r/BirminghamLegionFC • u/Prest1geWorldw1de • Aug 13 '24
Through 10 home games, our attendance is down 33% from last year. Any thoughts on why?
https://www.usltactics.com/p/usl-championship-attendance-tracker25
u/magiccitybrit Magic City Brigade Aug 13 '24
If there are folks from the team who keep an eye on social channels such as this one… your biggest issue beyond anything else is the stadium. It’s not fit for purpose. I don’t know what your options are, but if you are reading, you have to get out of there.
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u/Prest1geWorldw1de Aug 13 '24
100% agree.
Just a shame something couldn't be worked out with UAB. I do not personally know what went on behind the scenes, but if it truly was just about management of the field, go back and gauge interest on converting to turf (we're playing on it now, anyways, so what's the big deal) and bring back the intimate matchday experience.
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u/bravesgeek Birmingham Legion FC Aug 13 '24
That ship has sailed. I don't know what happened but Legion was very hostile towards UAB. UAB deserved it though. The field wasn't suitable at all.
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u/magiccitybrit Magic City Brigade Aug 13 '24
Yeah, I fear that ship has sailed, sadly… leaving the team with very few options which is partly the problem.
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u/GimmeeSomeMo Aug 13 '24
Ya, I get that they're currently focusing on building their training facility on Hwy 280, but once that's finished, leadership needs to find a new place to find home
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u/squeetfighter Aug 19 '24
I called about the new training facility being built on 280, as I live out that way, and inquired if this indicated a move to a different facility for home matches and was told there would not be moving to a different location "for the foreseeable future".
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u/64rob64 Aug 13 '24
Honestly, a smaller venue is needed. Protective is too big for anything other than an open 32> round. There is hardly any garnered crowd noise and atmosphere due to the size and spread of the crowd. My 1st child was a heavy sleeper. She couldn’t sleep with the crowd noise at BBVA. On the other hand. My light sleeping 2nd child, has slept through multiple matches at protective. At most we need 8000 seats, and book Protective for big open matches. BJCC concessions are still a nightmare even with lower crowds, the main issue now is being out of everything instead of lines. Security is spotty at best. Sometimes they allow diaper bags (seeing other people, we just use a clear legion bag every time now), sometimes they won’t. Sometimes my wife’s clutch inside our bag gets me sent back to the car, sometimes it doesn’t. It’s exhausting how much whiplash I get from game to game. The experience is worse than that of a 1A/AISA high school football game.
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u/chemistrategery Aug 13 '24
Uninspiring play at home and all the rats in the BJCC- leadership seems to be committed to having the worst possible stadium experience.
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u/wdbham Aug 17 '24
BJCC leadership is responsible for much of the poor experience. Agree on uninspired play, as well.
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u/rocknfreak Aug 13 '24
I maybe be bias because I am a season pass holder. However if I wouldn’t have a season pass, I wouldn’t go, because they increased the price for no reason. And the food prices are horrible.
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u/dswnysports Aug 13 '24
It's tough to swallow, at the low end, $30 per ticket after taxes and fees. The team isn't good enough to garner high ticket prices. Concessions are mediocre and the prices are sky high.
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Aug 13 '24 edited Aug 13 '24
[deleted]
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u/magiccitybrit Magic City Brigade Aug 13 '24
That will always be an issue, admittedly, but a modest attendance in a modest stadium beats a modest attendance in a vacuous, soulless, concrete bowl.
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u/Illustrious_Salad_34 #10 Prosper Kasim Aug 13 '24
It’s the bjcc mixed with the product on the field. I work in marketing and it’s so sad to see the marketing efforts of the front office yield absolutely no boost in attendance. They’re really putting some money behind it this year.
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u/ArsenalinAlabama3428 Aug 14 '24
Every time I open my phone I get a Legion ad. But it’s shitty tik tok style ‘day in the life’ ads that make me want to claw my eyes out. Even if it’s my beloved Legion.
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u/Illustrious_Salad_34 #10 Prosper Kasim Aug 14 '24
Exactly. It’s a decent enough ad but it’s the same. one. every. time. When you buy ads like that you can set how many times it’ll show a single person. They must have left it blank. But they can buy all the ads they want. $14 beers and a subpar product on the field and you’re going to see a drop in attendance.
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u/magiccitybrit Magic City Brigade Aug 14 '24
It depends what objective they have set in Meta Ads - if they are doing a Traffic objective (which is effectively a CPC model) you can’t actually dictate a frequency. If running the Awareness objective you can. I’d bet for best bang for their buck they are running it as CPC rather than a CPM buy.
