NHL attendance down, everything else up

[Team_Spirit]

So much hypocrisy in this topic. It's alright for markets like Colorado to have poor attendance because of a bad year and the economy.... Right? Now if it's the Thrashers there is no excuse for bad attendance and they should be moved. Keep in mind that Atlanta has sucked forever. Colorado was among the elite for a LONG time.

Compare ticket prices or whatever you want; It's still a double standard.

I agree that a good teams would help ATL but it didn't happen yet and the attendance dosen't go up. Maybe the owners should wake up and fire Waddell, he got em nowhere and the fans must be fed up.

Atlanta metro area = 5.5M, Georgia state : 9.5M
Colorado metro area = 2.5M, Colorado STATE : 5M

The biggest problem with Colorado is the sport offer... it's crazy for such a small state. Plus the ski slopes and the national park...let's just say the customers have a lot of options.

Colorado Rockies Baseball Major League Baseball
Denver Broncos Football National Football League
Colorado Avalanche Ice hockey National Hockey League
Denver Nuggets Basketball National Basketball Association
Colorado Rapids Soccer Major League Soccer
Colorado Mammoth Lacrosse National Lacrosse League
Denver Outlaws Lacrosse Major League Lacrosse
Colorado Chill Basketball National Women's Basketball League
Colorado Crush Arena football Arena Football League
Aurora Cavalry Basketball International Basketball League
Colorado 14ers Basketball NBA D-League
Colorado Crossover Basketball International Basketball League
Colorado Springs Sky Sox Baseball Minor League Baseball (AAA)
Colorado Eagles Ice hockey Central Hockey League
Rocky Mountain Rage Ice hockey Central Hockey League
Colorado Rapids U23's Soccer USL Premier Development League
Colorado Springs Blizzard Soccer USL Premier Development League
Colorado Springs Sabers Soccer Women's Premier Soccer League
Denver Diamonds Soccer Women's Premier Soccer League

 

[Landeslog]

Not to mention, if you're a hockey fan you can go see DU or CC for super cheap and both teams are VERY good

 

[Chives]

Bingo! You just answered your own question.

Being good for an extended period should give them a better following. So you're saying that attendance doesn't matter if you have a winning history?

 

[DG]

Bingo! You just answered your own question.

That's what I was going to say.

At least, at some point, Colorado has HAD good attendance.

 

[Rhodes 81]

Bingo! You just answered your own question.

so a team should be moved if it's been bad for a while?

quick move the leafs!!!

 

[NJDEVILS17*]

Jesus Christ! Stop talking about *****ing attendance! It doesn't affect any of you guys. Unless you're the owner of the Avalanche, don't bother asking!

I swear, some of you guys talk more about attendance than actual hockey!

 

[Rhodes 81]

I agree that a good teams would help ATL but it didn't happen yet and the attendance dosen't go up. Maybe the owners should wake up and fire Waddell, he got em nowhere and the fans must be fed up.

Atlanta metro area = 5.5M, Georgia state : 9.5M
Colorado metro area = 2.5M, Colorado STATE : 5M

The biggest problem with Colorado is the sport offer... it's crazy for such a small state. Plus the ski slopes and the national park...let's just say the customers have a lot of options.

Colorado Rockies Baseball Major League Baseball
Denver Broncos Football National Football League
Colorado Avalanche Ice hockey National Hockey League
Denver Nuggets Basketball National Basketball Association
Colorado Rapids Soccer Major League Soccer
Colorado Mammoth Lacrosse National Lacrosse League
Denver Outlaws Lacrosse Major League Lacrosse
Colorado Chill Basketball National Women's Basketball League
Colorado Crush Arena football Arena Football League
Aurora Cavalry Basketball International Basketball League
Colorado 14ers Basketball NBA D-League
Colorado Crossover Basketball International Basketball League
Colorado Springs Sky Sox Baseball Minor League Baseball (AAA)
Colorado Eagles Ice hockey Central Hockey League
Rocky Mountain Rage Ice hockey Central Hockey League
Colorado Rapids U23's Soccer USL Premier Development League
Colorado Springs Blizzard Soccer USL Premier Development League
Colorado Springs Sabres Soccer Women's Premier Soccer League
Denver Diamonds Soccer Women's Premier Soccer League

so let me get this straight?

when atlanta fans talk about how many other sports options there here they're just making excuses while for colorado it's a legitimate reason?

i hate people

 

[Timeless Winter]

Would you pay to watch the Tampa Bay Lightning?

If I lived in Tampa, absolutely.

 

[Zih]

Atlanta's population is more than twice as large as Denver's... We just don't have the population to sell out every game in every sport. And right now the Avs lose to the Nuggets in terms of attracting attention.

Attendance figures will continue to be terrible for the rest of the year. We lost thousands of season ticket holders over the summer between Sakic retiring and expectations of another terrible year. Without a strong core of season ticket holders, it's hard to steadily have good attendance figures.

And while the Avs have good young stars in Duchene and O'Reilly, nobody's heard of them because the Avs don't do marketing. At all. Ever. The average Denver resident has never heard the names of Duchene or O'Reilly.

 

[Bonzai12]

Ticket prices are too much.

