Poor attendance

[Emerica]

Oh I remember...fondly in fact...those days (and fans) are long gone...

Who the hell are you lol

 

[PG Canuck]

I feel the IIHF looks at what the Leafs can charge then comes up with an absurd number for a junior tournament for anything within driving distance of Toronto without realizing the dynamics that make Leaf tickets crazy expensive (sold to corporate groups, if you give up your seasons you'll never get them again, and the prestige around having tickets).

The other issue is, it is just not as big a deal in an NHL city. I expect very similar issues with Vancouver and Victoria next year.

I don’t see why ticket sales should be a problem in Vancouver and Victoria. There will be a high demand after a very long time. It should be great there.

 

[Snippit]

You'd have to split it with someone. You don't have the secondary arena that is up to international standards (I lived in London and went to UWO), and I doubt Windsor or Kitchener (the obvious 2nd cities to co-host with) would do that well without getting the Canada group.

While annoying for the fans, it is not about selling it out, it is about maximizing revenue. I'm pretty sure the event made good money in Toronto, because they were charging ridiculous prices for games. Scalpers bought packages expecting to lose money on non-Group Canada games, but hoped to make enough of a profit back from Canada being in the Semis and Gold medal games.

London-Windsor was short-listed for the 2019 WJC (went to Vancouver ultimately)

You make good points and I doubt it will ever happen but man the atmosphere would be outstanding.

Although this article got me optimistic: Tickets for World Junior exhibition game in London, Ont. go on sale Wednesday

 

[Belieber]

I guess folks in the Toronto area have finally realized this tournament is not all it’s made out to be on the host network TSN. I have definitely enjoyed games over the years but overall it’s nothing special.

 

[LoveNHL]

I do not wonder why attendance is low when refs steals the show.

 

[Tomas W]

Overpricing a jr tournament is greedy and shameful, and shortsighted.

 

[ssheeran10]

Where did she go?

For the Toronto WJC, the games were stupidly priced.

The tickets shouldn't be that much, not like you're paying the athletes. For a person you pay for the ticket, you pay expensive concession prices, and then transport/parking. One HF poster years ago was an awesome person and gave me Sweden/Swiss game tickets for free (I got to see Nylander live for Sweden yay) and I still put out $50 that day for my (at the time) girlfriend and myself.

Hey Mod, live a little.

 

[Samsonite23]

It is so freaking cold here. I was going to go to the Slovakia game, but the weather is making me think twice.

 

[WTFMAN99]

Where did she go?




Hey Mod, live a little.

She got a promotion, she's wifey now lol.

 

[lifelonghockeyfan]

Tickets are priced for as much as much the public will bear. Now they might be overpriced this year. But I'm wondering if the winter storms and cold weather in Southern Ontario. Pennsylvania and New York State, might affect walk up traffic to the games this year.
The WJC used to have some significance. The "Iron Curtain" country players never played in North America and few Europeans played junior in Canada. Now they are so intermingled, you see many of these players all the time playing junior or NCAA. And with better TV coverage and the internet, you get to see these players more often if you want to. There isn't the one in a year chance to see the players like there was in just a few decades ago.

 

[HSF]

Toronto is not a hockey city like Ottawa is. Its pretty much leafs or bust. I moved to toronto a few years back and lived in ottawa during the 2009 tournament. The hype around and in Ottawa was really solid and it was just a celebration of the game no matter who you cheered for. In Toronto its leafs or nothing. Even a lot of people in my age group (20's) care more about the raptors than they do the leafs or hockey. Leafs still run the sports market in toronto but man in the early 2000's it was something else here

 

[StaalForOne]

If they lose the outdoor game because of weather the Sabres are going to lose their shirts on this

Weather is looking pretty good for Friday as of now. Late snow may be an issue I suppose, but it will definitely be cold enough if that's your concern?

 

[joestevens29]

It is so freaking cold here. I was going to go to the Slovakia game, but the weather is making me think twice.

I really don't even get how that is an excuse for Canadians not going down.