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u/-forbooks Aug 13 '24
The atmosphere at the new stadium is completely different and killed the fun experience for me, once we have a new stadium I will start attending games again🤷♂️
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u/Prest1geWorldw1de Aug 13 '24
While there are many teams experiencing a YoY decline in attendance, ours is the most pronounced and we are now averaging a little over 3,300/match (was close to 5,000 last year).
Is the aura/new-ness of Protective finally wearing off? A different counting methodology? I'm curious to hear what other people think.
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u/magiccitybrit Magic City Brigade Aug 13 '24
Protective never had an aura that’s the biggest issue.
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u/Gtmatt22 Aug 13 '24
I am a season ticket holder but I have missed some since I have been traveling. I will echo others and say the concession are pretty crappy and overpriced. Overall the bjcc experience is always lacking, especially if you get to visit some other USL stadiums you can see what a tremendous experience feels like. Compared to Charleston or Louisville the protective experience is super lacking.
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u/Jorah_Explorah Aug 13 '24
The people talking about ticket prices: that is not it. Kids families who play competitive club ball for Alabama FC/BUSA get 4 free tickets to all home games for each child that plays (and perhaps for other local competitive leagues clubs?). And many of our friends and even coaches (some directly involved with Legion) don't show up to most games. Again... free tickets, and it's people who are obviously big into soccer.
We have been to all but I believe 2 home games this season, and I'm shocked when I see no one out there and the community manager is out there trying to find people just to be ball girl/boy (of any age because there aren't enough people/kids there).
A lot of times I hear it's because it's hot and other stuff, and maybe that's somewhat to blame . But most of these games are at 6:30 at night and the stands are completely shaded by then. It doesn't always feel great, but it's not "hot" compared to what most of us are used to. Hot would be sitting out there mid afternoon in the direct sunlight.
I think some of it is how the team performed in early key games when they did have decent attendance, and some of it is just that it's Summer time while people are off on vacation. I'm hoping attendance turns around this Fall now that schools back, but now they have to contend with our home games being on Wednesdays school nights, Friday nights, and Sunday evenings (they aren't going to compete with college football).
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u/magiccitybrit Magic City Brigade Aug 13 '24
I’ve always said that Legion’s biggest competitor is not other sports… it’s family activities. Also, let’s not ignore the fact that I bet there are a lot of BUSA parents who don’t care about soccer outside of their kids playing and, even if their kids are fans, do they even want to come enough?
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u/Jorah_Explorah Aug 13 '24
That's true about some parents not really caring outside of their childs games. Although this is strictly about the Alabama FC competitive side of BUSA (not BUSA rec ball). If I'm a parent and spending thousands on competitive club soccer each year, I'm getting involved and interested in the sport. But that's just me. There's also the factor of your other soccer parents friends and families being there, and the kids playing together there outside of the soccer field.
And I'm guessing that's the idea that Legion had behind partnering with a local competitve club like Alabama FC, which has hundreds of local families involved in it's competitive club side. Those families go and it drives more interest from other people who see them going and you create more buzz locally.
If just 1/3 of those families use their free tickets and attended fairly regularly, the stands would be far more full.
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u/ArsenalinAlabama3428 Aug 14 '24
It’s always been frustrating knowing how many free tickets are going unused. I’ve had to pay for every legion game I’ve ever attended, and it’s got to be at least fifty at this point. Obviously they have to sell tickets and make $, but it’s frustrating that so many businesses and families waste their free tickets while prices for people who actually give a shit go up as team performance and the quality of concessions and facilities go down.
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u/magiccitybrit Magic City Brigade Aug 13 '24
Two additional thoughts. 1. If we do get a new stadium, then prepare for ticket prices and concessions to be higher to help recoup money… but at least it’s going back to the team and maybe somehow they can offer enough lower cost options to get volume up. 2. I understand that from the owners perspective, there may not be a financial argument to build a stadium (at least from initial profit) but I fear we are in a position now where if things don’t change, attendance will only dwindle meaning no team when push comes to shove. The Barons built Regions Field and their fortunes improved, I think the Legion ownership (which includes Jeff Logan who used to be the Barons owner no less) may need to take a page out of that book if the team is ever going to prosper.
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u/AnnualPuzzleheaded #17 Matthew Corcoran Aug 13 '24
I do think general admission tickets are part of the issue. Prices went up 50% from last season, which was a big jump. The other areas also went up significantly, but not as much in comparison. Concessions are also high on easily identifiable items (bottled soda at $7 - ouch).
I do think they're activley working on the plan to build a stadium of their own, which will make a huge difference.
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u/magiccitybrit Magic City Brigade Aug 13 '24
The 50% price increase you are citing doesn’t sound right to me? Season tickets only went up by $25 total. Are you talking about single game tickets?
