KHL Revenues/Attendance

[LeftCoast]

Here's a better break down of attendance from DR website:

http://www.dinamoriga.eu/ru/news/view/596

So, the top home attendances are
АO: 9486
Loko: 8982
SU: 8228
Amur: 7100
Sibir: 6481
DynR: 6704
SKA: 6508
Atlant: 6208
AB: 5881
Torpedo: 5408
DynMos: 4693

Just scanning the numbers, the median home attendance seems to be about 7000. The median "budget" seems to be about $30M.

So with 28 home games per year, to make a $30M budget, they need to net just over $1M per game. So let's makes some conservative assumptions:

• Let's assume the "budget" figures include all team fixed and variable expenses so that 100% net revenues can be applied to the budget.
  
• Let's assume that 60% of all revenues come from gates - ticket sales and 40% come from television, advertising, parking, concessions and merchandise sales.
  
• Let's also assume that all tickets sell for the average ticket price so that we can simply multiply the attendance by the ticket price to arrive at net revenues.

In order to net $1M per home game, they need to generate $600,000 in ticket sales. Using the median attendance of 7000, the ticket price, prior to any box-office surchages or handling fees by third parties then has to be at least $85.00.

The team still has to raise $400,000 per home game from TV, advertising, concessions, parking and merchandise.

Somehow I don't think the average Russian hockey fan is paying $85.00 per ticket.

My understanding is that ticket prices are closer to 350 rubles or about $10. So with 7000 fans per night, they are only bringing in $70,000 in gates per home game and likely half of that in other revenues. The remaining $900,000 in costs are being subsidized by the owners.


OECD reports (2004 numbers) that the median Russian family income is about 6000 rubles per month - or approximately $170. Enough to buy 2 hockey tickets at the break-even price. Obviously there is tremendous income disparity between urban and rural wage earners and from the different regions of Russia, but I can't believe family incomes in Russia are this low. There must be a better source.

 

[Den]

Just scanning the numbers, the median home attendance seems to be about 7000....

You don't need to go into all this computational trouble to know that the KHL is not a business

OECD reports (2004 numbers) that the median Russian family income is about 6000 rubles per month - or approximately $170.

I have no idea what is OECD, but in 1998 I was making 600$ and it was not enough for one person. Forget about in the family income in 2009. My retired aunt makes more than $170 now. Have no idea which wall this number is taken from.

 

[pouskin74*]

Just scanning the numbers, the median home attendance seems to be about 7000. The median "budget" seems to be about $30M.

So with 28 home games per year, to make a $30M budget, they need to net just over $1M per game. So let's makes some conservative assumptions:

Let's assume the "budget" figures include all team fixed and variable expenses so that 100% net revenues can be applied to the budget.

Let's assume that 60% of all revenues come from gates - ticket sales and 40% come from television, advertising, parking, concessions and merchandise sales.

Let's also assume that all tickets sell for the average ticket price so that we can simply multiply the attendance by the ticket price to arrive at net revenues.

In order to net $1M per home game, they need to generate $600,000 in ticket sales. Using the median attendance of 7000, the ticket price, prior to any box-office surchages or handling fees by third parties then has to be at least $85.00.

The team still has to raise $400,000 per home game from TV, advertising, concessions, parking and merchandise.

Somehow I don't think the average Russian hockey fan is paying $85.00 per ticket.

My understanding is that ticket prices are closer to 350 rubles or about $10. So with 7000 fans per night, they are only bringing in $70,000 in gates per home game and likely half of that in other revenues. The remaining $900,000 in costs are being subsidized by the owners.


OECD reports (2004 numbers) that the median Russian family income is about 6000 rubles per month - or approximately $170. Enough to buy 2 hockey tickets at the break-even price. Obviously there is tremendous income disparity between urban and rural wage earners and from the different regions of Russia, but I can't believe family incomes in Russia are this low. There must be a better source.

my friends told me that average earnings in Magnitogorsk and Cherepovech metallurg companys are about 1500-2000 dollars per month. but there a lot of people around Russia who work in Oil and Gaz companys and on building sites . i think you cant find a even single one in there who earn less than 1000 dollars in month.