 

[bleedgreen]

worked in the pepsi center during a couple years of the "sellout" period. i dont know what they did to count, but its like accounting to me, you can make it look any way you want. the majority of games i worked had a lot of empty seats up top. im not in any way saying that the avs are the only team that finds a way to call a game a sellout - but ive seen a ton of those games up close and there were a curious amount of empty seats during the sellouts. as in there is no way they were. the avs got good crowds during the hey day, but i think the sellout streak was questionable.

the recent dissipation started during last season, towards the end i went to see a dallas/avs game and the place was half empty. both teams had injuries and were playing basically ahl squads. avs fans arent used to it, and like others have noted there is a ton of things to go do other than hockey. the avs are surprisingly as precarious a market as other newer markerts, fans here are flighty and bandwagon-esque for anything but the broncos. if you watch the rockies it isnt surprising the fans havent come back yet, they only show when the team is good and likely for playoffs. i dont think the area believes in this bunch yet, or even knows who the are which is a shame cuz this is my favorite team yet here.

so in other words, thank god duchene is legit.

 

[YogiCanucks]

So much hypocrisy in this topic. It's alright for markets like Colorado to have poor attendance because of a bad year and the economy.... Right? Now if it's the Thrashers there is no excuse for bad attendance and they should be moved. Keep in mind that Atlanta has sucked forever. Colorado was among the elite for a LONG time.

Compare ticket prices or whatever you want; It's still a double standard.

Agreed, people need to get over the stigma that if there is low attendance in Sunbelt team arena's the markets will never work.

IMO in Atlanta's case, it would be a HUGE mistake to move out. It is a very fast growing city, they could become a very big thing, the potential is there.

 

[Jeffler]

Sure, I'd love to go, but not for $25 a pop plus parking to sit in the nosebleeds. I'll watch at home, thanks.

Spoiled.

A Leafs fan would say.

"OH MY GOD! AFTER A LOT OF WORK, I WHITTLED A SCALPER DOWN TO $45 A TICKET! GET OUT OF THE CAR WE'RE GOING IN!"

"Where we sitting?"

"Standing room, obstructed view!"

"Meh, a leafs game is a leafs game, and at $45 a ticket...wow."

(For the record, Standing Room STARTS at $27+ticketmaster fees at the ACC)

 

[bleedgreen]

Being good for an extended period should give them a better following. So you're saying that attendance doesn't matter if you have a winning history?

winning means everything in attendance in just about every market, not enough people are willing to admit it. in many markets people only show when its worth the big money it costs. the avs cost way too much for the product over the last couple of years - and they dont reflect the economy at all. they do have specials on some nights that do very well.

 

[thedoctor]

ya, apparently the Avs are second only to toronto for ticket prices.. which doesn't make much sense.

ding ding ding! add zero marketing of the team, a local media that has zero knowledge of hockey (with a couple exceptions) and therefore doesn't cover the team well, and the loss of Sakic...

Easy to fix:

1. Cut ticket prices
2. Market Duchene and the other young guns
3. Cut ticket prices

 

[Hennessy]

I often wonder how so-called fans can be so fickle, but then I remember that whenever I see crowd shots of any arena, there are scores of idiots glued to their damn cell phones. And I wonder if they got tickets for free from their boss/neighbor/uncle, or if they're just there because it's the "in" thing to do. At any rate, those types are the ones that stop showing up once the buzz dies on a team. In larger markets, they're replaced by diehards. Otherwise, it's up to the team to either start winning again or market the team in such a way as to draw the cell phone people back.

 

[Drij]

It looked a lot fuller then that.

 

[Jori]

Atlanta's population is more than twice as large as Denver's... We just don't have the population to sell out every game in every sport. And right now the Avs lose to the Nuggets in terms of attracting attention.

Attendance figures will continue to be terrible for the rest of the year. We lost thousands of season ticket holders over the summer between Sakic retiring and expectations of another terrible year. Without a strong core of season ticket holders, it's hard to steadily have good attendance figures.

And while the Avs have good young stars in Duchene and O'Reilly, nobody's heard of them because the Avs don't do marketing. At all. Ever. The average Denver resident has never heard the names of Duchene or O'Reilly.

That's my biggest gripe. The team has a "if they build it, they will come" mentality. Even the Broncos, who own the sports scene in Denver, promote their players and the team. I see billboards for the Broncos, Nuggets, Rockies, heck even CU and CSU football, but not the Avs. The local college hockey team does a better job when it comes to promotion.

I don't understand the mentality of the Avs PR department.

 

[Chileiceman]

Would you pay to watch the Tampa Bay Lightning?

They've still sold out every divisional game since they moved to Denver as I recall.

Couldn't be further from the truth.

 

[ottsens08]

So much hypocrisy in this topic. It's alright for markets like Colorado to have poor attendance because of a bad year and the economy.... Right? Now if it's the Thrashers there is no excuse for bad attendance and they should be moved. Keep in mind that Atlanta has sucked forever. Colorado was among the elite for a LONG time.

Compare ticket prices or whatever you want; It's still a double standard.

Great post could't agree more

 

[Le Golie]

They've still sold out every divisional game since they moved to Denver as I recall.

Wow. No.

 

[HockeyAustralia]

A lot of it is Joe Sakic retiring imo.

Loyal fans eh

 

[Pyke*]

Wow. No.

The announcers on altitude said that earlier this season. I guess they could be lying.

 

[tony d]

Hopefully it'll pick up soon. Denver had been a success story when it came to NHL re-location.

 

[justPlay]

Would you pay to watch the Tampa Bay Lightning?

Of course I would.