The San Francisco 49ers have lost seven straight games, and are well on their way to a potential 2-14 or 3-13 season. Things have gone south for the team, and it is no surprise this is reflected in game attendance. The team will continue announcing sell-out crowds, because they have sold out their normal allotment of tickets. However, no-shows are likely to remain a thing for most games.
In the video above, Bill Romanowski talks about the high of running out in front of a ton of screaming fans (insert jokes about other Romo highs). Here is a video from the 49ers introductions against the New Orleans Saints.
His friend was holding up the "& Baalke" sign. The empty seats bring it home. @NinersNation Hold them all accountable! pic.twitter.com/tt3uMzFbOo
— Trish (@stressure) November 8, 2016
Most stadiums will have an issue with late-arriving fans, and it is possible a lot of fans are in the various clubs behind the seats. It’s great to provide amenities to people spending tens of thousands of dollars, but this is a stadium that is just not likely to have a regularly great home field advantage. When the 49ers get good again, we’ll see plenty of people cheering loud when teams like the Seahawks or Cowboys are in town, but I don’t anticipate that week in and week out.
Levi’s Stadium is a very nice stadium. Aside from not addressing the issues of sun on the east stands, it’s a nice stadium. But it is not a “great stadium.” It does have some great features. The use of recyclable material is admirable. The 49ers Museum is awesome. The technology is on a level unlike most any stadium in the world. But as a place to go watch football games, it lacks a certain something that we saw at Candlestick Park. There is no doubting that the Stick was a [site decorum] hole in terms of amenities, but it had a vibe to it. There were no shows at the Stick during the down years, but the corporate nature of Levi’s Stadium just feels a little different. And honestly, that’s what has happened at a lot of these new stadiums. When they charge an obscene amount of money to attend the game, it is going to impact the kind of crowd that attends. You’ll get plenty of diehards, but they will be offset to some degree by not so diehard folks.
The 49ers are on the road this week, and then back home in Week 11 to face the New England Patriots. I actually think we’ll see a robust crowd, closer to the sell-out the team will announce. However, part of that will be the fascination with Tom Brady, and the other part will be Patriots fans buying up tickets. I fully expect a vocal pro Patriots crowd on hand for this game. Maybe that will be fitting with the “Fire Trent Baalke” banner flying over the stadium.