struggle too.

KC is a very bandwagon town, more so than most which is odd since everybody there is a sports fan it seems like. Just walking through KCI airport and half the people are dressed in some sort of local sports gear. So yeah, they will sell out Royals games if they make the playoffs. Everybody will be a fan that actually goes to games all of the sudden.

2015 was amazing, but it was shocking how fast the fans were gone again. I mean attendance was DOWN 2000 people a game the year after winning the WS. Pretty much unheard of. Those fans were gone nearly as quickly as they showed up. If the Royals are not in first place all year long and a clear favorite to win the division all year long, they will not average more than 30k a game. The Royals were still a 500 team in 2016 and 2017 and in 2017 attendance dropped another 4k. A few years after winning the WS, the Royals could not even sell out their home opener.

I do wonder how much a downtown stadium might change some of this though.

Sometimes I think I'm being hard on KC because it's a small city, but then I look at Milwaukee. What have they done? Yet they consistently average more per year than KC did in 2015.

If the Chiefs start losing again, they will see the biggest drop in attendance ever. It will be like the Royals. When a team starts winning, prices for tickets go up. When they start losing, prices don't really go down as fast as they go up and KC is not a very affluent metro overall with a small corporate season ticket base that can continue to pay the cost of tickets. I think that was a big factor in why the Royals attendance went down so much right after winning the WS.
Last edited by GRID on Wed Apr 10, 2024 12:28 pm, edited 10 times in total.
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Chris Stritzel
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Re: Downtown Baseball Stadium

Post by Chris Stritzel »

Their home opener attendance this year was 38,775. Pretty close to sell out.
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Re: Downtown Baseball Stadium

Post by GRID »

Chris Stritzel wrote: Wed Apr 10, 2024 12:00 pm Their home opener attendance this year was 38,775. Pretty close to sell out.
I know it was a near sell out this years, but the Royals went 2-3 years prior to covid that were far from sell outs. A remarkable thing in MLB no matter how bad your team has been doing. Let alone at team that went to the WS back to back five years prior.
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Re: Downtown Baseball Stadium

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Grid from the top rope knocking chiefs fans, royals fans and people that wear sports gear at airports all in one post!
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Re: Downtown Baseball Stadium

Post by TheBigChuckbowski »

KCPowercat wrote: Wed Apr 10, 2024 12:36 pm Grid from the top rope knocking chiefs fans, royals fans and people that wear sports gear at airports all in one post!
Chiefs have the one of the biggest stadiums in one of the smallest markets but their attendance is a problem.
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Re: Downtown Baseball Stadium

Post by Imarealperson »

GRID wrote: Wed Apr 10, 2024 12:03 pm
Chris Stritzel wrote: Wed Apr 10, 2024 12:00 pm Their home opener attendance this year was 38,775. Pretty close to sell out.
I know it was a near sell out this years, but the Royals went 2-3 years prior to covid that were far from sell outs. A remarkable thing in MLB no matter how bad your team has been doing. Let alone at team that went to the WS back to back five years prior.
Capacity is 37,903, fellas.
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GRID
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Re: Downtown Baseball Stadium

Post by GRID »

KCPowercat wrote: Wed Apr 10, 2024 12:36 pm Grid from the top rope knocking chiefs fans, royals fans and people that wear sports gear at airports all in one post!
:lol:
TheBigChuckbowski wrote: Wed Apr 10, 2024 12:44 pm
KCPowercat wrote: Wed Apr 10, 2024 12:36 pm Grid from the top rope knocking chiefs fans, royals fans and people that wear sports gear at airports all in one post!
Chiefs have the one of the biggest stadiums in one of the smallest markets but their attendance is a problem.
Didn't say the Chiefs had an attendance problem. Was stating how volatile the Chiefs attendance can be and yes, I think it has a lot to do with the metro size and the buying power of the metro.

I do and think the Royals have somewhat of an attendance problem though. But I also think a downtown stadium will help a lot in getting KC closer to the core of the bottom half and away from the bottom few. Not sure KC will ever average 35k a game. Maybe the first year a stadium opened. The corporate base is not there and the city is on the small side.

But gotta be able to average in the low to mid 20s, even during bad years. I think a downtown stadium will be enough to get KC to that point.
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Re: Downtown Baseball Stadium

Post by dnweava »

GRID wrote: Wed Apr 10, 2024 11:57 am
Imarealperson wrote: Wed Apr 10, 2024 10:20 am
Metro wrote: Wed Apr 10, 2024 9:39 am

Baseball is only popular in this town when they are winning
I suppose you weren’t around for the pre-Marty Chiefs
Chiefs attendance drops fast when they start losing. It was dropping like a rock right before Andy Reid came to town after just a couple of losing seasons. I can't imagine Arrowhead going through what Denver is going through right now. Denver still sells out every game and has a waiting list for season tickets and most games the stadium is pretty full (few no shows). Arrowhead would be 1/3 full.

I have heard Sporting KC was losing attendance very quickly recently when they were not playing well. I hope the KC Current continues to win games or they will struggle too.

KC is a very bandwagon town, more so than most which is odd since everybody there is a sports fan it seems like. Just walking through KCI airport and half the people are dressed in some sort of local sports gear. So yeah, they will sell out Royals games if they make the playoffs. Everybody will be a fan that actually goes to games all of the sudden.

