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THN.com Blog: Attendance woes a serious concern

Coyotes games will be a tough sell in Phoenix as long as the ownership situation remains up in the air. (Getty Images)

Ken Campbell
2009-10-16 13:05:00

It’s not as though the situation in Phoenix needed to look any worse, but did anyone notice the announced attendance figure for Thursday night’s game at Jobing.com Arena?

Not sure what’s more disturbing, whether it was the fact the announced attendance was just 6,899 or the fact that “announced” attendance in Phoenix represents every ticket that goes out the door, whether it was paid for or free. It was discovered last season that the Coyotes regularly padded their attendance numbers by between 3,500 and 4,000 tickets per game.

The NHL does not keep track of attendance low-water marks, but I can’t remember a crowd that low that wasn’t the result of some sort of catastrophic weather. Consider, too, that the Coyotes have promotions for weeknight home games that offer an all-you-can-eat deal for $30 and tickets as low as $10 for students and military personnel, and the number paints an even bleaker picture.

So think about it. After going hammer-and-tong with Jim Balsillie in a battle for the team, there’s a very good chance the league will have control of the Coyotes before long. And if the crowds stay like this, the league will come to the same conclusion former owner Jerry Moyes did. The only problem is, how can the league ever hope to attract a buyer for a team that can’t even come close to 10,000 paid?

Perhaps that’s what prompted the Coyotes to post a letter from NHL commissioner Gary Bettman on their website recently. In the letter, Bettman assured Coyotes fans that, “We are confident in the future of the Coyotes. Just as we know the Coyotes need help and we are committed to providing it, we need your help, as well.” Bettman also went on to say, “I want to remind you and your co-workers and friends that affordable ticket packages and season tickets are available for the 2009-10 season.”

The interesting thing is that across the league, attendance is actually looking pretty good. Not including the four games played in Europe, average attendance going into Friday night’s games was 17,584, which is more than the league posted at the end of last season, when it recorded an all-time attendance high for the fourth straight season.

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So at least the bottom line is in good shape and the players won’t have to worry about having too much escrow taken off their paychecks. Thank heavens for that.

But the league is whistling in the dark if it can’t see the trouble spots. The Nashville Predators have had crowds of 12,179 and 13,103 for their past two home games. The Tampa Bay Lightning has about 5,000 empty seats for every game and the league’s most promising team, the Columbus Blue Jackets, had a crowd of just 13,280 for their second home game of the season.

Even in Ottawa, the Senators have failed to sell out three of their four home games this season.

But nothing matches the ugly numbers in Phoenix. Thank goodness the Coyotes are at least competitive this season, but even that might not prevent the numbers from getting even uglier.

Ken Campbell, author of the book Habs Heroes, is a senior writer for The Hockey News and a regular contributor to THN.com. His blog will appear Wednesdays and Fridays and his column, Campbell's Cuts, appears Mondays.

For more great profiles, news and views from the world of hockey, subscribe to The Hockey News magazine.

COMMENTS (19)

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sens4life Posted
(2009-10-22 12:15:13)

Just a comment for the people who are complaining about the arena in Ottawa. From downtown it's only one bus to the arena and it takes usually about an hour from downtown, so the guy who took two busses took the wrong way, there are special busses set up all over the city that will go from one direction directly to the game. Usually traffic is fine unless you're closer to the arena and you can't avoid that no matter how close you are. And for those of you complaining about Ottawa being a bandwagon city, I totally disagree. Ottawa is no more a bandwagon city than any other, and for all the Sens fans I met, they were not bandwagon Sens. I am from Ottawa and there are tonnes of people who are from Ottawa, it does not have a large proportion of out of towners who livere here now compared to any other city. Jeez, if you really love your team then you'll take the bus anywhere to go see them! Besides, everyone who takes the bus usually loves the experience with all the other fans. To me, if you don't wanna take the bus to the game because you find it too long, then you're a bandwagon fan.

astromac Posted
(2009-10-19 09:02:05)

