urbanSTL

The lower bowl of the Dome holds 28k, and the club level seats and suites apparently hold another 10k, so attendance for the BHawks home opener should be above 30k if the lack of available tickets is any indicator.  Any attendance figure above 30k would be pretty impressive though given that the Week 1 games all had 17-18k.  

I wonder if they consistently sell out the lower bowl of the Dome, if they would consider opening the upper bowl?  And if they continue to draw those kinds of crowds would they still want to move to the new MLS stadium???

urbanitas wrote: ↑

Feb 11, 2020

The lower bowl of the Dome holds 28k, and the club level seats and suites apparently hold another 10k, so attendance for the BHawks home opener should be above 30k if the lack of available tickets is any indicator.  Any attendance figure above 30k would be pretty impressive though given that the Week 1 games all had 17-18k.  

I wonder if they consistently sell out the lower bowl of the Dome, if they would consider opening the upper bowl?  And if they continue to draw those kinds of crowds would they still want to move to the new MLS stadium???

Are those club level and suites part of the deal?  My understanding is their lease is for only the 27,500 seats in the lower bowl.   XFL was projecting crowds of 20,000 per game and they expressed interest in the BattleHawks playing at the new MLS stadium, if one got built.

frequentflyer wrote: ↑

Feb 11, 2020

Are those club level and suites part of the deal?  My understanding is their lease is for only the 27,500 seats in the lower bowl. 

I don't know when they started, I just stumbled on this part of their site yesterday, but they are advertising suites and club level tickets now.  No prices given, but it sounds like a blast, especially the all-inclusive one:

XFL St. Louis Battlehawks Premium Seating 

Ah, maybe they amended the original lease.  I don't remember them offering this in this past.  Good news for everyone!

frequentflyer wrote: ↑

Feb 11, 2020

urbanitas wrote: ↑

Feb 11, 2020

The lower bowl of the Dome holds 28k, and the club level seats and suites apparently hold another 10k, so attendance for the BHawks home opener should be above 30k if the lack of available tickets is any indicator.  Any attendance figure above 30k would be pretty impressive though given that the Week 1 games all had 17-18k.  

I wonder if they consistently sell out the lower bowl of the Dome, if they would consider opening the upper bowl?  And if they continue to draw those kinds of crowds would they still want to move to the new MLS stadium???

Are those club level and suites part of the deal?  My understanding is their lease is for only the 27,500 seats in the lower bowl.   XFL was projecting crowds of 20,000 per game and they expressed interest in the BattleHawks playing at the new MLS stadium, if one got built.

An outdoor minor-league football game in February sounds much less appealing to me than an indoor minor-league football game in February - at least in MO.  I'd keep them inside if at all possible.

Here's the latest number for the home opener: 28,000.
Article

Side note:  I spoke to someone from the Battlehawks who was at my workplace for a meet and greet today. They know fans want them to open up the 300 level (approx another 6000 seats). They aren't ready to do so, because they don't have the concessions staffed and they don't want people walking down to the 100 level to wait in long lines for food/drinks. They are considering opening up 300 level seats in future games, IF the demand continues to be high. Dallas was unprepared for the crowd they got and people complained about long waits for concessions. The Battlehawks don't want the same situation here.

frequentflyer wrote: ↑

Feb 12, 2020

Here's the latest number for the home opener: 28,000.
Article

Side note:  I spoke to someone from the Battlehawks who was at my workplace for a meet and greet today. They know fans want them to open up the 300 level (approx another 6000 seats). They aren't ready to do so, because they don't have the concessions staffed and they don't want people walking down to the 100 level to wait in long lines for food/drinks. They are considering opening up 300 level seats in future games, IF the demand continues to be high. Dallas was unprepared for the crowd they got and people complained about long waits for concessions. The Battlehawks don't want the same situation here.

300 level is the club seat level innit?  Hmm, yeah I'm surprised they wouldn't open that up if they are already selling suites and club level group packages, especially if the lower bowl is close to capacity.  Those seats are highly visible on broadcasts as well...

How hard can it be to staff concessions for an extra 6k people?

How hard can it be to staff concessions for an extra 6k people?

In a tight labor market for what, 6 games? Probably pretty difficult.

^I know the Rams had an arrangement with local charities where the charities would provide some of the staffing from their volunteer base and they'd get a cut of the proceeds. (And probably Rams or Dome would get a big tax write off.) Might be harder to get that kind of help with a minor league team.

^Blues do (or used to do) the same thing. Given this is a new organization hosting their first home game, I can understand not putting one of the main points of fan contact in the hands of volunteers and/or last minute hires.

