Back from the desert that is being without a working laptop over the holidays. (Helpful mnemonic? Desert has one ess, as in Sahara; dessert has two, as in strawberry shortcake. Thanks to my 3d grade teacher, Mrs. Swickalaus.) (While I am at it, here's to Agawam Middle School's Mr. Nacewicz, the man responsible for "Some Men Hate Eating Onions." SMHEO: the Great Lakes from west to east. Go ahead, laugh. Mock. But someday you'll find yourself using it when you're at pub quiz. Or playing Jeopardy! against your precocious 7-year old niece.)
For some months now, it's been easy enough to find (and write) stories about declining NHL attendance. I'm not looking to be a contrarian (or an NHL lackey), but I've seen some encouraging numbers the last few days that are worth noting. Tarik's WaPo article notwithstanding, it would seem that 2007 is off to a promising start. As they say in Jersey, "I'm not sayin', I'm just sayin'."
* FSN Prime Ticket, the regional network for the Anaheim Ducks, has extended its broadcast agreement five years. In addition, FSN has added 10 games to its regular season schedule, guaranteeing a minimum of 50 televised games each year.
* On Friday, December 29th, Chicago hosted Boston in front of 19,315 at the United Center, an increase of 49% over their average game attendance.
* That same night in Florida, a record setting crowd at Bank Atlantic Center watch the Panthers/ Canadiens. The sellout crowd of 19,772 is up 38% over the season average.
* Less dramatic, though no less significant given Pittsburgh's woes, the Penguins played the Hurricanes at home on Tuesday, January 2nd in front of 16,957, up 7% (1,122) over their average.
* Buffalo's game day attendance has increased an average of nearly 1,800 compared to last season.
All is not good news at the gate. Far from it. Average NHL attendance this season (16,677) is off 1.6% from last (16,954). Numerous clubs are seeing significant declines in attendance: Boston, New Jersey, and Phoenix, to name a few.
However, here's some context for you to consider: the average NBA audience last year was 17,558. It would likely require another regional success story (Tampa Bay, Columbus), but it's possible to see how the NHL might begin to surpass the NBA in terms of average attendance. And now that the NFL season is over in many NHL cities, it could just happen.
You listening, Pittsburgh?
Ken Berard can be reached at kpberard@gmail.com
Good stuff, and it’s easy to diss the “non-traditional hockey markets” but it’s worth noting that the Thrashers are playing to 90% full houses for the past month-plus. Not bad in a town that can’t even sell out playoff baseball games, and it reinforces what we all already knew – you can sign free agents, draft superstars, market the team out the wazoo, put strippers on the ice between whistles, etc., but the only thing that brings a sustained level of increased fannies-in-seats is winning games.
That’s a great comparison between NBA and NHL attendance.
It brings to the fore the question of how you measure the league’s health. Beat writers are going to have to do some digging to get better answers–beyond attendance figures. Off-the-record quotations on broadcast rights negotiations, hard numbers on merchandise sales, occasional checking on scalped ticket prices–that’s what will give the best information, right?
>Off-the-record quotations on broadcast rights negotiations, hard numbers on merchandise sales, occasional checking on scalped ticket prices–
It’s anecdotal, but it does add up to provide a different metric to measure success. In addition to those areas you’ve mentioned, I’ll also be looking at advertisers, advertising rates, and corporate branding.