NHL attendance down, everything else up

[CC Chiefs*]

OK, Let's talk about my team with all our mighty playoff victories, you know all of the road wins, and the sweeping of teams like San Jose and Detroit... what's that, the Nashville Predators have not won a road game in the playoffs, or even a series. This year we've had a slow start attendance wise, but the economy sucks if you don't remember, and two sellouts is better then none, right?

OH I get it. At first its if they win they will come? Then when they win its win in the playoffs? Then wins in the playoffs aren't good enough until a cup win. And winning the cup isn't enough it's win multiple cups.

Certain markets will NEVER be a hockey market. When the excuse on Sunday is "well it's the bible belt" is used, it not going to work.

 

[JoeBag84]

Date: January 14th, 2010

Devils @ Coyotes, official announced NHL attendance: 9,430

http://www.nhl.com/ice/boxscore.htm?id=2009020701

Sabres @ Thrashers, official announced NHL attendance: 11,313

http://www.nhl.com/ice/boxscore.htm?id=2009020695

I'm amazed that the usual apologists didn't find the time to point out such figures along with the so-called good ones they posted recently during the holiday season.

And those are "announced attendance" figures, which don't include any information on the gate receipts, the average ticket price or comp tickets given away for free, etc.

GHOST

probably because that so-called apologist has only showed numbers for weekend games.

but i figured you'd notice that glaringly obvious pattern. apparently not.

 

[frivolousz21]

If I were the thrashers..I would push roller and street hockey.

I am 27....and I grew up in a IL suburb of St. Louis.

when I was in grade school grade say 4-8.....that was 1991-1996.

the Brett Hull Era....however it wasn't just that.

We played street hockey on our feet during PE...in fact that was the highlight of PE for boys and girls..not soccer or baseball...playing indoor hockey was so much fun.

all of the kids in the neighborhood by age 8 or 9 played roller hockey in driveways or parking lots....every weekend there would be games in church parking lots, parks, sometimes if we were in a side street a cop would park to block the street to stop traffic on his break to let us play.

The funny thing is...no one wanted to be Brett Hull.

it was Bure, Kariya, Sellane, Mogilny, Jagr, Federov, MacInnis, Pronger, Lidstrom..

Hull, Yzserman, Sakic, The Great One, and Mario were off limits..you can't pretend to be one of the all time greats.

anyways.....nearly every kid who played hockey then were blues fans.

well its 15 years later.

those kids are 20-30 somethings.

and guess what?

The blues rebuilt...and it took 2 years or less of good publicity to get back to sell outs, great merchandise sales, and good tv ratings.

GRASS ROOTS....

Today those places are empty..void of kids playing hockey.

the Bill laurie ERA stopped the good will.

I sure hope we can get another generation of blues fans....the current one is the largest.

the next one will be lacking..waiting on our sons and daughters.

 

[bictron]

If I were the thrashers..I would push roller and street hockey.

Agreed. Ice hockey in itself can be expensive with league fees and equipment. If it's just street, all you need is a stick and two nets.

 

[MayDay]

Sabres @ Thrashers, official announced NHL attendance: 11,313

I was watching that game last night.

Judging by the television feed, the actual number was much less than 11,000, and judging from the clearly discernible audio of crowd chants/cheers, at least half of the fans that were there were Sabres fans.

Actual number of actual Thrashers fans rooting for the home team couldn't have been much more than 3,000-4,000.

 

[Blue Liner]

I understand giving some markets time. When the team sucks for so long its hard for them to draw fans. I don't have a problem with Florida, Tampa, Phoenix but I do with Atlanta. I only say this cause to me Atlanta is a bad sports town. Its not just the Thrashers who draw poorly, the Hawks too and they are doing pretty good this year. Less than 10,000 for a home game. Tonight's thrashers game had 11,000 half of which sounded like they were Sabres fans. I realize winning will change some of this but I am not so sure. Their basketball team is 4th in the East and they don't draw. People on this board that are from Atlanta explain to me why your teams don't draw.

This is a very good point. The Braves won what, 14 straight division titles? In that time they went to five World Series. They were good every year and while playing at Turner Field, which has a capacity of about 50,000, most of their average attendance during those years was in the 30,000's, and a couple years even dipped into the upper 20,000's. And this is for a World Series-caliber baseball team. What do you think a mediocre hockey team with one playoff appearance in its history is going to do?

 

[CC Chiefs*]

This is a very good point. The Braves won what, 14 straight division titles? In that time they went to five World Series. They were good every year and while playing at Turner Field, which has a capacity of about 50,000, most of their average attendance during those years was in the 30,000's, and a couple years even dipped into the upper 20,000's. And this is for a World Series-caliber baseball team. What do you think a mediocre hockey team with one playoff appearance in its history is going to do?

HF un-official rules say you can't say that Atlanta is just simply a bad sports city.

 

[TrentSteele]

Contraction? HA! How about a fair chance to consistently have strong attendance after actually being competitive and playing good hockey. Starting a franchise with 10 years (or more) of constant fail isn't a fair chance in any market.

Don't forget to count the 8 years from when Atlanta had it's first chance.

 

[BadHammy*]

If non-traditional markets are doomed to fail, why is Dallas a success? Grassroots planning and youth hockey programs. ANY city can be a fairly good hockey market if the NHL and team owners buy a freakin' clue. Don't forget, as more and more of the ice melts and less and less of Canada has frozen pond, thanks global warming, the traditionalists will be busy covering their rear-ends and actually have to resort to logic instead of blind dogmatism.

