Originally Posted by cecil98:
I disagree about the crowds growing in recent years. You realize, they removed thousands of seats in the last few years...We sit in the northern part of the Tower Terrace, and the last several years it has been "nearly" half empty.. there is no one in the lower seats. I'd bet the deed to my house they're not getting close to 200,000 anymore...
Yes I do know they removed some seats. A section was completely removed by me on the backstretch . I believe it had the least fans and they were relocated maybe as some say to make it look fuller. Of course real attendance likely will never come public.
I look down in turn three infield which used to be completely empty and is now packed full . now thousands of those are there for that dance DJ party and it would certainly be debatable if they even know there is a race going on.
Also I look at parking. I park out in the free parking out in the huge open lot NW of the track. In the early 2000's that was maybe a third full. it has been getting fuller every year and last year it filled and they closed it off.
I can not judge from the good old days as I have only been going post split but I still think attendance has risen since then. I think they are also maybe attracting some non race fans with the other promotions going on like the concerts the day before.
I do however see it as a one day event now qualifying and other lead up events that where heavily attended in the past do not have the excitement they once had.
Bottom line like previous post says its a fun day. I get the kids and friends together and we enjoy the day supporting racing.
And I guess if the crowds are down that will help me get to Kokomo sooner.
