The league is worried about those empty seats on Sunday

[Jukin]

The writer places the blame solely on the relocation of the Niners and Saints. He fails to mention the player protests that many media sites reported fueled the lower TV ratings last year. If you put the two issues together it likely explains why the fans aren't spending big money to support their "new" teams full of whining players.....

http://thebiglead.com/2017/09/13/the...mpty-stadiums/

[FairOaks]

Most of it is moving two teams to LA. They haven't had a presence there in decades and now you need to build not one but two fanbases at stadiums not fun to go to. NFL chased the free stadium money.

The 49ers one is more baffling... could the stadium move cause *that* much fan issue? They have been awful so it's not like it's a huge draw but that was brutal turnout. Granted they are in San Jose now and not San Francisco anymore so maybe they need to build a new fanbase there too.

[sfphillyfan]

Levi's stadium is terrible. It's hard to get to and the logistics are a nightmare. Imagine putting a stadium in Harrisburg PA, calling it the Philadelphia Eagles with tons of traffic and no public transport that's easy to use.

I think the problem is fantasy football and Sunday ticket. I don't want to pay hundreds of dollars to go to the game when I have everything I could want at home and no hassles.

[MDFAN]

Any support for player protests?

[rspurr]

Any support for player protests?

I don't have to agree with all of them to support their right to do it. If that makes sense.

And I really don't think that is a factor in keeping fans from going to the games. The empty seats are all in California. I think that those "fans" are the problem.

[sfphillyfan]

I don't have to agree with all of them to support their right to do it. If that makes sense.

And I really don't think that is a factor in keeping fans from going to the games. The empty seats are all in California. I think that those "fans" are the problem.

Worse fan base ever.

[Eagle60]

There's something about watching the Raiders play on that baseball field. I guess that it just brings back the old days. Too bad it's not pouring and it's all muddy.

[beagle]

They have the right to protest on their own time.
How many employers would allow any protest on company time?

[sfphillyfan]

They have the right to protest on their own time.
How many employers would allow any protest on company time?

I don't want to get into an argument about protesting. What I'm saying is that the protest has nothing to do with empty seats, especially in California. Nobody here thinks "I might see someone protesting on the sidelines.... I'm not gonna go to the game."

It's all about the fact that the product isn't worth the cost - both money and time.

[Eagle60]

Just to chime in I'm just going to say that no real football fan is not going to go to his team's game because their are a few assholes on the team. You couldn't put a team on the field if that were the case. There's a whole lot of fun things to do in California other than watch football and that's always been true. Add in the facts that sf has added I wouldn't drive 75 miles to bake in the sun either. That owner of the Rams is such a POS that I hope he crashes and burns anyway.

The other thing is that how many young people even know the Rams were from LA? Until they win big for a few years nobody is going to give a crap.

[NoDakIggle]

For all their genius the NFL should have seen this coming. No NFL team has stayed there and now they think two teams will succeed in LA? They will never, ever establish the type of fan base you find in Green Bay, Chicago, Philly, etc.
People have the right to protest. Fans will call them ****heads and move on. The NFL will suffer more from poor officiating, pricing out the middle class in favor of the almighty dollar, and irrationally suspending people for off field issues or drugs or PEDs than the ever will for protests.

[Eaglebreath]

It's California. Outside of a few diehards, people in LA don't give a shit about football. The NFL simply looks at the size of the market, without considering the amount of fan interest. And to put two teams there? That's a combination of stupidity and hubris. They'll get their big, shiny bajillion dollar stadiums, and people will come out til the been there, done that kicks in. But, I betcha long term, the Rams would have been better off staying in STL, and the Chargers should have stayed in SD.

[FairOaks]

Reading the Wikipedia page on Levi stadium, since it's opened, nobody likes to be on the sunny side of the stadium on hotter days -- Santa Clara is significantly warmer than San Francisco on the same day -- and there are apparently lots of places in the concourse you can get a drink and still see the game. So, empty seats on that side are apparently fairly common the first half of the season since the stadium opened a couple years ago.

But LA may be a real problem, at least until they get the real stadium built -- if even then. And those owners deserve it.

[FairOaks]

Apparently the Chargers' move has gone so badly there may be some in league circles considering making them go back to San Diego. Just because it may be the best of the bad options. Obviously not for this season, but if things don't improve not sure the league wants to see a small empty stadium for three years. Sounds like the league allowed Spanos to make the move because he's been a "league guy" but may not have been too enthused about it -- and it's been the worst case scenario. And I guess if they didn't let him move then, the Raiders would have. Kroenke basically forced his way in with the Rams first.

http://thebiglead.com/2017/09/21/don...-to-san-diego/

The full Don Banks article is on theatlantic.com, behind a paywall, so I haven't read it.

https://theathletic.com/105646/2017/...-big-concerns/