Empty seats common at The Rock

[SC Devs Fan]

Empty seats common at The Rock

http://www.northjersey.com/page.php?qstr=e...2Y3dnFlZUVFeXk2

yeah, this should go over well

Three weeks into the first season at the building known as "The Rock," the team's $380 million replacement for their antiquated Meadowlands arena, the Devils have not reaped what many observers thought would be an immediate attendance boon that so many new buildings enjoy.

Edited November 21, 2007 by SC Devs Fan

[msweet]

The reason the black seats look empty a lot is the Fire and Ice lounges provide free gourmet food for them. If the sit in the seats they don't get "free" food. And after the 1st period luxo box ticket holders can enter those lounges. If I had a black seat ticket I'd spend the 1st period in a lounge.

Also many people watch games from tables and position on concourses... last game I wanted to watch the start of the game from the upper level concourse (behind Marty) but every table was full and the railing was packed.

[HellOnICE]

True, sweet. However, they are right in pointing out the prices behind hte nets are a little silly. Attendance is up from last year, let's hope it conitnues. This Tara Sullivan stinks. She's written articles like this for a while now, never caring to ask anyone but Bergen county. I understand that's her audience, but it doesn't get the whole story. If more people are buying tickets to a game in Essex County, as of now anyway, than I don't get what the bitching and moaning is for...

[CRASHER]

Not to mention normal fans can enjoy the "luxury box for a day" feeling of the resturaunt for a game too... this place could sell out and have 3,000 people sitting ELSEWHERE still....

then again I'm sick of attendance columns... if the RED WINGS can't sell out I don't care anymore... my one ticket in 2003 is now FOUR (and no it's not cause I got fat )... the reality is it's about the team MAKING MONEY and you bet your sweet hairy ass this team is making money in Newark!

[langsgirl]

Its normally packed by the lounges behind the last row of seats.... Lots of people do stay up there!!

[titans04]

I'm sure those people standing are counted in the announced attentdance figures. The numbers can't be as good as they expected them to be.

[hattrick]

Again..zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz....oh excuse me, attendance.... leave me alone

[Devils79]

This is a real nice spin she puts here, not to mention she can't even get my friends last name right.

"This place is nice, it's just an adjustment," said Linda Brown of Hasbrouck Heights, whose train commute to Newark with three friends took about 25 minutes. Manageable? Yes, but still more than the eight-minute drive and accompanying tailgate partying of Meadowlands days. "For all your life you're one thing and then it changes," she said. If the Devils didn't sell out their previous home, she said, why would they sell out the new one?

Brown and her friend, Dave, were among the many standing on the lower concourse despite paying for seats upstairs. "They're uncomfortable and I was crowded by a Ranger fan," she said. "We do this almost every game."

What was said to her was the CAA was about 8 minutes from where we live but getting home from Newark on the train is still faster then dealing with the traffic after a game at the CAA. Also I said to her that despite no tailgating anymore there is still plenty to do with the restaurants and bars inside and outside of the arena before and after games so losing tailgating is no big deal. Also the quote about not selling out games was never said- not once.

And for good measure she totally spun the quote about the seats. What was said to her was they are a little tight but it doesn't matter so much because we watch one period from our seats, one from the restaurant and one from the concourse. So basically she took the view of someone who has been to one game at the Rock and left out anything a season ticket holder had to say about the place. I don't see my quote in there about how you couldn't pay me to ever go back to that dump in East Rutherford. Then again that wouldn't make for a good attendance bashing article about the Devils. Spin doctoring at it's best.

Now I'll call my friend and tell her that her last name has been changed to Brown

[nmadd]

Agree with several above posters about attendance. These threads are getting a little tiring. This isn't Minnesota or Ottawa where they are going to sell out 105% of the arena. No, the Rock doesn't fill up every night, but yes, the attendance is up.

2006-2007 14,176 74.5%

2007-2008 15,292 86.8%

[Reverend_Hellh0und]

This is a real nice spin she puts here, not to mention she can't even get my friends last name right.

What was said to her was the CAA was about 8 minutes from where we live but getting home from Newark on the train is still faster then dealing with the traffic after a game at the CAA. Also I said to her that despite no tailgating anymore there is still plenty to do with the restaurants and bars inside and outside of the arena before and after games so losing tailgating is no big deal. Also the quote about not selling out games was never said- not once.

And for good measure she totally spun the quote about the seats. What was said to her was they are a little tight but it doesn't matter so much because we watch one period from our seats, one from the restaurant and one from the concourse. So basically she took the view of someone who has been to one game at the Rock and left out anything a season ticket holder had to say about the place. I don't see my quote in there about how you couldn't pay me to ever go back to that dump in East Rutherford. Then again that wouldn't make for a good attendance bashing article about the Devils. Spin doctoring at it's best.

Now I'll call my friend and tell her that her last name has been changed to Brown

I learned a long time ago.... Don't talk to reporters.

[langsgirl]

I'm sure those people standing are counted in the announced attentdance figures. The numbers can't be as good as they expected them to be.

Of course they are, I just mean because it does look empty down low. I say it eery game Im at, and then i look behind the club seats and there are 40 people back there on each side standing and watching and in the 100 level at the Ranger game there were about 100 people standing behind terrace tables watching. They are all counted.. the figures have not bee SO low, in comparison to other years.. it just does look emptier than the numbers being announced.

[Weekes Head]

This is a real nice spin she puts here, not to mention she can't even get my friends last name right.

