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The Charlotte Hornets attendance is currently 19 out of 30 teams, several thousand seats go unsold every game. Even when they had a chance at the playoffs last season, they were ranked 16. Although they did set records for several years after starting up in Charlotte as the Bobcats.
The Carolina Rhinos (2000-2002) were a decent team in the AF2, the development league of the Arena Football League. The AF2 expanded quickly and had too many teams.
The Greenville Riverhawks (2004, American Indoor Football Association) were a fly by night team not playing any games in Greenville.
The South Carolina Force (2009, American Indoor Football Assocation)/Greenville Force (2010, Southern Indoor Football League) fell apart in the 2010 season. The team mounted consecutive blowout losses and replaced the entire team on a weekly basis. The final game of the Force's season was cancelled.
That's why I say 2 or 3.. Technically, it could be 2, 3 or 4.. I don't count the Riverhawks since they never even played a game here.
The SC Force and Greenville Force you could count as 2 separate entities as they were under different ownership. The first year wasn't bad.. Took a while to get things going. The first game was a cluster.. Announcer calling them the Grrrowl and the game started about 2 hours late as I recall (I was there).. They had a good crowd.. But screwed things up so bad, many didn't come back. I attended most every game the first year.. Only one or two the second year.
In 2010, the head coach 'bought' the team. He was a crook. Tony Wells. Got arrested for fraud here.. Had previously been arrested for similar things on previous stops. Didn't pay the players, which is why they were replaced each week. Didn't pay the Bi-Lo Center..
The Rhinos .. First off.. Had one hell of a catchy radio jingle. "Carolina Rhinos comin' to the Bi-Lo"
I went to most of those games. The one player I can completely remember was this 5 foot nothing wide receiver named Shorty Pullen. Best damn WR I ever saw in Arena ball. The attendance was still decent in the 3rd year.. But they pulled the plug (my understanding) because they wanted to focus on the NBA-D team. Pulling about 5500 fans per game. But that was a 50% drop from 2 years prior, when they were close to selling out each game, averaging 10k per game.
The Groove.. Were averaging 800 fans a game their last year.
Indoor Football CAN work here. But expectations have to be about where the hockey numbers are.. 3500 per game. If you expect to pull 10k per game or require 10k per game.. Your numbers aren't going to work.
That's why I say 2 or 3.. Technically, it could be 2, 3 or 4.. I don't count the Riverhawks since they never even played a game here.
The SC Force and Greenville Force you could count as 2 separate entities as they were under different ownership. The first year wasn't bad.. Took a while to get things going. The first game was a cluster.. Announcer calling them the Grrrowl and the game started about 2 hours late as I recall (I was there).. They had a good crowd.. But screwed things up so bad, many didn't come back. I attended most every game the first year.. Only one or two the second year.
In 2010, the head coach 'bought' the team. He was a crook. Tony Wells. Got arrested for fraud here.. Had previously been arrested for similar things on previous stops. Didn't pay the players, which is why they were replaced each week. Didn't pay the Bi-Lo Center..
The Rhinos .. First off.. Had one hell of a catchy radio jingle. "Carolina Rhinos comin' to the Bi-Lo"
I went to most of those games. The one player I can completely remember was this 5 foot nothing wide receiver named Shorty Pullen. Best damn WR I ever saw in Arena ball. The attendance was still decent in the 3rd year.. But they pulled the plug (my understanding) because they wanted to focus on the NBA-D team. Pulling about 5500 fans per game. But that was a 50% drop from 2 years prior, when they were close to selling out each game, averaging 10k per game.
The Groove.. Were averaging 800 fans a game their last year.
Indoor Football CAN work here. But expectations have to be about where the hockey numbers are.. 3500 per game. If you expect to pull 10k per game or require 10k per game.. Your numbers aren't going to work.
I remember the Force, we bought season tix the first year because in Rochester we were huge fans of arena football.
We were at that first game which was delayed because they didn't have enough turf to lay down padding in the end zone.
Halfway through the first season they lowered ticket prices and refused to refund any of my season ticket money.
I finished out the season and never went to another game. Ugh that pissed me off, I smiled when I found out they were unable to continue. They were poorly run and managed. don't even know how they got off the ground to begin with.
I remember the Force, we bought season tix the first year because in Rochester we were huge fans of arena football.
We were at that first game which was delayed because they didn't have enough turf to lay down padding in the end zone.
Halfway through the first season they lowered ticket prices and refused to refund any of my season ticket money.
I finished out the season and never went to another game. Ugh that pissed me off, I smiled when I found out they were unable to continue. They were poorly run and managed. don't even know how they got off the ground to begin with.