I went shopping all day in Edmonton and it was a zoo everywhere. Even South Common where it's not even a mall, where you have to walk everywhere or keep getting into your vehicle and drive.

 

[ssheeran10]

It is so freaking cold here. I was going to go to the Slovakia game, but the weather is making me think twice.

Come on now breh! Grow a pair! Cant be afraid of the cold if you're a hockey fan

 

[bobber]

One issue with the tourney being in the US is the fact that hockey especially Junior Hockey is on the back burner. Really how many Americans are interested in this tourney or even know who is on their squad? Take that issue and inflate the price of the tickets and an almost total lack of interest it equals poor attendance. Americans like football, baseball and basket ball. Hockey is on the fourth page of sports with the obituaries in the papers. Its a no win situation. It is what it is.

 

[Kyndig]

Weather is playing a part in attendance I'm sure.

Anything south of Buffalo is being hammered by lake effect snow. I think we got around 4 feet (122cm) on Christmas and it hasn't really stopped.

 

[I Like Eich]

I was very disappointing seeing pictures of the crowd yesterday, but this should've been expected. There are a lot of different reasons that all together add up to why attendance was so poor yesterday. In no particular order:

-It was the day after Christmas, a lot of people are back at work already
-It was -15 degrees C outside
-The U.S. was playing Denmark... everyone is waiting for the big outdoor event vs Canada on Friday, the clear main draw of the tournament for U.S. fans
-Ticket prices were WAY overpriced
-The Sabres have literally killed all hockey buzz in this town
-Junior hockey is just not covered in the U.S. I couldn't find highlights anywhere on TV, had to go online/Twitter to find highlights

 

[BalticWarrior]

Theres always excuses for low attendence- ticket prices, shit weather, bad traffic etc etc etc BUT the truth of the matter is this: if a person REALLY wants to go- he will, all that is happened is that WJC has absolutley lost its hype and prestige and thats why you get empty seats in even a home opener.

 

[Conspiracy Theorist]

Should be held in Finland every year like in Canada. Or in Estonia and claim it isn't Finland.

 

[BalticWarrior]

Come on now breh! Grow a pair! Cant be afraid of the cold if you're a hockey fan

Thats one of the more bizzare arguments to be honest. -15 is not THAT cold. Just dress apropriatley, get in your car and youll be fine.

 

[stokes84]

There are a handful of factors:

1. Overpriced
2. Weather
3. Buffalo has prospect fatigue. We've been sold on the franchise turning around from these wonderkids for 6-7 years now. Only Eichel has really turned out as expected.
4. The Canadian team is the most lackluster roster... ever?
5. Current political climate in the US. There are probably a lot of Canadians who aren't in a rush to head to the US right now.

It's a perfect storm for this thing to go poorly.

 

[Aaaaaaaaaaaaa]

Could also be in part that Canada doesn't have a marquee player this year. But those ticket prices....come on.

 

[Kyndig]

Theres always excuses for low attendence- ticket prices, **** weather, bad traffic etc etc etc BUT the truth of the matter is this: if a person REALLY wants to go- he will, all that is happened is that WJC has absolutley lost its hype and prestige and thats why you get empty seats in even a home opener.

You say that but there was literally travel bans in some areas. lmao

 

[BalticWarrior]

There are a handful of factors:

1. Overpriced
2. Weather
3. Buffalo has prospect fatigue. We've been sold on the franchise turning around from these wonderkids for 6-7 years now. Only Eichel has really turned out as expected.
4. The Canadian team is the most lackluster roster... ever?

It's a perfect storm for this thing to go poorly.

If you are a die hard, all of these arent issues except maybe the price and even then if you really wanted you could have saved up before hand.

 

[TheBeastCoast]

If you are a die hard, all of these arent issues except maybe the price and even then if you really wanted you could have saved up before hand.

You do realize that this tournament has been in this general area 4 times since 2011 now right? This has nothing to do with the interest in the tournament itself dropping and more so just them over saturating the southern Ontario market in the last decade. They need to get and stay far away from it for like a decade after this year.