From a journalistic standpoint, I really don't like the article she wrote, but while it sucks that she got your friend's last name wrong, I wouldn't get on her too much for that. Journalists generally only carry notepads around with them, they are expected to scribble notes and quotes down as quickly as possibly to get the most accurate content they can possibly get into their articles. Names sometimes are misheard or misread when it comes to the writer, so sometimes names get flubbed a bit. It's just something that happens from time to time to any reporter, not really something to gauge her talent from. Again, though, I don't like the article itself she wrote, so it's somewhat a moot point.

[SueNJ97]

From a journalistic standpoint, I really don't like the article she wrote, but while it sucks that she got your friend's last name wrong, I wouldn't get on her too much for that. Journalists generally only carry notepads around with them, they are expected to scribble notes and quotes down as quickly as possibly to get the most accurate content they can possibly get into their articles. Names sometimes are misheard or misread when it comes to the writer, so sometimes names get flubbed a bit. It's just something that happens from time to time to any reporter, not really something to gauge her talent from. Again, though, I don't like the article itself she wrote, so it's somewhat a moot point.

RD, it would be one thing if the name were the only thing she got wrong. It appears that she misquoted them, made things up, left key issues out or simply changed things to tailor the story to what she wanted to say. I understand, that's also her job. She's a reporter, she may have been told to write it from a certain angle or, hey she just may have decided that's how she wanted to represent it. But, either she missed a lot or she wrote it a certain way for a reason. You're a journalist, what do you think?

[Triumph]

Why doesn't Zoffinger get a ghost-writing credit?

The Record has been against this from the beginning - it's so transparent.

Edited November 21, 2007 by Triumph

[pattyelias]

Agree with several above posters about attendance. These threads are getting a little tiring. This isn't Minnesota or Ottawa where they are going to sell out 105% of the arena. No, the Rock doesn't fill up every night, but yes, the attendance is up.

2006-2007 14,176 74.5%

2007-2008 15,292 86.8%

At this point last season the Devils were averaging 12,276 and 66% capacity.

[Weekes Head]

RD, it would be one thing if the name were the only thing she got wrong. It appears that she misquoted them, made things up, left key issues out or simply changed things to tailor the story to what she wanted to say. I understand, that's also her job. She's a reporter, she may have been told to write it from a certain angle or, hey she just may have decided that's how she wanted to represent it. But, either she missed a lot or she wrote it a certain way for a reason. You're a journalist, what do you think?

It's all about getting the story across. It's one thing to stretch a quote -- I don't see much harm in doing that, it's actually a very common practice in journalism, but completely misquoting a person is pretty messed up. I'd probably lean more towards her leaving a lot out to get her point across rather than blatantly making things up. It's actually a pretty interesting technique, I mean, you wouldn't think that leaving out content would make a story, but it leaves the reader to assume a lot, which often times, is not really what is going on.

[LizDevil30]

A journalist is a wannabe fiction writer. Can't get the story you want? Make it up. From what Devils79 said, she completely took the context she wanted out of what was actually said because what actually said was positive about the new arena, this so called journalist (I don't even think the record has real writers on their staff) wanted to slam the new place in her poor excuse for an news article.

[Weekes Head]

A journalist is a wannabe fiction writer.

I really don't think that's true at all, and it's a bit much to say every journalist is like that, but I don't want to majorly hijack this thread so I'll just leave it at that.

[NHLDevils43]

I just got home and saw the print version of this story and I'm calling up The Record to cancel my subscription.

I was beyond mad on Sunday when the paper came and I had to search through it to find an article on Marty's 500th. It was hidden on page 10 of the sports section. We have arguably the best goalie in history playing in our state and our own NJ papers can't recognize that. It was bad enough they all but ignored Marty's milestone, but to break out an attendance article and put it on the front page above the fold - that's just low. The worst part is, the picture they used was taken with 19:10 remaining in the period when most people are still in line for food, beer or bathrooms.

Journalists are useless.

[LizDevil30]

Journalists are useless.

And they will continue to be useless until it is about the truth and not about a story which this junk clearly was, nothing but a story and not a good one either. I hate NJ. I mean really hate it. Absolutely no f'ing pride. I'll stop now or I'll really hijack this thread.

Sorry RD, I didn't mean to offend you at all, but didn't you ditch journalism in favor of teaching English? Teach them well; teach them the value of their words and most of all the power words possess. I know you will.

Edited November 21, 2007 by LizDevil30

[Weekes Head]

Yeah, I did, but I still hold close ties to journalism and have interest in possibly going back to it later in life. There are a lot of scumbag writers out there, but not everyone is like that -- some really hold a passion for writing the facts rather than fabricating a story for entertainment purposes. That's not journalism.

[DaneykoIsGod]

Journalists are useless.

We aren't ALL bad.

[LizDevil30]

Yeah, I did, but I still hold close ties to journalism and have interest in possibly going back to it later in life. There are a lot of scumbag writers out there, but not everyone is like that -- some really hold a passion for writing the facts rather than fabricating a story for entertainment purposes. That's not journalism.

The confusion lies with thinking for a second that the Record was journalism. My bad.

[NHLDevils43]

We aren't ALL bad.

You're right. I didn't mean to totally generalize. I am just amazed at how much joy the local papers get when they cast the arena in a negative light. Now that it's built you would think they would want to help out the city of Newark by encouraging people to go there and spend their money. It's almost as if they're all secretly (or not so secretly) Rangers fans.