RSS
Home
UFL wisely moves Sentinels game out of Citi Field
Print
Email
RSS
Subscribe
The UFL game balls
The New York Sentinels’ second home game is being moved from Citi Field to Hofstra, the UFL announced today.
It’s a move that makes a ton of financial sense. It’s safe to assume it’s a lot more inexpensive to use Shuart Stadium (13,000 seats) on Long Island than Citi Field (41,800) in Queens, and, in all likelihood, the attendance would’ve been the same at either venue this season.
Let’s face it. How many New Yorkers who work in the city were planning on heading to Queens after work to see the UFL game? Unless you live in Queens, it’s highly unlikely you were heading to the home of the Mets on a late Wednesday afternoon in early November to see the Sentinels.
Honestly, that’s unfortunate though, because the quality of play in the UFL’s first few weeks has been excellent. Even if attendance and ratings are disappointing to some, there would be no future if the product wasn’t worth watching.
If you’ve watched, you know the quality of football has been very good. If you haven’t watched, tune in. You can catch up on what you missed by watching previous games on demand online. All games are broadcast on Versus or HDNet and available live online.
So why is the move from Queens to Hofstra a good one? First, it’s on a college campus, meaning ticket sales could easily increase as the student body is looking for some entertainment. Second, Long Islanders might be interested in seeing the Sentinels in person, and this becomes their best chance to do that. LI residents aren’t heading to Giants Stadium or Hartford for UFL action this year, so this is it. Lastly, it’ll look a lot better on TV to see a half- or three-quarter full Shuart Stadium than a near empty Citi Field.
“With the completion of four games, we thought this was a good time to evaluate our strategies and make adjustments where necessary," said UFL Commissioner Michael Huyghue. "While Citi Field is a phenomenal facility and we look forward to playing a game there in the future, we feel Hofstra is a better fit for us right now as a football facility. Hofstra University has been receptive to handling logistics with us, including allowing our teams to practice there during game week..”
The league also announced the Nov. 14 game between the Redwoods and Locos has been relocated from AT&T Park to San Jose State University's Spartan Stadium.
If the UFL has more time to sell tickets in year two, than it did in year one, bigger venues like Citi Field, the new Giants Stadium or maybe even Yankee Stadium could see home games for the New York franchise in 2010. Until then, it’s smarter and makes much more financial sense to play in stadiums that aren’t as big and Hofstra fits the bill nicely.
Related Articles:
Comments
