Stadium Fans To See Same Replays As NFL Refs
NEW YORK (CBS SPORTS) - With attendance down 4.5 percent since 2005 and ticket sales declining, the NFL has made enhancing in-stadium experience a priority (to hedge its bets, the league has also relaxed local blackout restrictions).
Last week, the Wall Street Journal's Kevin Clark wrote about efforts to make the NFL experience resemble the college game-day atmosphere. "The NFL says it has 'liberalized' its restraints on crowd noise," Clark wrote Friday. "Stadiums will now be free to rile up crowds with video displays, and public-address announcers will no longer be restrained from inciting racket when the opposing offense faces a crucial third down."
The league also plans to allow fans in the stadium to view the same replays of calls under review as the game official sees them under the hood on the sideline. "They'll see the exact same angles at the exact same time as he does,'' Falcons president and NFL competition committee chairman Rich McKay told ESPN's Pat Yasinksas.
"I think this is another example of the league listening to its fans about what they want from the in-game experience,'' McKay said. "I think throughout this edition of replay, the league, the teams and our broadcast partners have done a nice job of using the available technology to make the game better and make the experience better for the fans.''
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