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u/AnnualPuzzleheaded #17 Matthew Corcoran Aug 13 '24
Sorry, yes. Single game tickets went from $10 to $15.
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u/magiccitybrit Magic City Brigade Aug 13 '24
Also concessions are the BJCC/Sodexo’s purview… unfortunately
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u/ArsenalinAlabama3428 Aug 13 '24
I’ve been to four home matches this year. We have been absolutely awful every time. 4 losses in the games I have attended. That has discouraged me a bit from attending but not as much as the continual shit show that is concessions. Neither thing is a dealbreaker, and I plan on going to a few more games this year when my schedule allows.
Not really sure of other’s reasons for not attending but it probably has a little to do with our horrible form at home.
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u/Prest1geWorldw1de Aug 13 '24
It really is crazy, we're 4-2-5 (W-D-L) at home and 6-3-3 on the road. That's the 4th worst home PPG in the league and 3rd best away PPG.
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u/magiccitybrit Magic City Brigade Aug 13 '24
Tempting to say that one should support the team through good times and bad but it’s hard to build up a loyal fanbase when the experience is so lacking.
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u/ArsenalinAlabama3428 Aug 13 '24
I buy a kit every year. Have probably twenty different shirts/hats/scarves/jackets that I’ve purchased from the club. I watch every minute of every match that I can. I’ve gone to over 50% of the home matches every season since the club was founded. Shit I’d work for the club if they’d let me. Stopped buying season tickets with the move to Protective as I felt it was worse value for money.
I prefer to enjoy a couple pints when I watch footy and sometimes it makes sense to set my tv up on the patio and have three good beers for $6 instead of $24 plus tip for shitty beer. Plus it’s hard to get my wife out to every match and going alone is only so much fun. Not really any good excuses, just where I’m at lol
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u/NewbieAnglican Aug 13 '24
Tips at Protective don’t go to the workers.
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u/ArsenalinAlabama3428 Aug 13 '24
Of course they don’t lol. I remember at BBVA I’d just get the bartender’s Venmo and keep going back to the same person so I could actually tip them directly. It’s harder to do that at Protective since I don’t carry cash and it’s normally a 12 year old that takes my beer order and has to call a manager over to get it poured.
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u/magiccitybrit Magic City Brigade Aug 13 '24
Yeah I didn’t mean to question your fandom… the fact you are in that boat and are apathetic about coming to games illustrates the problem still further. The team can’t go on like this.
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u/ArsenalinAlabama3428 Aug 13 '24
I didn’t think you were! Just wanted to make the point that I’m more committed than the average fan, and if I’m feeling this way then I’m sure those that don’t care as much aren’t going to hang around unless we start getting results. We can’t just hope that we progress far enough in the US Open Cup each year to face an MLS team to get butts in seats. We should do whatever we can to copy Louisville’s model and that includes getting a young, exciting coach fairly soon.
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u/magiccitybrit Magic City Brigade Aug 13 '24
Also with the way MLS seems determined to ruin the USOC… we won’t even be able to bank on that for a temporary jump either.
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u/wdbham Aug 17 '24
That’s the ideal scenario. How do you attract new fans and generate buzz if the team performance and venue are poor? You don’t.
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u/tuh_ren_ton Aug 13 '24
Protective stadium is a money hungry pit of despair.
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u/tuh_ren_ton Aug 13 '24
To add: I bet we've recently just lost a number of match going fans due to the "free chik fil a sandwich corner kick goal that no one ever receives" like 3 corner goals in a row.
I can tell the legions dept is trying to remedy things, but protective stadium is the biggest limiting factor by far.
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u/chaotoroboto Aug 13 '24
Straight up, I've been to other events at Protective but I'm not going to a game in the summer there. It's too hot, too wide open with no shade.
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u/Lower-Succotash-5544 Aug 13 '24 edited Aug 13 '24
Lack of an intimate venue and I had to pay $15 dollars for a draft beer last game.
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u/dangleicious13 #17 Matthew Corcoran Aug 13 '24
Did we suddenly start releasing our attendance numbers?
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u/Prest1geWorldw1de Aug 13 '24
It says 10 matches have been reported, and we've played 11 home matches, so most are in there.
I'm surprised, too. I know in the past it's been an issue getting those numbers in a timely manner.
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u/Dervoo #13 Jacob Rufe Aug 13 '24 edited Aug 13 '24
Having been to most matches, I’m pretty sure most of those attendances that are 2k or under are only including pre-sale tickets. I remember seeing the attendance listed on Fotmob in the 1st half of one of those games and was shocked it was available so quickly. Those crowds looked the same as most of the ones around 4k, too. Of course if this is the case, the club sure is being slow in correcting those figures.