 

[ViD]

Sad but true, the KHL is only 4th european league in terms of attendance..

1. Sweden - 6260
2. Switzerland - 6073
3. Germany - 5867
4. KHL - 5097

I blame Moscow teams

link

 

[LeftCoast]

my friends told me that average earnings in Magnitogorsk and Cherepovech metallurg companys are about 1500-2000 dollars per month. but there a lot of people around Russia who work in Oil and Gaz companys and on building sites . i think you cant find a even single one in there who earn less than 1000 dollars in month.

OECD is Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. They generally keep track of leading economic indicators for the 20 or so most developed nations. As I said, the OECD 2004 numbers look ridiculously low. There are several reasons why this might be.

Regional disparities - the number quoted is the median income for all regions. There is tremendous regional income disparity across Russia. See: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Russia_Regional_product_pc.svg

The median Russian income then would include the South (Balkans), Central and Southern Siberia regions according to the GDP/GRP distribution show between 1/8th and 1/4 of the economic output of the North and industry rich Ural/Siberia regions.

The OECD number was from 2004. According to the UN, average real incomes during the Putin era (roughly 2000 to 2008) grew from $80/mo to $640/mo. So 2004 is about right in the middle of that range.

There is also tremendous disparity between the rich and poor. In 2000, 30% of Russians were living below the poverty line. This has decreased to about 14% in 2008. The average would include the poor - who greatly out number the rich. The median is the mid point of the range, but the gap between the rich and poor is very large in Russia.

At any rate, the point remains. The average Russian family, even in the most industrialized regions earning as you say $1500/month, would struggle to afford an $85.00 per ticket price if that was the break even point. This is simply not sustainable.

 

[malkinfan]

It depends on the pay structure. Obviously with the corporate sponsors of the KHL, ticket revenues don't really matter all that much, which is not the case with the NHL, where ticket sales account for 55% of revenue.
As long as people go to the games when ticket prices are low, to show the corporate sponsors that there is interest, then it shouldn't matter, I don't believe they set up a "break even" formula for the ticket sales.

 

[malkinfan]

Sad but true, the KHL is only 4th european league in terms of attendance..

1. Sweden - 6260
2. Switzerland - 6073
3. Germany - 5867
4. KHL - 5097

I blame Moscow teams

link

A few reasons for this....Sweden has half the amount of teams than the KHL. If you only took the top 12 teams from the KHL in terms of attendance, then I believe the KHL would be #1. Or simply, total attendance, KHL probably is number one by a long shot.
Also, it's the first year,give it a couple of years and the KHL will blow away those leagues. Once interest grows for the league/stronger markets are added and weaker markets are taken away from the league.

 

[ViD]

A few reasons for this....Sweden has half the amount of teams than the KHL. If you only took the top 12 teams from the KHL in terms of attendance, then I believe the KHL would be #1. Or simply, total attendance, KHL probably is number one by a long shot.
Also, it's the first year,give it a couple of years and the KHL will blow away those leagues. Once interest grows for the league/stronger markets are added and weaker markets are taken away from the league.

well, take Switzerland and Germany. They also have only 12 teams in the league, but they are not hockey countries like Russia, Sweden, or Finland, still they have these big numbers. And the most attended team in Europe is from Switzerland as well(SC Bern) having the average attendance of 12 000.

 

[Den]

Also, it's the first year,give it a couple of years and the KHL will blow away those leagues. .

You need bigger arenas for that

 

[wjhl2009fan]

Then again, if Canada had 20 NHL teams, would it be much better? Look at the pathetic attendance for most Canadian AHL and CHL teams. Considering the wages of the average Russian, Belarussian, Latvian and Kazakh, and the economy, it could be worse.

Also wanted to note that for Dinamo Riga the figures are lower due to two of their home games being played in their practice arena which only holds about 1,500 and another two being played in Finland, where attendance was about that as well (This was due to the arena being previously booked for concerts and basketball). On average they're getting about 7,000 - 8,000 in the main rink, with several sellouts (10,600).

In fact out side of toronto and a few other citys alot of chl teams do not to bad attendance wise.