Who was the Gamecocks QB they started out with? Was it Blake Mitchell? Once they got rid of him.. They really turned the team around.. Came close to making the playoffs. And they wound up signing a kicker from Gardner-Webb, who I ran into down at the Laurens YMCA.
It's a hell of a fun game to watch.. And the players aren't stuck up or anything.. They're playing for the love of the game more than anything. Certainly not for money because I think they got $500 a game (Or were supposed to).. The kicker for one of the teams.. Fayetteville.. I always got endzone seats because the boy wanted to catch a football.. That kicker came over and talked to us quite a bit.. Fun guy.. Asked me for some of my beer.. Everytime he was on the field during the game, he came over and got a drink from me.
The Charlotte Hornets attendance is currently 19 out of 30 teams, several thousand seats go unsold every game. Even when they had a chance at the playoffs last season, they were ranked 16. Although they did set records for several years after starting up in Charlotte as the Bobcats.
South Carolina womens actually has higher attendance than some NBA teams.
Who was the Gamecocks QB they started out with? Was it Blake Mitchell? Once they got rid of him.. They really turned the team around.. Came close to making the playoffs. And they wound up signing a kicker from Gardner-Webb, who I ran into down at the Laurens YMCA.
It's a hell of a fun game to watch.. And the players aren't stuck up or anything.. They're playing for the love of the game more than anything. Certainly not for money because I think they got $500 a game (Or were supposed to).. The kicker for one of the teams.. Fayetteville.. I always got endzone seats because the boy wanted to catch a football.. That kicker came over and talked to us quite a bit.. Fun guy.. Asked me for some of my beer.. Everytime he was on the field during the game, he came over and got a drink from me.
That's why I was so into it where we lived in Rochester, NY. Such a great game, they went from playing in a Place like the pavilion to an armory to the main arena in Rochester it was so popular.
Indoor sports don't do half as well here tho. I wish they did, I'm a hockey fan, I don't get to as many games as I'd like but I try to see 1 or two a season.
The big 4 pro series (NFL, MLB, NBA & NASCAR) are all seeing a decline in fans both at the games and at home (there are a few exceptions).
The smaller series sports can do well here, since they are mostly family (budget) friendly. One of the reasons The Drive does well is due to location which allows people to hang out before or after a game and make it an enjoyable evening with family/friends...win or lose.
The big 4 pro series (NFL, MLB, NBA & NASCAR) are all seeing a decline in fans both at the games and at home (there are a few exceptions).
The smaller series sports can do well here, since they are mostly family (budget) friendly. One of the reasons The Drive does well is due to location which allows people to hang out before or after a game and make it an enjoyable evening with family/friends...win or lose.
Drive does amazing considering they average 5.5k fans over the course of 60 some-odd games.
I do not particularly think AAA basketball will work here, simply because of how extraordinarily poorly it did last time. Now.. That could have been management, timing, lots of things.. But.. pulling 800 fans a game? That won't cut it.
And, let's be honest.. Clemson basketball is just about as good as NBA D-League play.
Baseball is a proven commodity. Hockey and indoor football can work here with managed expectations. Don't think you're getting 10k fans a game.. A nice 3.5k average is about what you will get.. Better in good years, less in bad years.
Soccer.. I have no idea how that would play here. Seems someone tried in the past?
The Charlotte Hornets attendance is currently 19 out of 30 teams, several thousand seats go unsold every game. Even when they had a chance at the playoffs last season, they were ranked 16. Although they did set records for several years after starting up in Charlotte as the Bobcats.
The NBA came to Charlotte as the hornets in 1988. They played in the largest arena in the NBA with almost 24,000 seats on tyvola road. The arena was sold out for 7 consecutive seasons. But the arena was built for college basketball and not the NBA. Not enough suites. So shinn, the owner, demanded a new arena before the tyvola arena was paid off. It would have been paid off in 2003. The city would not build another arena before first arena was paid off. Shin moved hornets to New Orleans. Bob Johnson bought an expansion team and named them bobcats and they played in a new downtown arena. Johnson sold team to Michael Jordan. Jordan was able to get the original hornets name from New Orleans approximately 3 years ago.Charlotte was without an NBA team for 2-3 seasons.But the movement of the team created a lot of bad feelings. Many of those bad feelings still exist. Plus bobcats/hornets have had some very bad win loss records since the arrival of the expansion team in 2003 I believe. Since the return, there have only been 3-4 winning seasons I believe. But in spite of all of this the team averages around 17,000 per game. The new arena seats around 18,000 or so. I did not look up any of the numbers that I quoted but I am probably pretty close with my estimates. Eventually these hard feelings will pass and I hope the hornets can perform better on the court. Then the hornets will begin to sell out games again.
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