 

[Blue Liner]

HF un-official rules say you can't say that Atlanta is just simply a bad sports city.

I didn't start it. I just expounded upon the original comment.

 

[CC Chiefs*]

I didn't start it. I just expounded upon the original comment.

I was being. They claim if the team wins the fans would come out and then you bring up the Braves. I think they have been very successful and can't fill the stands and there's no football in the summer. But Atlanta's a great sports town? 3 teams and all 3 rarely fill the stands.

 

[GSC2k2*]

Point is team are falsely doing well due to the cash cow! Don't give me that contractual BS!

I guess "BS" is short for "whatever doesn't fit my already narrow, pre-determined view that I am going to hold, no matter what anyone says".

Got it.

 

[GSC2k2*]

probably because that so-called apologist has only showed numbers for weekend games.

but i figured you'd notice that glaringly obvious pattern. apparently not.

You're kidding, right?

Certain posters who are dedicated to "proving" the illegitimacy of certain southern franchises are legendary for cherrypicking. One can easily determine whether PHO, ATL and similarly situated teams are getting healthy numbers, because those individuals' posting dries up completely.

 

[Fugu]

Ten more posts.... and we're done!


Make that nine.......

 

[Hawksfan2828]

I am pretty sure St. Louis is up...we have sold out all of our games so far.

Everyones loven' those blackhawks these days, a team that was dead a few years ago.

Obviously not one team can do it alone... Trends I guess.

Of course the smaller market teams have had about the same attendances.

Chicago is a pretty big market to say the least and its been dormant for quite some time.

I'm sure Kane and Toews jerseys are quite popular in cities other then Chicago....A lot of Chicago trasplants in the US and Canada that dont live in Chicago... Not to mention the Indian Head is mighty pretty and an attractive jersey..

 

[MAROONSRoad]

Ten more posts.... and we're done!


Make that nine.......

And then like spring or dawn, a new thread (created by someone out of the blue) inevitably begins?

GHOST

 

[MAROONSRoad]

I was watching that game last night.

Judging by the television feed, the actual number was much less than 11,000, and judging from the clearly discernible audio of crowd chants/cheers, at least half of the fans that were there were Sabres fans.

Actual number of actual Thrashers fans rooting for the home team couldn't have been much more than 3,000-4,000.

Really? I wouldn't go near that far. I actually saw some of the game also and thought it was better attended than a lot of recent Thrasher's games. In other words, if you thought that game was poorly attended, you ain't seen nothing.

GHOST

 

[Seth Lake]

And then like spring or dawn, a new thread (created by someone out of the blue) begins?

GHOST

I would hope this thread dies...it is simply a flame-war waiting to happen with the same folks making the same arguments time and time again with the occasional newcomer regurgitating things that have already been discussed.

Two games Friday night with great attendance...both sellouts?

And who says Nashville doesn't draw on the road? Didn't hurt tonight in Calgary and even saw a few Predators jerseys in the stands throughout the broadcast (and not just the same ones over and over again).

How many posts till this thread is dead?

 

[MAROONSRoad]

I would hope this thread dies...it is simply a flame-war waiting to happen with the same folks making the same arguments time and time again with the occasional newcomer regurgitating things that have already been discussed.

Two games Friday night with great attendance...both sellouts?

And who says Nashville doesn't draw on the road? Didn't hurt tonight in Calgary and even saw a few Predators jerseys in the stands throughout the broadcast (and not just the same ones over and over again).

How many posts till this thread is dead?

Ah hum, the Flames have sold out all of their games this year so far, so no credit is necessarily due to the Predators' "road draw" ability or lack thereof.

http://espn.go.com/nhl/attendance

As to your second point, I believe 4 or 5?

GHOST

 

[berklon]

And who says Nashville doesn't draw on the road? Didn't hurt tonight in Calgary...

That's like giving the zamboni driver credit for good attendance. It's a Canadian market, they usually sell-out regarless of who their team is playing.

 

[btn]

I was being. They claim if the team wins the fans would come out and then you bring up the Braves. I think they have been very successful and can't fill the stands and there's no football in the summer. But Atlanta's a great sports town? 3 teams and all 3 rarely fill the stands.

The ECHL team in the Atlanta suburbs, Gwinnett Gladiators, regularly averages over 5,000 per game since it moved to he city. That is 1,000/game more than the average league attendance for the ECHL.

But you can continue talking about baseball or football if you want.

 

[Seth Lake]

Ah hum, the Flames have sold out all of their games this year so far, so no credit is necessarily due to the Predators' "road draw" ability or lack thereof.

http://espn.go.com/nhl/attendance

As to your second point, I believe 4 or 5?

GHOST

That's like giving the zamboni driver credit for good attendance. It's a Canadian market, they usually sell-out regarless of who their team is playing.

I would've hoped everyone realized that was a joke...

On-topic, the Predators have played 3 of their last 5 home games to paid attendance of 16,000+. Pretty good for a building that only holds 17,113 for hockey. Could it be that attendence really is on the increase with a winning team on the ice and football season over?

 

[Snoil11]

Hit the 1,000 posts mark. ---> Closed.
Right now, I don't see the need for Part II.