Is Attendance overrated?

[Tanknation]

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?

You do realize tickets, food prices, gas, housing, taxes, and pretty much everything else is easily double in Canada compared to most states in the US

 

[Bear of Bad News]

You do realize tickets, food prices, gas, housing, taxes, and pretty much everything else is easily double in Canada compared to most states in the US

But you can get poutine on your fries at Costcos in Canada.

Advantage, Canada.

 

[TheMoreYouKnow]

Ask any kid in school or college and they'll tell ya attendance is definitely overrated.

 

[tucker3434]

You do realize tickets, food prices, gas, housing, taxes, and pretty much everything else is easily double in Canada compared to most states in the US

As long as you keep it apples to apples it isn't. If you want to compare Toronto to rural Mississippi, then yeah.

 

[KirkAlbuquerque]

Everything is overrated

 

[Breakers]

You do realize tickets, food prices, gas, housing, taxes, and pretty much everything else is easily double in Canada compared to most states in the US

There is so many websites and videos that say this to be massive hyperbole

 

[GordonGraham]

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.

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?

So Montreal was at like 95% capacity, Winnipeg 80% and Columbus under 40%

 

[Three On Zero]

But you can get poutine on your fries at Costcos in Canada.

Advantage, Canada.

But you can get a chicken bake at Costcos in the US.

Advantage, US.



(Are the chicken bakes even good?)

 

[joelef]

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?

Attendance is overrrated … except when it’s an actual evil sunbelt team then we need the Canadian media everyday say they need to move Canada this very second.

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.

It’s not that it more popular in Canada it’s the fact that you obsese over struggling sunbelt teams while throwing every excuse in the book over struggling Canadian teams. People don’t like hypocrisy.

 

[K1984]

Attendance is overrrated … except when it’s an actual evil sunbelt team then we need the Canadian media everyday say they need to move Canada this very second.


It’s not that it more popular in Canada it’s the fact that you obsese over struggling sunbelt teams while throwing every excuse in the book over struggling Canadian teams. People don’t like hypocrisy.

Could be because hockey is incredibly popular in Canada despite attendance in select markets. This might be complicated for you, but it is possible for Ottawa and Winnipeg (the only two markets that could possibly be described as struggling) to love and obsessively follow their team as a market, but have attendance problems due to price and the lack of large private enterprise in both markets. Both are borderline NHL markets for no reason other than size and economics despite the popularity of the teams.

Unless everyone is watching hockey in the sunbelt markets (they aren’t), but just not attending games for whatever reason, then the comparison isn’t relevant.

 

[Three On Zero]

Attendance is overrrated … except when it’s an actual evil sunbelt team then we need the Canadian media everyday say they need to move Canada this very second.


It’s not that it more popular in Canada it’s the fact that you obsese over struggling sunbelt teams while throwing every excuse in the book over struggling Canadian teams. People don’t like hypocrisy.

Those sunbelt teams are doing better than some of the Canadas markets. Hockey in Canada has no room to grow and that’s the issue. The US still has a giant untapped market the NHL can try to capitalize on.

 

[Johnny Rifle]

Even the people at Costco could tell you that the best indicator of attendance is how well your team draws on the road.

Home attendance is always going to depend on population and market size, other entertainment options, venue size, etc.

 

[joelef]

Those sunbelt teams are doing better than some of the Canadas markets. Hockey in Canada has no room to grow and that’s the issue. The US still has a giant untapped market the NHL can try to capitalize on.

I’m calling out the hypocrisy of saying attendance spent matter when many hockey fans obsess over non traditional market attendance

 

[Grifter3511]

Attendance is overrrated … except when it’s an actual evil sunbelt team then we need the Canadian media everyday say they need to move Canada this very second.


It’s not that it more popular in Canada it’s the fact that you obsese over struggling sunbelt teams while throwing every excuse in the book over struggling Canadian teams. People don’t like hypocrisy.

Does canadian media complain every day about sunbelt teams? What year is this? 1996?

 

[Tanknation]

As long as you keep it apples to apples it isn't. If you want to compare Toronto to rural Mississippi, then yeah.

Nope small towns, small cities. Does not matter. Same prices across the board nowadays. We have the highest food prices in the world to boot. Our taxes are easily 40% + of what we bring in.

There is so many websites and videos that say this to be massive hyperbole

You were saying... our milk alone is about $7.50 average. Eggs $5-8 , bread about $5. Easily 40% if not more of what we bring in, we pay in taxes.

 

[Breakers]

Nope small towns, small cities. Does not matter. Same prices across the board nowadays. We have the highest food prices in the world to boot. Our taxes are easily 40% + of what we bring in.


View attachment 910429
You were saying... our milk alone is about $7.50 average. Eggs $5-8 , bread about $5

LOL
Nothing here is double at least like your claim

So like I said hyperbole

Here's how Costco prices compare between stores in Canada and the U.S.

Do you notice a major price difference if you're a cross-border shopper and often head to the U.S. to purchase groceries, especially at Costco? Canad…

www.blogto.com

 

[Tanknation]

LOL
Nothing here is double at least like your claim

So like I said hyperbole

Here's how Costco prices compare between stores in Canada and the U.S.

Do you notice a major price difference if you're a cross-border shopper and often head to the U.S. to purchase groceries, especially at Costco? Canad…

www.blogto.com

Go to any grocery store here and you will see. Comparing chain like costco across borders does not paint the full story, unfortunately. I travel to the US a lot and just came back 2 weeks ago after being there for 2.5 weeks. Clearly you have not been here recently.

 

[Breakers]

Go to any grocery store here and you will see. Comparing chain like costco across borders does not paint the full story, unfortunately. I travel to the US a lot and just came back 2 weeks ago after being there for 2.5 weeks. Clearly you have not been here recently.

Might want to check that location bud

In the states

 

[Mattb124]

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?

You do understand that this is pre-season? Struggling mightily to believe this is an actual thread.

 

[Chips]

Yes. People should be discouraged from going to games if on ice product is crap and ownership is terrible.

This was what I expected to say, until I saw the actual OP lol


I know the Canadian supremacists he’s talking about, who ignore this is a business and not strictly Canadian culture, and will argue a horrible team/product having no full arena means Yotes, but also at various times the Canes, Panthers, etc etc should he relocated to whatever random small Canadian market lol



Pre season games though? Even Canadian loyalists won’t pay money to watch a crap game if it’s the preseason

 

[Oddbob]

I don't know it depends on who is in the crowd. Like if Wayne Gretzky is in the crowd it is probably underrated, but if like a politician/Justin Bieber is in the crowd, it is probably overrated.

 

[Armourboy]

https://time2play.com/app/uploads/sites/6/2023/04/NHL_ARENAS_-_t2p_IG.jpg

Be interested to see how many bump right over this like they didn't see it.

 

[MMC]

Yes. I work at the Honda Center so as far as I’m concerned the less people who show up to Ducks games, the better

 

[Chips]

A full and energized barn makes for a more exciting game. Look back at the Covid games where there were no fans. Boring.

I personally never got that. I only saw the difference visually but I’m more focused on the ice, and the fake sounds were mostly good enough lol. I liked those playoffs for the most part

 

[triggrman]

Be interested to see how many bump right over this like they didn't see it.

lol it definitely doesn’t fit the narrative many like to step into here