The New York Red Bulls may not be the most popular team in New York. They have the four major sports to compete with and also NYC FC in their own market.
However, according to JD Power in 2016 inaugural Fan Experience Survey, the Red Bulls rated the highest in all of the New York area teams.
“This is a significant achievement for our entire organization,” said Red Bulls General Manager Marc de Grandpre. “The experience of our fans is our number one priority and we look forward to continue to give our great, passionate fans the best experience in the New York metropolitan area.”
The Fan Experience Study measures customer satisfaction of major pro sports teams in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago and Houston across seven factors. They are (in order of importance): seating area and game experience; security and ushers; leaving the game; arriving at the game; food and beverage; ticket purchase; and souvenirs and merchandise.
In the rankings, the Red Bulls rated the highest for security and ushers (835); seating area and game experience (833); ticket purchase (819); food and beverage (795); and leaving the game (791).
The 2016 Fan Experience Study is more comprehensive and representative of measuring the fan experience than internal team surveys since it is not limited to season ticket holders and single-game ticket buyers. Instead, the study significantly broadens the population to include not only the aforementioned fans, but also secondary-market ticket buyers and friends as well as relatives and colleagues who did not buy a ticket but attended with someone who did.
The 2016 Fan Experience Study is based on more than 5,700 completed survey instruments from sports fans who attended a National Football League®, Major League Baseball®, National Hockey League®, Major League Soccer® or National Basketball Association® event in the past 12 months in the New York, Los Angeles, Houston or Chicago designated market areas. The study was fielded in June 2016.
The Los Angeles market includes the San Diego Padres and San Diego Chargers, but those teams were not ranked in the study. The Rams also were included in this market, but will not be ranked until the 2017 study is released. The New York City Football Club was not evaluated given this was their inaugural season, but the team will be included in the 2017 study.
The 2017 study will include these additional markets: San Francisco/Oakland, Denver, Detroit, Boston, Washington D.C./Baltimore, Dallas, Philadelphia and Miami.