San Diego Chargers Need to Sell 1800 Tickets to Lift Blackout

Steve Athans September 7, 2011 at 12:36 pm

Weren't the 48 consecutive games during the "Ticket Guarantee" period?

B-Cat September 7, 2011 at 01:51 pm

Maybe it would be a good idea to show some empty seats, as the economy is having a hard time trying to recover, let it reflect that those that had the money before to buy them may not at this time. As much as we like football is the NFL or the Charger org. going to punish us by not showing the game? A bad decision if you ask me. If the Chargers wish to keep their fan base, this is not the way to do it. People remember and respond accordingly with feelings of being set aside for the all mighty dollar and wont be buying t-shirts , jackets etc.Why would you care about the Chargers if they dont give a damn about you when your times were not at their best.

Doug Curlee September 7, 2011 at 02:40 pm

well, yeah.. but the problem with your theory is that, if the blackout isn't lifted, who's gonna SEE those empty seats??
won't be on TV..which is the whole idea.. doug

James Davis September 7, 2011 at 03:40 pm

Doug, I think the point of B-Cat is that the theory DOES makes sense. Here is an example: if you DONT live in the San Diego Charger broadcast area it wont show on CBS. However, the game can be had elsewhere on the NFL channels via DirecTV etc outside the region like northern OC or LA. Or if you do live in SD, you can buy an online subscription to nfl.com and watch the game.
This is an NFL/TV network contractual agreement problem. The Chargers could technically buy those empty seats to have it locally broadcast, but of course that would make too much sense and cost too much money. I would be more curious to see what impact that has on ticket sales. The die hards will still go, but the fringe fans...will they cough up the cash too or sit in a sports bar to watch it?

Doug Curlee September 7, 2011 at 04:48 pm

which wold leave the chargers to be seen as creating the scenario that their fans no longer care, and thus facilitate their coming move back to los angeles..
and fans would then figure, "well, hell.. they're leaving anywway, so why should i care anymore?".. and they are leaving.. you can be prfetty sure of that..the proposed los angeles stadium will be tailored pretty much to what dean spanos and the team wants..and i can see the publicity campaign now.. "the chargers come back home!!!" mark my words.. doug

James Davis September 7, 2011 at 05:07 pm

Doug, at least the dog and pony show for the Mayor and everyone involved made it seem like the Bolts wanted to stick around.
The blackout basically applies to all NFL teams. Have you ever seen an Arizona Cardinal game? The seats are practically empty. We, the outsiders get to see the shameful ticket sales in the stands, but its again their local fan base that gets screwed by not being able to see it on broadcast TV. Of course with the exception of the examples I used above. The funny thing about pro sports fans is that I think their "belief" is what makes the difference. For the players on the field, fans can make a big difference. For the actual owners its about $$$ and it always should be. The offer in LA makes good business sense all across the board. At some point when San Diego gets big enough, another franchise will come in here because it will make financial sense for them to. By then, Lakeside will be considered central San Diego and commuting from the high desert wont be considered such a bad commute after all. ha

Doug Curlee September 7, 2011 at 06:59 pm

i seriusly doubt that, if the chargers do leave, san diego will ever see another NFL team playing here..
if the chargers leave, then there will be NO reason whatever to build a new stadium..and qualcomm is falling apart.. has been for years.. the ONLY reason for the city to keep qualcomm open then would be for the forgotten player in all this.. the san diego state aztecs..to have a division 1 place to play..they can't afford their own.. and it'd have to be at least 30,000 seating capacity to remain in division 1..the FBS.. lots of moving parts here..virtually all of them bad for san diego.. doug

B-Cat September 8, 2011 at 12:14 am

Is it possible that the stadium is just a bit to large for the size of SD? This is not the same market as say New York City. It seems that desire is sometimes equated with the difficulty in obtaining things such as a concert tickets etc. So with that being said, create a shortage and watch the lines form ha ha. Or hire the people that run ComicCon, you have to get tickets a yr in advance.