^Yeah, that makes sense. Timing is doubtless also an issue. And you'd surely need to have at least part of your staff supervising the volunteers anyway. Though I'd have thought the convention center could provide enough staff to manage the situation . . . for a price.

ricke002 wrote: ↑

Feb 13, 2020

How hard can it be to staff concessions for an extra 6k people?

In a tight labor market for what, 6 games? Probably pretty difficult.

I'm sure at least some of the hundreds of Busch Stadium concessions workers are available for hire, at least until April 2.  I suspect the problem isn't really concessions workers, it's actually the cost of providing security for the entire club level.  They just don't want to mention the S-word...

^Note the word, "some".  Who said they are all sitting at home?  Of course many of them work 9-5 jobs in the offseason, work other retail jobs, part-time gigs, catering gigs, are self-employed, are Uber / Lyft drivers, etc., etc., in addition to the occasional odd one-time concessions gig at large events.  That said, I do know for a fact that some Busch Stadium concessions staff and vendors are retirees who do it mostly because they enjoy the atmosphere.  

So no, I don't buy that it is difficult to find a few dozen experienced staffers available for one day, on a weekend, 10 or so days ahead.     

^^Vendor contracts for NFL games are done through the team. When I worked for Volume that was a company hired by the Rams not the Convention committee. Pretty sure it’s not the same way for the XFL. So with the Rams gone they definitely would only have the staff in place to cover the calendar of events at hand. There is not a waiting list to get surprise gigs so if the BattleHawks did feel they wanted to open another level I’m sure the CVC need a couple weeks to get up to speed. But volunteer groups could definitely fill in the gaps.


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^Does the CVC handle the staffing for concerts in the Dome, like Garth Brooks or the upcoming Stones concert, with 70k+ tickets?  Or is that some professional events company that does the hiring for those?

On another note, I was just looking to see what else was going on in town the weekend of the XFL opener against the Guardians...and we have the Professional Bull Riding circuit at Enterprise Center and the RV Travel show at the convention center...so boy, downtown is really going to be hopping for the New York media in town...   

Today's tweet from Ackerman, regarding BattleHawks home opener.  Well done, St. Louis!


Tom Ackerman
@Ackerman1120
57m

The@XFLBattleHawks have only suites remaining for their home opener, per @khunzeker on @KMOXSports. 

That’s it. 27,500 seats are gone. They will not open the upper level. St. Louis. Sports town. #STL

^Watched most of the game at the Amsterdam this afternoon with Shadrach. It was good seeing the enthusiasm. It was a bit hard watching a couple of the handoffs to the opposing team, but it was still exciting and fun. The XFL seems to be doing a lot right, and if they keep this up I think they will do well here in town at least.

^^^Agreed. ^^^ 

They're going to do well in Seattle too.   It's only Week 2, there's still plenty of time left for this to grow and improve in Year 1.  McMahon has funded the league for three years.  So, unless something drastic happens, it's here to stay for a while.

Next week is going to be fun at the Dome.  Even with today's loss, people (including me) are really excited.  It's going to be great to be back at the Dome for a football game.  

I wonder where the pre-game tailgates will be?  I'll send some emails and try to get some scoop.

^The thing that really surprised me was that the XFL game got more attention than the Blues. Sure, it's novel and there's lots of pent up football feels locally, but . . . um . . . there's a big Stanley Cup mock-up up above the bar. Right over the TV where the XFL game was showing. (One of about six.) Whereas the Blues were consigned to a single television on the opposite side. Someone missed the boat. You put a good (St. Louis) team on the field and there are clearly folks interested in football 'round about these parts. Anyway . . . go Battlehawks! (And Blues.)

^^Re: The crowd at Amasterdam: A good number of my soccer fan friends have bought into Battlehawks in a big way. Part of it comes from being in from the beginning. Soccer fans want to feel like they are a part of the club and not just another face in the stands. Kurt Hunzeker and his team made an effort to engage with soccer fans when they were rolling this out and it's paying off for them.

^I'll buy that. The coordinated call-outs have a kind of soccer like feel to them. Which is nice.

I watched the Dallas/LA game on ABC. I found their obsession with live mics and constant player interviews to be annoying. It disrupted the flow of the game. 

Per BattleHawks Twitter announcement today --

Official Tailgate is at Baer Park (across the street from the Dome). Greet players on their way into the Dome at 11:15 at Broadway and Convention. BIG pre-game show on field before game. Rally towels for those who get to Dome early.




St. Louis BattleHawks
@XFLBattleHawks
18m 
BattleHawk fans ... it's HOME game week!


Here is EVERYTHING you need to know before coming down to The Dome this Sunday
https://explorestlouis.com/meetings-con ... ttlehawks/

#ForTheLoveOfFootball x #ClearedToEngage