 

[Alessandro Seren Rosso]

well, take Switzerland and Germany. They also have only 12 teams in the league, but they are not hockey countries like Russia, Sweden, or Finland, still they have these big numbers. And the most attended team in Europe is from Switzerland as well(SC Bern) having the average attendance of 12 000.

Kazan, Ufa and Omsk could fill a 30.000 arena in some games.

 

[DanG]

Average attendance from Bern is not 12`000, its almoust 17`000

Top 25

http://www.hockeyarenas.net/?page=0700

 

[wings5]

I expected a lot more, comparable to Elitserien in Sweden.

Rk Team GP Spect. Avg.
1 Frölunda HC 12 129459 10788
2 Djurgårdens IF 12 84787 7065
3 HV 71 13 90298 6946
4 Linköpings HC 12 79439 6619
5 Färjestads BK 13 84788 6522
6 MODO Hockey 13 76898 5915
7 Brynäs IF 12 69137 5761
8 Luleå HF 12 63057 5254
9 Skellefteå AIK 13 65385 5029
10 Timrå IK 13 62592 4814
11 Rögle BK 12 53324 4443
12 Södertälje SK 13 45672 3513

 

[smitty10]

A few reasons for this....Sweden has half the amount of teams than the KHL. If you only took the top 12 teams from the KHL in terms of attendance, then I believe the KHL would be #1. Or simply, total attendance, KHL probably is number one by a long shot.
Also, it's the first year,give it a couple of years and the KHL will blow away those leagues. Once interest grows for the league/stronger markets are added and weaker markets are taken away from the league.

I don't think your reasons fly man. Sweden has half the amount of teams, but 1/14th the population of Russia. Switzerland has even less. And also, they probably won't blow away the other leagues after the first year because they don't have big enough arenas.

The KHL is not a business, it's a bunch of rich guy's toys, once they get bored of it they will be just like any league outside the NHL. It will have good players, but not of NHL calibur.

 

[ult]

Oh, no worries good folks, KHL will be just fine for a long long time. Well, you can keep dreaming.

 

[Raym11]

Oh, no worries good folks, KHL will be just fine for a long long time. Well, you can keep dreaming.

yah man until players realize they are signing empty checks in the future

 

[ult]

yah man until players realize they are signing empty checks in the future

You tell 'em

 

[Alpine]

Okay, from left field on this........
The Moncton Wildcats of the LHJMQ who've made some noise in the KHL with the Kabanov thing.
Average 4-5,000 a game and have stated publicly that they have an operating budget of more than 5 million Canadian $
Only offer this as a comparison

 

[malkinfan]

I don't think your reasons fly man. Sweden has half the amount of teams, but 1/14th the population of Russia. Switzerland has even less. And also, they probably won't blow away the other leagues after the first year because they don't have big enough arenas.

The KHL is not a business, it's a bunch of rich guy's toys, once they get bored of it they will be just like any league outside the NHL. It will have good players, but not of NHL calibur.

The league is still feeling its way out. This average attendance figure is garbage for a number of reasons. Lada, Vityaz, Minsk, Metallurg are bringing in bad attendance right now. But Lada and Vityaz may be history soon, Minsk is getting a 15k seat arena, and Metallurg is last. Also the fact that you have 5 Moscow teams hurts the figure as well. The idea is to replace the bad teams with more successful teams like avtomobilist this season. This will be a slow process, but maybe a few more foreign teams, can really help the attendance.

I think its encouraging when you see teams like Amur fill to capacity every game despite poor results on ice, Salvat sells around capacity most games, Omsk sells most games out, SKA has a big arena doesn't sell out much but have been doing well ie. 12k at last home game, Riga gets over 8k a game, Yaroslavl 9-10k some games.... These figures are good, if you had more teams like this, there wouldn't be a problem. Problem is this is not a 12 team league like the other ones, its twice that. Slowly, there will be more teams like this, and less of the bad ones provided some more foreign teams join. Attendance also depends on the opponent, Kazan vs. vityaz obviously kazan is not going to sell out. So when bad teams leave and good teams join and you have less crappy matches, the higher attendance will be.
And I don't think these rich guys are going to get bored anytime soon. At least if the Kovalchuk offers are any indication.

