A Different Idea to Going Back to the Impact Zone

[thebigbadfox]

Just thinking how TNA has been rumoring going back to Orlando to film Impact regularly.... and this idea came around in my helpless head...
Would picking a different venue to stay at make a difference? How about the old ECW arena or Hammerstein Ballroom (spelling?) A place like Philly, New York, even Boston or Chicago where there is a more die hard wrestling fandom would maybe create a better atmosphere from the 2 nights a month they film... instead of the vacationers and the 20 people that live near the Impact Zone that are not good for the show? Thoughts? Or is this a terrible Idea?

 

[TLDD]

I myself have often thought this very idea. The problem that I see with running it in Boston, Chicago, Philly maybe even NYC is the fact that while yes it is tourist towns it doesn't have places like Universal Studios. If you think about the amount of people that go through Universal Studios that's what TNA is looking for.

I've often thought that they need to go to Vegas and hold Impact at the Orleans or even the Rivera because the endless amount of people who visit. Wherever they go they will go where there are attractions and constant tourists or regulars.

 

[thebigbadfox]

I myself have often thought this very idea. The problem that I see with running it in Boston, Chicago, Philly maybe even NYC is the fact that while yes it is tourist towns it doesn't have places like Universal Studios. If you think about the amount of people that go through Universal Studios that's what TNA is looking for.

I've often thought that they need to go to Vegas and hold Impact at the Orleans or even the Rivera because the endless amount of people who visit. Wherever they go they will go where there are attractions and constant tourists or regulars.

See I think they are wrong to look for tourists.... I do not know about you but I would not go to see a wrestling event on vaca... however I go to every wwe and tna show that comes to Philly. There are plenty of venues like the old ecw arena not in regular use even convert venues could be converted and a smarter or more passionate fan base would create a better atmosphere and make the product come across better on TV

 

[Slash-LN]

This idea has been mentioned before and I think the issue that was brought up is that they don't pay to rent the building in Orlando or if they do it isn't very much.

If they went to one of those other places they'd have to rent the building out on a weekly or bi weekly basis to do shows which would be too expensive.

It would definitely be a great thing if they could run Impact from one of those places with a more rabid fan base. I'm just not sure they could afford it.

 

[scomvp316]

I am a Vegas guy so it would be great if Impact did shows from Vegas
There are a few small studios that are inexpensive
Nothing against the IZ but TNA needs paying customers so going back to the IZ under the same economical module will change nothing from when they left

 

[Stinger]

I wish TNA sort of set up 4 different territories that they'd travel to, such as New York or Boston, Nashville, Chicago, and then a fourth city elsewhere, that they'd film tv shows from instead of staying in one permanent location. In this case, what they could do is do 3 months worth of tv in one location while still touring around the country doing house shows.

 

[DDevine]

I think originally, it was a better idea to have it in a tourist location, because of "Word of mouth". The tourists would happen to look in on it, and be like, "This is cool!" Then they would go back to their homes and tell all their friends about it. Then those friends wold look it up and so on and so forth. Or at least, it's a possibility that that was in the thought process...

 

[Rayne]

Renting a building in Boston, Chicago, or Philadelphia is Very Expensive.

Renting a building in New York is OUTRAGEOUSLY FUCKING EXPENSIVE.

TNA doesn't seem to have 'expensive' on their shopping list right now, and they'd need a space in which they could leave their production studio. If they pack up their equipment every night, they might as well just call it a road show.

Paying attendance doesn't matter shit for TNA. The money is in advertising and product placement, and no matter where they set up shop, they aren't going to sell several hundred seats to different fans every week. They're going to get the same few hundred people every night again, and OH PLEASE GOD mic the crowd better this time around.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

I remember reading a couple of stories in the past 4 to 6 weeks in which Las Vegas & Orlando were the two top cities that TNA was looking to settle after taking IW off the road. I'm not exactly certain what ultimately led to TNA choosing Orlando over Las Vegas, haven't read anything about that, but I'm guessing that Orlando was the least expensive choice. Vegas is a tourist haven, no doubt about that but, as other people have mentioned, it's not really about being able to attract paying customers at this point, it's about cutting costs and stabilizing the bottom line.

Sure, they may be able to attract paying customers in Vegas, or any other city for that matter, but they're not gonna draw big audiences. The last batch of TNA television tapings in Utah, according to the WON, drew 1,500 fans. That seems to be a pretty standard number for IW on the road with most TV tapings drawing in the 1,500 to 2,000range. BFG is said to have only drawn about 2,600 to 3,000 fans in attendance. So if they set up shop in Vegas, if they did charge admission and if it's more expensive to set up in Vegas, then pulling in anywhere from 1,000 to 2,000 on average may not solve anything. Being on the lot at Universal Studios pretty much guarantees that TNA will always have fans coming to check them out. It's a theme park, after all, so people are going to wander in week after week if, for nothing else, simply out of curiosity.

As I said, at this point in time, it's not really so much about drawing paying fans because IW on the road simply isn't pulling in enough fans. TNA is hemorrhaging money and the goal right now is to stop the bleeding. They feel they have the better chance of that if they go back to their stomping grounds while taking the show on the road for certain shows in certain markets every once in a while.

 

[thebigbadfox]

I really think all the "impact zone is free" is understandable but think of it this way...
If a venue is free and no one pays to go you break even (not counting merchandise sales etc).
If a venue costs $xxx but you are able to sell 300-500 seats you still probably break even and then are able to create better atmosphere and have the product come across on TV slightly better potentially.
I do not know a lot of ROH but they film in the Philly/ northeast areas a lot and they do not seem to be "hemorrhaging" money... so it can work.
Also a lot mentioned Vegas I think that would also be an interesting area to think about.

