Talalay: Sports fans staying home
For today’s story about fans giving up their increasingly higher-priced season tickets in favor of staying home to watch sports on increasingly affordable high definition television sets, I heard a variety of reasons to stay home from Dolphins games, in particular:
Higher ticket prices (particularly those new contracts for club seats)
Parking (which is now $30 a game unless you buy season parking)
Blazing sun for those early season games
Small seats with cup holders in your knees
Lines for concessions and bathrooms
The investment of an entire day from tailgating to getting out of the parking lot after the game
Dolphins Enterprises CEO Joe Bailey likened attending a game to being in a parade. “People either watch the parade or be in the parade. When you go to the stadium, you are in the parade. You are part of the entire experience. You are in one sense a performer,” Bailey said. “When you’re at home, you can’t necessarily affect the outcome of the game.”
Are you in the parade? Do you prefer to watch the parade? Do you have other reasons for staying home? Post your comments here, or you can email me directly at stalalay@sun-sentinel.com.
CRAIG DAVIS In more than 33 years at the Sun Sentinel, Craig Davis has written about a wide variety of sports topics from baseball to yachting, fishing to triathlons, and also worked as a copy editor and page designer. Recently he reported on local sports, including running, swimming, cycling, equestrian and beach volleyball. He enjoys sports as a participant as well as a spectator, is active in the South Florida running scene plays in the curling club at Saveology Iceplex. This blog offers a glimpse at the business side of sports in the interest of enhancing enjoyment of the games and sporting options as a spectator as well as a participant.
