Is Attendance overrated?

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The Gr8 Dane

L'harceleur
Jan 19, 2018
12,610
24,682
Montreal
There's only like 8 fanbases in the league that are crazy about hockey , I think hockey is in a pretty good place in terms of attendance considering a hockey stick and skates runs you 500$. Not to mention an actual ticket for a game is like 200$ lol , For a sport that nobody can participate in its quite popular and doing well
 

Nogatco Rd

Did you just call me Coltrane?
Apr 3, 2021
2,090
4,135
How many teams have fans that prefer generic store brand to name brand products? Scrutinizing attendance for preseason is dumb.
As someone that appreciates the bargain of a generic store brand I take great offense at your comparison to the NHL preseason
 

Figgy44

A toast of purple gato for the memories
Dec 15, 2014
13,473
8,807
As someone that appreciates the bargain of a generic store brand I take great offense at your comparison to the NHL preseason

But as you said, it's good bargain (perhaps value) without being the full thing. Or are you saying preseason is not a good value?
 

Nogatco Rd

Did you just call me Coltrane?
Apr 3, 2021
2,090
4,135
But as you said, it's good bargain (perhaps value) without being the full thing. Or are you saying preseason is not a good value?
Yeah I’m saying preseason is next to worthless. I could see it having value if you have young kids you want to expose to the game but otherwise no point IMO
 

Drake1588

UNATCO
Sponsor
Jul 2, 2002
30,218
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Northern Virginia
Attendance is attractive to use as a comparable because it's a nice round number, but it doesn't tell you very much.

Tickets in each section sell for a different price in the same building in the same game, and sometimes the same team sells tickets in those sections at different rates depending on the opponent, or the day of the week. Every team sets prices based on its own market, independently of one another. Then you have a season ticker holder base, which is less sensitive to the team's performance and more reliable revenue. Each team has its own local demand, which determines how many season ticket holders it can rely on, and it must decide how much to charge them.

So it's clear that attendance figures give you a flawed idea of gate revenues. Comparing attendance in one building versus another is pointless, because it doesn't tell you how much money they are making. You need to calculate attendance per section, per game, multiplied by the ticket price, which varies from building to building.

Sometimes setting prices higher and filling a building to 85 percent capacity is going to make you more money than setting prices lower and filling it to capacity.

As for the preseason: In most markets, the only people who attend preseason games are those with full season tickets, which mandate that you buy preseason games. Teams with the demand (and the will to turn over a larger share of their building) to season ticket holders versus walk-ups will have greater attendance in preseason than places with a smaller season ticket base. Only a tiny fraction of NHL cities have so much demand that people will choose to pay NHL prices to attend a preseason game, even at the cut-rate price, especially the early games that are mostly full of prospects.
 

Fatass

Registered User
Apr 17, 2017
23,133
14,900
I have been looking at the various attendance figures around the league this preseason.

I see Montreal has 20K fans in one game while Winnipeg only got 12K against Edmonton. Just saw Columbus had a number of 7k fans one preseason game.

Several years ago, the Canadian hockey supremacists on this site believed attendance was important.

The NHL, they claimed, depended on gate revenue to survive. Canadian teams got more fan support than teams located in the sun belt. That situation has changed as sun belt teams are doing well; winning cups, having sellout arenas in recent years.

Now you see places like Winnipeg, who had season of sellouts now can’t find fans to pay for tickets.

Can we say that attendance is overrated?
A full and energized barn makes for a more exciting game. Look back at the Covid games where there were no fans. Boring.
 

K1984

Registered User
Feb 7, 2008
14,963
16,144
This has got to be the most thinly veiled "You SUCK Canada!" thread I've read on a hot minute.

The inferiority complex some American fans have about the stone cold fact that hockey is more popular and lucrative in Canada is dumbfounding to me. Who the f*** cares? Hockey is more popular in Canada, get over it.

Always laugh at the anecdotal attendance comparison from some random sunbelt team to the Jets as some sort of proof that hockey is actually more popular in the states, and actually not as popular as one may think in Canada. The overwhelming record of higher attendance, revenue, and TV ratings in Canada going back decades? Pfft, nothing to see there.
 

joestevens29

Registered User
Apr 30, 2009
53,830
16,914
The inferiority complex some American fans have about the stone cold fact that hockey is more popular and lucrative in Canada is dumbfounding to me. Who the f*** cares? Hockey is more popular in Canada, get over it.

Always laugh at the anecdotal attendance comparison from some random sunbelt team to the Jets as some sort of proof that hockey is actually more popular in the states, and actually not as popular as one may think in Canada. The overwhelming record of higher attendance, revenue, and TV ratings in Canada going back decades? Pfft, nothing to see there.
I mean is it surprising though? For how many years have Canadian fans and media blasted poor markets in the United States?

Does seem likely lately there has been more Canada vs USA on here, but I for one don't really care. Just enjoy watching the sport regardless of nationality or where a team is located. An entertaining hockey player or team is entertaining regardless to me
 
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Golden_Jet

Registered User
Sep 21, 2005
25,318
12,903
I mean is it surprising though? For how many years have Canadian fans and media blasted poor markets in the United States?

Does seem likely lately there has been more Canada vs USA on here, but I for one don't really care. Just enjoy watching the sport regardless of nationality or where a team is located. An entertaining hockey player or team is entertaining regardless to me
OP got this yesterday from a mod, who then closed another thread from OP, this is the fourth thread regarding Canadians recently.

I have to admire your consistency.
 
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Bear of Bad News

"The Worst Guy on the Site" - user feedback
Sep 27, 2005
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OP got this yesterday from a mod

That's no mod...

1727383690189.png


(I'm an admin :P )
 
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Reactions: wraithsonwings

3074326

Registered User
Apr 9, 2009
11,687
11,240
USA
Preseason attendance is very overrated (if rated at all?), and regular season is generally dependent on team success with a few exceptions. Wouldn't call it overrated as much as an indicator of ownership's level of dedication to the market.
 

Andrei79

Registered User
Jan 25, 2013
15,945
29,389
There's only like 8 fanbases in the league that are crazy about hockey , I think hockey is in a pretty good place in terms of attendance considering a hockey stick and skates runs you 500$. Not to mention an actual ticket for a game is like 200$ lol , For a sport that nobody can participate in its quite popular and doing well

Which hockey stick and skates run you 500$ ? I want your deals man. I got high end skates + sticks (pro stock) on deep discounts and it still came out to almost 900$. Without discount it's close to 2000$.
 

GeeoffBrown

Registered User
Jul 6, 2007
6,230
4,280
I do think the NHL has a couple of pretty hefty TV deals, so attendance is not quite as important as in the past
 

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