 

[Rayne]

I really think all the "impact zone is free" is understandable but think of it this way...
If a venue is free and no one pays to go you break even (not counting merchandise sales etc).
If a venue costs $xxx but you are able to sell 300-500 seats you still probably break even and then are able to create better atmosphere and have the product come across on TV slightly better potentially.
I do not know a lot of ROH but they film in the Philly/ northeast areas a lot and they do not seem to be "hemorrhaging" money... so it can work.
Also a lot mentioned Vegas I think that would also be an interesting area to think about.

Sure, you break even there, if you're shooting the TV show with smartphone cameras. Nationally televised promotions do not follow the same rules as small indy promotions. They have to worry about setting up a television studio, not setting up a ring during the day, taking it down at night, then leaving the city. (Which....................)

 

[Fabulous Freebirds]

Just thinking how TNA has been rumoring going back to Orlando to film Impact regularly.... and this idea came around in my helpless head...
Would picking a different venue to stay at make a difference? How about the old ECW arena or Hammerstein Ballroom (spelling?) A place like Philly, New York, even Boston or Chicago where there is a more die hard wrestling fandom would maybe create a better atmosphere from the 2 nights a month they film... instead of the vacationers and the 20 people that live near the Impact Zone that are not good for the show? Thoughts? Or is this a terrible Idea?

I say bad idea because NYC crowds can be as bad a crowd in a different way. It becomes too smarky and they take over the show with chants and rants that have nothing to do with the product.

Orlando crowds knows what to do and who to cheer and boo. They play right for TV.

 

[fenderjapan]

You need a place where you can set up shop and keep your stuff there...ring, set, cameras, pyro, etc. If they rented out, say, Hammerstein Ballroom, they would have to pack up their stuff every time there was another show and it would end up being almost as expensive as going on the road. Not to mention the fact that rent at a place like that would be much higher.

So basically TNA needs to rent somewhere that they can use exclusively, and renting a soundstage at Universal is probably the most economical way they can do that.

 

[Zeven_Zion]

The whole concept of a "big crowd" is just shit. People confuse "big crowd" with "exciting crowd". Not the same thing. We've all seen recent WrestleMania's with gigantic crowds seem pretty fucking small when everyone is sleeping.

I guarantee you that a 1,200 seated Impact Zone with a HOT crowd will always look better than a 15,000+ RAW crowd that's moderately interested. A thousand people can make a whole lot of noise. Noise > Size.

Therefore, TNA should ultimately look for a spot as big or a little larger than the Impact Zone and IDEALLY a spot where people have to pay to get in. Something is better than nothing.

Either way, to get the HOT crowds, you need a HOT product. I never liked the argument some fans and even wrestlers pawn off. "Well they see the show every week so it's not exciting for them".

Bull ... shit.

It's not exciting because nothing exciting happens. I don't care how many times I go to a football game or a concert, I'll always go berzerk if the show is good. I won't if it puts me to sleep.

Like I said, a thousand people is a whole lot. Even 500 of them would make quite the noise if they tried and had a reason.

So? TNA. Give them a reason.

 

[fenderjapan]

Either way, to get the HOT crowds, you need a HOT product. I never liked the argument some fans and even wrestlers pawn off. "Well they see the show every week so it's not exciting for them".

Agreed. If being able to see a show in town every week killed an audience, World Class would never have gotten over at the Sportatorium. But they had an undeniably hot product that people wanted to see. TNA does not have that right now.

 

[Honkey_Kong]

I remember reading a couple of stories in the past 4 to 6 weeks in which Las Vegas & Orlando were the two top cities that TNA was looking to settle after taking IW off the road. I'm not exactly certain what ultimately led to TNA choosing Orlando over Las Vegas, haven't read anything about that, but I'm guessing that Orlando was the least expensive choice. Vegas is a tourist haven, no doubt about that but, as other people have mentioned, it's not really about being able to attract paying customers at this point, it's about cutting costs and stabilizing the bottom line.

Sure, they may be able to attract paying customers in Vegas, or any other city for that matter, but they're not gonna draw big audiences. The last batch of TNA television tapings in Utah, according to the WON, drew 1,500 fans. That seems to be a pretty standard number for IW on the road with most TV tapings drawing in the 1,500 to 2,000range. BFG is said to have only drawn about 2,600 to 3,000 fans in attendance. So if they set up shop in Vegas, if they did charge admission and if it's more expensive to set up in Vegas, then pulling in anywhere from 1,000 to 2,000 on average may not solve anything. Being on the lot at Universal Studios pretty much guarantees that TNA will always have fans coming to check them out. It's a theme park, after all, so people are going to wander in week after week if, for nothing else, simply out of curiosity.

As I said, at this point in time, it's not really so much about drawing paying fans because IW on the road simply isn't pulling in enough fans. TNA is hemorrhaging money and the goal right now is to stop the bleeding. They feel they have the better chance of that if they go back to their stomping grounds while taking the show on the road for certain shows in certain markets every once in a while.

Actually, Las Vegas wouldn't be a bad choice. The city has a population of 2 million people which alone could give an audience for Impact. On top of that, you have to figure wrestling fans also gamble.

And even if you weren't a wrestling fan, what would you rather be going to see? TNA? Or going with your wife to see Human Nature? In fact, TNA could cut deals with the hotels where the hotels give them money in turn for tickets to comp guests. That's a win/win. Hotels need gimmicks (especially in winter months) to draw customers in.

There is also the FSW there which TNA could utilize for enhancement talent AND developing their talent base.