Improving the Fan Experience

The NFL has taken notice, the desire to attend a game just isn’t the same anymore. Why attend a game when a fan can sit at home on their couch, eat their own food, and not have to fight traffic to get home? It has become clear to Roger Goodell that the stadium experience needs improvements if they want to keep putting fans in the seats. As owners and officials continue to debate different ways to increase attendance, they have at least agreed on one change.

Coming this September to a stadium near you, every fan in attendance will head to the replay booth. Whenever a play is reviewed is and the referee heads to the booth, you will see every angle the officials see, exactly when they see it. It is a move that NFL Competition Committee Chairman Rich McKay described as an example of the NFL giving the fans what they want.

“I think this is another example of the league listening to its fans about what they want from the in-game experience”

-Rich McKay Chairman of Competition Committee

While the NFL may see this as a big step in improving the environment, it certainly wouldn’t be a significant factor in my stadium experience. It also wouldn’t compel me to get off my couch and go to a game. At home I can fast-forward, rewind, pause and look at every replay with the touch of a button. The choice to stay at home rather than attend a game, also has to do with the financial aspect. If I stay at home I’m saving a minimum of $110, and hours of time. According to the Wall Street Journal, the average ticket for a game last season was $77.34, while the average beer price was $7.20, a hot dog was $4.77, and parking alone stood at $25.77. In this economy that is just to extensive of a hit for most people.

If the NFL really wants to change the fan experience it is going to take more than free wireless internet, instant replay, and better security to do it. The prices the fans pay are at an all time high, and as they increase, fan attendance will surely decrease. The NFL is making more money then they ever have before, with new TV deals, commercials, and promotions, the sport is at an all time high. It is time for the NFL to make changes, bring down the ticket prices for the average fan, and attendance will shoot back up right to where the NFL wants it. You don’t need Instant Replay to know this is the only solution to putting fans back in the seats.