Build it --- And they will come!

[Gray Mule]

Attendance at the Hawk's home games are a concern

to all Hawk fans. Some see the solution as obtaining

a "Star" player, ala M. Vick of the Falcons.

Some seem to blame poor marketing for the low attendance.

What could they do differently to market this team?

The real solution lies in putting a winning team on the

floor, not just for a short period of time but one which

makes winning a habit. Build a winning tradition for

the Atlanta Hawks and the stands will begin to fill with

new fans.

Ticket prices / supply and demand. Right now, there is

an abundance of tickets with little demand. Sell cheap

tickets now, cheap enough to fill the stands. If you

sell game day tickets for $1.00 each until they are gone,

there is no profit there but these fans will spend money

while at the game. Soon, they will be selling for more

as fans come and see the games, providing they are

exciting games and Hawks are building a winner.

I can remember, before the Braves went from worst to

first, attendance was terrible. The Falcons never sold

out their home games until this season and T.V.

coverage was always blacked out.

The solution: Sell cheap tickets until there is a demand for them & Put a winning team on the floor. Make sure

that there is adequate security both inside and outside

and plenty of food at a reasonable price. That will fill

the stands and this would be a lot cheaper than

spending millions for a "Star" to draw fans, while having

to give up core players on the present team in exchange

for the "Star" who might or might not really sell the

fans on the Hawks.

Just a few rambling thoughts from the old man.

[Lrenfro]

For all those seats that you are recieving nothing for you could at least get $1 for them. Then you could sale more hotdogs, bear or whatever. Not only that but that is just one more root root root for the home team. Last night alone could have been at least 5,000 more dollars. thats not even a sale out. But think about this 5,000 more fans seeing a 25 point win over your old coach. Somebody would return to see another game and the fan base will grow so will the loyalty.

[chillzatl]

you have a few thousand season ticket holders that are going to be pretty pissed off when some guy comes and sits down next to him and he only paid a buck for that seat. I know I'd be pretty upset.

I agree that selling tickets is better than none at all. But if I were a season ticket holder I'd be demanding some money back of they just slashed all ticket prices like that.

[Traceman]

slashing ticket prices in the upper level on both ends of the floor is a GREAT idea. That's basically what the Falcons did. I could care less if they GAVE those upper level seats away at this point. The lower level seats are a different story.

Last night was just pitiful. The few fans who were there enjoyed the game but man was it dead. Jaywalker commented after a great Reef move saying "Wow, what a play! Too bad it was only seen by my a few members of my family." I know the feeling.

[chillzatl]

I agree there. Select upper level seats for a buck would be a great idea. Have a few upper end sections and offer them for 5 bucks and then have another section for like 1 buck, that are only available 1 hour before the game or something. That would certainly help.

[hds428]

what attendance would be like if Phillips were in Buckhead? I agree about the ticket prices, but mostly, I think it's a matter of time. We've had a winning basketball team in Atlanta for not even a month now, and after those long years of losing, people aren't gonna foresake MNF to come out on a cold rainy Monday night to celebrate a handful of wins. This team has proven nothing on a major level yet. I do believe that the tables will turn, though, especially around Febuary when the All Stars crash town and football season is behind us.

[cyman3]

the ticket prices need to go down!!!

[Lrenfro]

I would not expect to give a 55 dollar seat away for a buck. I mean everyone would just wait until an hour before the game and have great seats. It would be a line all the way to the dome if that happened. Of course you would do the upper level first. Then let the crowd boosters give away prizes up there to get them to come back. But anything in the 100 sections would be off limits. Plus that is where I like to sit and I don't want to have to fight for seats.