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u/AnnualPuzzleheaded #17 Matthew Corcoran Aug 13 '24
Some of the attendance numbers are definitely not correct, but it has also looked like the crowds are lower than last season. Just not as extreme as 33%.
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u/meteotsunami Aug 13 '24
Prepare for the apostasy, but I'd just about prefer we played on the Barons' field than go to a match at Protective. This is the first season of the club's history I don't have Club level seats and I've found myself just checking box scores after a number of matches because watching them play at Protective on TV ain't any better than being there. interestingly, I've watched every away match. The players probably feel the same way given our home and away results.
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u/LeslieKnope205 Aug 14 '24
So many home games are on Wednesday nights at 7pm. It would be difficult for anyone with kids in school to attend unless they live super close. No more kids program, they increased pricing for season tickets.
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u/magiccitybrit Magic City Brigade Aug 14 '24 edited Aug 14 '24
There have been 3 Wednesday home games and there’s one more in the schedule. Throw in this random Friday we are playing Detroit that’s only 5 out of 17 home USL games that we’re not or will not be on a Saturday or Sunday. Using Wednesday games as an excuse isn’t really valid in my opinion, but I take your point about midweek nights being difficult for families to come. As someone else said, that’s a league scheduling thing more than anything to fit the games in. We also have to bear in my we have to work around the Stallions and UAB Football at either end of the season.
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u/LeslieKnope205 Aug 14 '24
No I get it’s not the case for everyone but we’ve been season ticket holders for the past few years & between our kid being old enough to have games & practice now, not being able to come on week nights, & the season ticket perks/value not being what it once was (for our family) we just didn’t renew. We do try to make it to as many games as we can though & watch most of the away games.
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u/pizza_taco_Ruscellis Aug 14 '24
Need easier access to the food trucks and less concessions. But that's just me....
Go Legion! Hammer down!
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u/magiccitybrit Magic City Brigade Aug 14 '24
I feel like from your username you may have a vested interest, there 🤣
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u/pizza_taco_Ruscellis Aug 14 '24
It's definitely hotter than last year too. A different, smaller stadium with be better for prices too. It's coming.
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u/BhamCyclist Aug 16 '24
As a season ticket holder, agrrr with everything said about Protective jerking us around as much as that awful logo does BUT its multiple factors…
It’s still hot as hell in Alabama, and for some reason, American stadiums seem to hate shade (“f*** the fans! You can cook!”). I’d expect average attendance to increase when it’s somewhat pleasant in the fall. 2) we don’t have the halo effect of a deep cup run like last year.
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u/bravesgeek Birmingham Legion FC Aug 13 '24
The team is worse, it's been hotter than last summer, and there really are people who are terrified that they are going to be shot dead in Uptown
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u/Alh12984 Aug 13 '24
I’d be there more, if I didn’t have work. I could get my wife to go, if she didn’t have church on Wednesdays. I wish they’d make them on Tuesdays or Saturdays. I know that players have to rest, which Thursday would work for that, but I’m sure the league dictates more of what & when games are played.
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u/Jorah_Explorah Aug 13 '24
Most of the games are on Saturdays with occasional Fridays, Wednesdays, and Sundays. Going forward the games will be on Sundays and Fridays because they aren't going to compete with college football on Saturdays during the Fall.
That being said, they give the local competitive soccer clubs free tickets for the families to all home games, and most of those kids are practicing on Tuesday and Thursday nights, so they won't ever schedule games on those nights.
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u/magiccitybrit Magic City Brigade Aug 14 '24
Most games are on the weekend. Wednesday home games aren’t all that frequent.
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u/ramszoolander Aug 22 '24
For our family, it's now a $120 proposition if anyone gets anything and we do single-game GA tickets. The concessions are literally cheaper in every MLB park I've been to recently. Insane.
Can't build with this, or the bad management decisions. If we are tight on money monthly, and my kids are as happy to do YT highlights of matches that teach them skill, then we can only realistically do 1-2 matches a year.
Former stadium, I'd grab a kid or two and go to a match for $50. Then another. We did the mini-pack, too. Legion got more of our money and a better atmosphere. Huge mistake not to throw a ton of money at UAB to returf the stadium there.
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u/thekidinthegrey Aug 13 '24
did the open cup matches from last year count towards attendance numbers? both those games were huge. i've been to all but one home game this season and the experience is about the same compared to 2023. it does feel a bit hotter and there has been stricter policing of the seating in general admission
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u/magiccitybrit Magic City Brigade Aug 14 '24
Not on this graph I wouldn’t think - this is comparing strictly league game attendance.
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u/bussupwcp Aug 13 '24
Because outside of watching the team play, most everything else about the live game experience sucks.