 

[v-man]

New figures came out the other day for KHL home game attendance this season. Here are some of the results:

1. Avangard- 9555
2. Lokomotiv- 8978
3. SKA- 8685
4. Salavat Yulajev- 8250
5. Amur- 7100
6. Dinamo Riga- 7070
...
24.Severstal- 2927.

Dinamo Minsk is averaging attendance of 3495 in an arena that has an official capacity of 3000, so percentage wise they're on top. This will of course change when they move into their new 15,000 seat arena later this year. Dinamo Riga would be in fifth place if it once again didn't have to play a few games in a 1,500 seat arena due to their home rink being booked. They also have by far the highest ticket prices in the league, which very likely keeps all their games from being sellouts.

 

[cska78]

New figures came out the other day for KHL home game attendance this season. Here are some of the results:

1. Avangard- 9555
2. Lokomotiv- 8978
3. SKA- 8685
4. Salavat Yulajev- 8250
5. Amur- 7100
6. Dinamo Riga- 7070
...
24.Severstal- 2927.

Dinamo Minsk is averaging attendance of 3495 in an arena that has an official capacity of 3000, so percentage wise they're on top. This will of course change when they move into their new 15,000 seat arena later this year. Dinamo Riga would be in fifth place if it once again didn't have to play a few games in a 1,500 seat arena due to their home rink being booked. They also have by far the highest ticket prices in the league, which very likely keeps all their games from being sellouts.

Riga is trying to make money, the rest of the teams are not.

 

[smitty10]

The league is still feeling its way out. This average attendance figure is garbage for a number of reasons. Lada, Vityaz, Minsk, Metallurg are bringing in bad attendance right now. But Lada and Vityaz may be history soon, Minsk is getting a 15k seat arena, and Metallurg is last. Also the fact that you have 5 Moscow teams hurts the figure as well. The idea is to replace the bad teams with more successful teams like avtomobilist this season. This will be a slow process, but maybe a few more foreign teams, can really help the attendance.

I think its encouraging when you see teams like Amur fill to capacity every game despite poor results on ice, Salvat sells around capacity most games, Omsk sells most games out, SKA has a big arena doesn't sell out much but have been doing well ie. 12k at last home game, Riga gets over 8k a game, Yaroslavl 9-10k some games.... These figures are good, if you had more teams like this, there wouldn't be a problem. Problem is this is not a 12 team league like the other ones, its twice that. Slowly, there will be more teams like this, and less of the bad ones provided some more foreign teams join. Attendance also depends on the opponent, Kazan vs. vityaz obviously kazan is not going to sell out. So when bad teams leave and good teams join and you have less crappy matches, the higher attendance will be.
And I don't think these rich guys are going to get bored anytime soon. At least if the Kovalchuk offers are any indication.

I agree with what you say, but I still think many places need larger arenas. Also less teams in Moscow would help, and more teams in former Soviet states. I don't know if its true, but I heard a team in Lithuania will be starting up next season. Maybe Dainius Zubrus will come over and help that team out once his NHL contract is over.

On the Kovalchuk matter I hear that he is really close to re-signing in Atlanta and that his contract will be around $100 million over the next 8-10 years. I wish he would leave ATL though and sign with Toronto...

 

[cska78]

I agree with what you say, but I still think many places need larger arenas. Also less teams in Moscow would help, and more teams in former Soviet states. I don't know if its true, but I heard a team in Lithuania will be starting up next season. Maybe Dainius Zubrus will come over and help that team out once his NHL contract is over.

On the Kovalchuk matter I hear that he is really close to re-signing in Atlanta and that his contract will be around $100 million over the next 8-10 years. I wish he would leave ATL though and sign with Toronto...

you are right, HC "Vetra" from Vil'nus has signed a declaration of intention. It's not yet clear, whether there will be a team or not.

 

[VladNYC*]

I really think one of the Moscow area teams will move to Sochi. Any one wanna guess who it will be?

 

[Zine]

It better be Vityaz.