2015 was amazing, but it was shocking how fast the fans were gone again. I mean attendance was DOWN 2000 people a game the year after winning the WS. Pretty much unheard of. Those fans were gone nearly as quickly as they showed up. If the Royals are not in first place all year long and a clear favorite to win the division all year long, they will not average more than 30k a game. The Royals were still a 500 team in 2016 and 2017 and in 2017 attendance dropped another 4k. A few years after winning the WS, the Royals could not even sell out their home opener.

I do wonder how much a downtown stadium might change some of this though.

Sometimes I think I'm being hard on KC because it's a small city, but then I look at Milwaukee. What have they done? Yet they consistently average more per year than KC did in 2015.

If the Chiefs start losing again, they will see the biggest drop in attendance ever. It will be like the Royals. When a team starts winning, prices for tickets go up. When they start losing, prices don't really go down as fast as they go up and KC is not a very affluent metro overall with a small corporate season ticket base that can continue to pay the cost of tickets. I think that was a big factor in why the Royals attendance went down so much right after winning the WS.
Bullshit. Chiefs averaged 68-72k per game even during the bad years before Andy. A Chiefs bad season is still higher average attendance than many bigger cities sellout capacity.
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Re: Downtown Baseball Stadium

Post by DColeKC »

GRID wrote: Wed Apr 10, 2024 12:52 pm
KCPowercat wrote: Wed Apr 10, 2024 12:36 pm Grid from the top rope knocking chiefs fans, royals fans and people that wear sports gear at airports all in one post!
:lol:
TheBigChuckbowski wrote: Wed Apr 10, 2024 12:44 pm
KCPowercat wrote: Wed Apr 10, 2024 12:36 pm Grid from the top rope knocking chiefs fans, royals fans and people that wear sports gear at airports all in one post!
Chiefs have the one of the biggest stadiums in one of the smallest markets but their attendance is a problem.
Didn't say the Chiefs had an attendance problem. Was stating how volatile the Chiefs attendance can be and yes, I think it has a lot to do with the metro size and the buying power of the metro.

I do and think the Royals have somewhat of an attendance problem though. But I also think a downtown stadium will help a lot in getting KC closer to the core of the bottom half and away from the bottom few. Not sure KC will ever average 35k a game. Maybe the first year a stadium opened. The corporate base is not there and the city is on the small side.

But gotta be able to average in the low to mid 20s, even during bad years. I think a downtown stadium will be enough to get KC to that point.
Chiefs have never really had a serious attendance problem. They were hitting 88-90% capacity in the worst years but it’s 8 games and the most popular sport. Now days, the worst teams in the league still sell 90+% of their capacity.
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Re: Downtown Baseball Stadium

Post by Cratedigger »

Attendance in the MLB is almost always based on the previous season's performance.

Obviously, I want the stadium downtown but if the Royals are contending and making the playoffs 2-3 years in a row fans will show up regardless of stadium location.
Metro wrote: Wed Apr 10, 2024 9:39 am
Baseball is only popular in this town when they are winning
This is true for everything in KC outside of maybe the Chiefs and KU basketball
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Re: Downtown Baseball Stadium

Post by Anthony_Hugo98 »

shinatoo wrote: Wed Apr 10, 2024 10:54 am The Royals draw just fie when they are respectable. Not losing 90+ games. We stay on the pace we have set so far this season you will have near sellouts on the weekends by June. Biggest problem is over the last 30 years we are either in the playoffs or losing 90+ games, with a lot more of the latter.

If you are thinking the Royals would ever not sell out a playoff game, you are out of your mind.

Let's stop with histrionics.
I don’t think anyone on this board has ever alluded to the Royals inability to sell tickets when they’re good. The discussion is more so that a downtown stadium would help bolster attendance significantly more when they’re bad, and help to provided resources enough to ensure the stretches where they’re bad won’t last as long as they have in the past.
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Re: Downtown Baseball Stadium

Post by DColeKC »

Anthony_Hugo98 wrote: Wed Apr 10, 2024 2:44 pm
shinatoo wrote: Wed Apr 10, 2024 10:54 am The Royals draw just fie when they are respectable. Not losing 90+ games. We stay on the pace we have set so far this season you will have near sellouts on the weekends by June. Biggest problem is over the last 30 years we are either in the playoffs or losing 90+ games, with a lot more of the latter.

If you are thinking the Royals would ever not sell out a playoff game, you are out of your mind.

Let's stop with histrionics.
I don’t think anyone on this board has ever alluded to the Royals inability to sell tickets when they’re good. The discussion is more so that a downtown stadium would help bolster attendance significantly more when they’re bad, and help to provided resources enough to ensure the stretches where they’re bad won’t last as long as they have in the past.
100% accurate.
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Re: Downtown Baseball Stadium

Post by GRID »

Anthony_Hugo98 wrote: Wed Apr 10, 2024 2:44 pm
shinatoo wrote: Wed Apr 10, 2024 10:54 am The Royals draw just fie when they are respectable. Not losing 90+ games. We stay on the pace we have set so far this season you will have near sellouts on the weekends by June. Biggest problem is over the last 30 years we are either in the playoffs or losing 90+ games, with a lot more of the latter.

If you are thinking the Royals would ever not sell out a playoff game, you are out of your mind.

Let's stop with histrionics.
I don’t think anyone on this board has ever alluded to the Royals inability to sell tickets when they’re good. The discussion is more so that a downtown stadium would help bolster attendance significantly more when they’re bad, and help to provided resources enough to ensure the stretches where they’re bad won’t last as long as they have in the past.
Agree
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