Say It Ain't So....

[HaudFan]

Say it ain't so...Are they really going to charge $20 for general admission to "The Clyde" ?...I paid $15 Saturday night for the Thompson Memorial and $15 at The Powell Memorial. Both of which will have had more cars. In each case I saw 4 heats, 2 B-Mains and a Feature just from the late models.

I might have to re-think going to "The Clyde" if its really $20.

[Jimmy McKinley]

Orlando charged me $15 a head for features only a coupla weeks back for the BrightHouse SLM 50-lapper. 17 car field for the SLMs, and barely 10 cars in each of the other divisions that ran.

It's FASCAR. I can see for like the Governor's Cup that draws a good field, but not sure if the Hart race will draw that many cars for a mid-week show. Certainly not $20 worth to get in. Maybe they're hoping to try and get some of the whine-and-cheese .... I mean, NA$CAR ...crowd to come over before Friday's Busch race and the Firecracker on Saturday.

[straight up]

you wouldnt really expect them to charge $10 and get more fans in the seats would you ? just me thinkin i would rather have 1000 fans at $10 apiece than the usual 50 or 60 fans at $20 ! but ya got to remember its fascar , no common sense .

[Cara]

Qualifying at 3:30 pm and the Grandstands doesn't open until 6 pm? For $20 the grandstands should also be open to watch qualifying at least.

[Mark Keeler]

The Grandstands are always open for Qualifying... around 6pm, they will clear the grandstands and open the ticket windows.

[HaudFan]

Guess I'll mow my grass or go to the minor league baseball game (Thirsty Thursday) since no one gives a rats rearend about the fans for this event!

Its funny you charge $15 and people would show. And you'd get the leftover $5 from people buying a hamburger & drink...Oh well, I guess this just saves me money for Putnam County on Friday night with the FSCA sprinters!

[straight up]

if they dropped the gate price and filled the stands they wouldnt have an excuse as to why they cant pay a decent weekly purse ! have you noticed that they pay the fan participation people more than they pay the modifieds or sportsman ? just shows how little they care about the racer who spends tons of money to put on a show for them . absolutly disrespectful ! deaf , dumb and blind .

[AB195]

Minor League Baseball

HaudFan, that minor league baseball thing is always a sure bet, hands down.
Been going there for years, always try to catch a minor league game wherever I go, any time that I can. And spring training games, too. Nice to meet you last weekend, and maybe we'll catch you at the ballgame. Jackie Robinson Park is a nice place to visit, and Thursty Thursdays make it even a better heck-of-a-deal.
r.

[AB195]

Had a great night at the Ol' Ball game tonight.

[HaudFan]

AB minor league baseball gets it. Even with an hour plus rain delay last night, the place was PACKED! And the eye candy was really good.

[bubba]

Yea, but baseball is about as boring as it gets. I am all for the scenery and food accessories, but man I can't stand baseball. I spent about $30 last night at NSS and wasn't blown away or disappointed. Hell i got to see Fain Skinner - that alone is worth $10 of it.

[JackTripper]

Seeing how hard we've fought to get Fain back at NSS, you can't argue that logic.

[HaudFan]

Bubba, what I meant was that minor league baseball understands how to put fannies in the stands unlike some short tracks. A minor league baseball team has about 60 nights a year to get fans to watch. That's a lot tougher than once a week like a short track.

The outfield fence was covered from left field to right field with billboards. So let's say they charged $500 for a billboard and had 20. That's $10k for promoting.

Next, just about every night minor league baseball teams have some type of promotion to put people in the park. Last night was supposed to be Thirsty Thursday. Monday is Belly Buster Monday, ticket price is $11 and its all you can eat pizza, hot dogs, peanuts.

Minor league baseball gets it with ticket prices. General admission is $7. A box seat or VIP seat is $12. With that box seat you get someone who comes around and takes your order. You don't have to leave your seat and miss the game for a drink or hot dog.

Do you really think a minor league baseball team would survive with the FASCAR team running the show? I highly doubt it...

[carolwicks]

Fain!!!!!

i told you to S~M~I~L~E!!! ;-) sure do miss you... come on down to CCMP for our SLM race! I will call you...
as for baseball... i recently went to the Stone Crab game in Charlotte County.It too was packed. thousands of people! and it was fun in alot of ways but watching the Crabs get beat 11-0 was like watching earthworms mate...(i guess) the crowd was fun... SOOOOOOOO violent.... you make a mistake on the field and the crowd will sure let you know... hahaha and the announcer was GREAT! kids had a good time... not watching but rolling down the grassy hill...lol
they each got a ball so they were very happy...
the only two sports i found to be as exciting as racing is ice hockey and soccer...and they certainly are lagging behind!
carol aka OZ

[AB195]

1983--Tinker Field in Orlando, Twins AA Club.(Southern League).

Back then, I was informed that these old po-dunked baseball leagues had no reason to bring in fans to their ballparks. And they didn't. These places were empty all the time. They were only in the business of building and creating new players: no more, nothing else.

And that was OK by me.

Got to watch a good game, maybe see a player move up to triple AAA, even onto the big show. But we, or they, didn't even care about attendance, and even did the local Ballclub. Empty bleachers everywhere, but that didn't matter. There were players to develop, and no fans were required for that.

Then the marketing machines moved in. And rightfully so. They had seen a market of fans, and stadiums to fill. What a concept; and the marketing machines went to work to fill the stadiums, and they did just that. Even on a single A level, these once empty stadiums are now filled almost every night.
I really don't think the casual fan gives a hoot about a hot-shot shortstop, or a heavyweight lefty with a bad-ass split finger forkball....I do, and it had a place, and I am/was there there to see it. Even minor league hockey, and to tie it into this thread, minor league racing, short track racing.

Baseball stadiums are filling up all the time, even in the midwest, out west, and out east on the coast.
The game of Baseball is what it is, a past-time, but you couldn't tell by the way the marketing machines have got the game rocking and rolling on a nightly basis.

A crowd brings in a crowd, and I am still a baseball fan nontheless, and a racing fan too. I still like a big crowd at a local stock car Raceway, and I think that it still can happen on a local level, if the marketing machines are turned on.