Congress has cut federal funding for public media — a $3.4 million loss for LAist. We count on readers like you to protect our nonprofit newsroom. Become a monthly member and sustain local journalism.
This is an archival story that predates current editorial management.
This archival content was written, edited, and published prior to LAist's acquisition by its current owner, Southern California Public Radio ("SCPR"). Content, such as language choice and subject matter, in archival articles therefore may not align with SCPR's current editorial standards. To learn more about those standards and why we make this distinction, please click here.
Chargers Couldn't Sell Out 27,000-Seat Stadium For Home Opener
Empty seats at StubHub on Sunday. (Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images)
()
There were plenty of logistics to figure out when the Chargers announced they were moving back to Los Angeles (they’d spent one season here as part of the now-defunct American Football League). One of the major things was the where. The plan was to move into the upcoming Inglewood stadium with the Rams, but the building wasn’t yet ready. The team therefore looked towards to the StubHub Center in Carson as a temporary home.
The setup is a bit weird, as StubHub was originally built for the purposes of the L.A. Galaxy and Major League Soccer. Soccer, while a burgeoning sport in America, doesn’t command the type of fanfare here as the NFL does. As such, the capacity at StubHub stands at a more modest total of 27,000 seats, whereas the usual NFL stadium holds more than 60,000 seats.
Which makes it all the more embarrassing that, in the Chargers' first regular-season game back in L.A., the team failed to sell out the joint. As reported at Forbes, the game drew 25,381 people, with a large chunk of them rooting for the visiting Miami Dolphins. The “announced” attendance is often a euphemism, so it’s likely that the actual number of people in the seats was even lower than 25,381. One San Diegan tweeted a comparison of Sunday’s game with a season opener from the past (when the team was still in SD). The difference is stark, to say the least:
Home opener in San Diego VS Home opener in LA... Atta Boy Deano Great Decision! #Chargers #FightForLAst @DerekNBCSD @ScottKaplan @jmt619 pic.twitter.com/BaWnkV7Db8
— Jessie Burns ⚾️ (@jburnsey22) September 17, 2017
Support for LAist comes from
And here’s another look:
Across town, the Rams had some trouble of their own filling the seats at the Memorial Coliseum on Sunday (a much loftier task, as the stadium seats about 90,000). They had a similarly hard time drawing fans in their season opener.
The evidence is obvious that, when it comes to football, L.A. favors its college teams. One Twitter user noted that the USC-Texas game on Saturday drew a bigger crowd that both the Chargers and Rams games combined (though, to be fair, that USC game was buoyed with some serious historical background)
LA attendance:
— Bryan Fischer (@BryanDFischer) September 17, 2017
Chargers - 25,381
Rams - 56,612
NFL combined - 81,993
USC v. Texas - 84,714
This is pretty bad news for the Chargers (and the Rams), and obviously doesn’t bode well for the rest of the season. Aside from the attendance issue, the Chargers lost to a not-good Dolphins team off a botched kick.
Support for LAist comes from
Though, if you’re a Chargers fan, the upshot is that people are discovering that StubHub offers the most intimate seats in the NFL. With such a close view of the action, and with tickets apparently always available, it’s perhaps not a bad idea to drop in on Philip Rivers and co.:
As Editor-in-Chief of our newsroom, I’m extremely proud of the work our top-notch journalists are doing here at LAist. We’re doing more hard-hitting watchdog journalism than ever before — powerful reporting on the economy, elections, climate and the homelessness crisis that is making a difference in your lives. At the same time, it’s never been more difficult to maintain a paywall-free, independent news source that informs, inspires, and engages everyone.
Simply put, we cannot do this essential work without your help. Federal funding for public media has been clawed back by Congress and that means LAist has lost $3.4 million in federal funding over the next two years. So we’re asking for your help. LAist has been there for you and we’re asking you to be here for us.
We rely on donations from readers like you to stay independent, which keeps our nonprofit newsroom strong and accountable to you.
No matter where you stand on the political spectrum, press freedom is at the core of keeping our nation free and fair. And as the landscape of free press changes, LAist will remain a voice you know and trust, but the amount of reader support we receive will help determine how strong of a newsroom we are going forward to cover the important news from our community.
Please take action today to support your trusted source for local news with a donation that makes sense for your budget.
Thank you for your generous support and believing in independent news.
Chip in now to fund your local journalism
(
LAist
)
Trending on LAist
-
With less to prove than LA, the city is becoming a center of impressive culinary creativity. -
Nearly 470 sections of guardrailing were stolen in the last fiscal year in L.A. and Ventura counties.
-
Monarch butterflies are on a path to extinction, but there is a way to support them — and maybe see them in your own yard — by planting milkweed.
-
With California voters facing a decision on redistricting this November, Surf City is poised to join the brewing battle over Congressional voting districts.
-
The drug dealer, the last of five defendants to plead guilty to federal charges linked to the 'Friends' actor’s death, will face a maximum sentence of 65 years in prison.
-
The weather’s been a little different lately, with humidity, isolated rain and wind gusts throughout much of Southern California. What’s causing the late-summer bout of gray?
Best of LAist