potatoaim wrote:Manocad wrote:DBC10 wrote:
Suburban uncles and dads weren't coming to the games regardless if it was in Oakland County or not.
The team just plain isn't marketable nor attractive for the past few years. Couple that with the fact that they have been mediocre too.
Bingo.
I'm one of the suburbanites living in Oakland county 40 minutes away from downtown and I would MUCH rather go downtown than to Auburn Hills. And no, I am not alone. The reason I haven't been to a Pistons game in years is because I'm not going to pay to watch a rarely entertaining team. I can watch the games at home on the big screen in much more comfort without spending a dime outside of a cable bill.
I've said it before and I'll say it again--all the people saying that Oakland county residents won't go downtown to see a game don't live in Oakland county and don't go to games. Take a look at the crowd at any Pistons, Red Wings, Tigers or Lions game and you're going to see a vast majority of white suburbanites. They're the target customer demographic and have been for years.
Except you'd be wrong...I live in Clarkston and have zero interest going to LCA. When they played at the Palace, I went to 5-10 games a year. And no, I am not alone. If white suburbanites are the target demo, moving away from white surbanville was probably a poor decision.
Except that you'd be wrong. As I clearly stated, look at the crowds at all the pro sports games RIGHT NOW. They have, and have always been--including the Pistons--vastly white surburbanites. The Lions moved from Oakland county to downtown Detroit; they sell out every game. The Tigers and Red Wings have always been in Detroit. Ever try to get a Wings ticket 20 years ago? Good luck. That crowd is 95% white suburbanites and attendance at JLA didn't drop from nearly constant sell outs until the team started barely or not making the playoffs. Good teams make for good attendance and good business; it's not being in downtown Detroit that's the problem.
As I've said before, certainly there are some suburbanite basketball fans who have no interest in going to Detroit. Longer drive, don't care about the casinos/other entertainment, just want to go straight to a game and go home, scared of venturing into the big, bad city, whatever. But don't play the traffic card; that's a load of BS. I was going to Pistons games the entire time they were at the Palace and I was going to Wings games (higher attendance than the Pistons) at LCA last year and will be again this year, and anyone who says that traffic at the Palace is a breeze while LCA's is terrible is flat out lying.
People can not go to LCA for any reason; that's their choice. But claiming that the attendance at LCA lacking for Pistons games is due to location is another flat out lie. As soon as the team went to garbage you could get a $55 Palace ticket for $8 and the stadium would still only be 25-30% full. Remember the camera views at games never showing much above court level because of all the empty seats? Yeah, THAT was a running joke long before LCA came into existence. Claiming that the move killed the attendance just comes off like supreme butthurt.
