What happened to day games?

There's a certain mystique to day games. Living in Portugal as a kid in the early 90s, my dad and I used to go to as many Benfica home games as we could. Most of these games were afternoon fixtures and inevitably became day long adventures. We'd get to the stadium about an hour before the game so that we could find our seats. During those days, the mythical "terceiro anel" didn't have actual seats in place, so we'd find our place on the concrete slab stands and head over to the snack-bar. Pepsi and a snack, never failed. We'd come back to our "seats" with plenty of time to spare before kickoff. Basking in the sun, I'd just stare across the stadium and watch the people rush in while simultaneously watching the team warm up on the field. Day football was such a great experience, one that Benfica fans have been deprived of for over a decade.

I've never understood why Benfica has effectively had no day games in the past decade, excluding pre-season of course. It's understandable that television revenue is of utmost importance, the two-fold benefits of tv and box office revenue being instrumental in balancing the books. But games like the one this past Saturday against Arouca for the Taca de Portugal would be a great way to bring back the allure of day games. The benefits go beyond allure or mystique, though.

Football is, or very well should be, a family game. The games that "duped" me into being a hardcore fan were those games that I watched live, many of which were during the day. In the midst of an economic crisis affecting most of the world and with prices for sporting events skyrocketing, big name clubs like Benfica have to take advantage of promotional opportunities in secondary competitions such as the Taca de Portugal or the Taca da Liga, including change the time of the game to suit a different crowd.

The attendance for Benfica's game against Arouca was around 23k. Wouldn't it be better for the club in the long run to fill those empty seats? 23k is well under half the stadium. Why not make these games during the day? Why not create promotions for the first 20k in the door? Many American baseball teams pull off these promotional days very successfully. Yes, it's a different sport on a different continent, but we're all human. An American person appreciates a free scarf or t-shirt of his favorite team just as much as a Portuguese one.

These changes along with dirt cheap prices would get people in the doors, which is the ultimate goal. The ticket prices for the Arouca game were 5€ for Benfica members and 10€ for non-members. Why not make it something ridiculously cheap, like 2€ and 5€. There isn't a huge difference, but if you combine all these benefits I'm sure you wouldn't just see 23k in the stands. 


We live in a time where "selling" your sport is needed for longterm gain. Clubs are handled more and more like businesses. In today's day and age, you have to make your product multi-faceted in order to achieve that same longterm gain. While league games can continue to have their serious night setting where the club gets the most value possible for each ticket, many taca games can be during the day, with a light and fun atmosphere as well as dirt cheap tickets and freebees to boot. Had Benfica done some of this in their marketing of the Arouca game, I'm pretty sure there would be close to 50k in the stands. The club might not have made as much money on this single game, but the future benefits of having so many more people (and impressionable children) in the audience would have been the forward-thinking way to go.