Sunday Hollywood Last Chance Play Along

[Arletta]

Originally Posted by pointman

I continue to be amazed by those who somehow think that on track attendance is a measure of how the sport is declining. The fact that 20,000 or so came out yesterday proves that the fans are still there, they just don't always make it to the track itself on a daily basis.

I wonder how much attendance on a daily basis other sports would get if they had about 270 home games a year.

I just thought more would show up just to be there on the last and final day. Only around 13k actually showed up to be apart of it.

[pointman]

Originally Posted by Arletta

I just thought more would show up just to be there on the last and final day. Only around 13k actually showed up to be apart of it.

I understand the pain that people in the LA area are going through. I have never been to Hollywood Park which I regret but I had the same feelings when Roosevelt Raceway was closed down and demolished. It was with a heavy heart I put my wagers in yesterday which got worse as every race went by.

I just think that the attendance figures are overblown considering the modern dynamics of the sport. As Joey inferred, when you can sit in your living room and place a bet more efficiently then you can on track, the incentive to actually go out there wanes quite a bit. Even the Yankees cut down the number of seats in the new Yankee stadium realizing that when you can watch with ease on TV less people will come. Considering how much more often that races are run than other sports and the ease from betting at home it is amazing that it still draws a few thousand live people a day.

The loss of such a great facility is tough, but the big picture is that there will still be quality year round racing in California. Considering how many days a year the racetrack is open compared to other sports and the fact that handle is still very strong, on track attendance is not nearly as relevant as handle is. It would have been nice for more people to send the place into history, but as long as money is put through the windows the game we love will survive even if the landscape of where the races are actually run is shifted.