I love the Jackets. Last year we went to Nationwide Arena three times and it was great. We were able to do that in large part because our overnight stays were subsidised by my wife's employer because they gave her free rooms vouchers with a certain hotel chain and I was given tickets as a gift for my 40th birthday. This year is different as her employer has stopped providing that perk due to budget cuts and I cannot expect the continued generosity of my family and friends on my 41st birthday. So now, when I want to take 4 people (me, my wife and my 2 boys) to a game in the cheapest seats it's still $100 per game. The hotels within walking distance of the arena will cost us another $100 for a night and the meals will probably add up to another $80 - somewhat less if I travel outside of the arena district. That's a lot of money for 1 game. Sure we can stay in a Motel 6 miles away and hope we don't catch head lice and pack peanut butter sandwiches but I'd rather not go then. Plus, Ohio State hockey tickets are cheaper and I can be seated much closer to the action if I want to treat my family to live hockey. Why this is treated as a dilemma baffles me. Professional sports have long ago priced themselves above everyman accessibility. That's fine but in doing so, they have made themselves much more susceptible to discretionary spending (or lack thereof). It used to be that a family of limited means could go to a ballgame on the cheap. Not anymore. You (the owners, players and host cities) made this bed, now sleep in it. Maybe a few $10 cans of beer will take the pain away.

swampdragon Posted
(2009-10-18 20:20:52)

Iceage is back to buy the team they are the ones who want to play 5 "home games" in Saskatoon .That will be so sucessful that they will ask for an additional 5 games the next year and they bwill slowly move the team to Saskatoon YEAH RIGHT like the Death Dwarf will let them move to Sasakatoon even for 5 games .My top five bets 1.KC beautiful new Sprint Centre 2.Milwaukee US Cellolar arena 3.Portland Rose garden and Paul Allen 4.Seattle Government says they'll build for a NHL or NBA team apparently 2 years too late for the Sonics NHL has to be impressed with the MLS Sounders sucsess 5 Canada yeah I know its a country but thats the only way by grouping Hamilton Winnipeg Saskatoon Quebec City that they would make the top five over the death dwarfs choice Las Vegas

mrmarbles Posted
(2009-10-17 13:08:11)

thebutcher40, amen to that. I have lived in Ottawa for the past few years, and it is simply not worth the time to make the trek out to the arena. It essentially takes 6 hours (15m wait for the bus if lucky, particularly after the game; 1h-1h15m bus ride, an extra 20-30m can be tacked on if you're driving) of time to see a 2.5-3 hour game. That is one factor behind the empty seats. Another is that Ottawa is very much a bandwagon city. I don't say that to be mean, but because such a large portion of the Ottawa population is from somewhere else (i.e. NOT Ottawa), there aren't a lot of homegrown Senators fans. People only go to the games when their hometeam is playing (like Toronto or Montreal), or when the Sens are winning. They claim to have the Sens Army here, but its existence is questionable. I saw a poster on the street the other day advertising for the Real Sens Army - a group who claim that they are embarrassed by other teams getting more fans at the home games, and also by Scotiabank Place being so quiet you can hear a pin drop. Definitely some truth to that. But with that all said, the location of the arena definitely doesn't help.

shootout Posted
(2009-10-17 12:09:41)

Caught a few minutes of the Devils game last night (Friday) and there were large blocks of open seats. I seem to remember seeing that last year too. Wonder what their attendance records show?

texas_ranger Posted
(2009-10-17 12:04:06)

I saw the Hurricanes play in Greensboro when they first moved south and they used to close off the top section of the arena with these gigantic banners dropped from the ceiling to not make the place look so empty. For a Sabres-Whalers, I mean 'Canes game, my friend and I estimated there were less than 4,000 people there. The Hartford Hurricanes had an excuse tho. That Thursday 'Yotes game looked like the CHL (i.e. Brahmas, Eagles, Mudbugs, etc.) not the NHL.

kehoe66 Posted
(2009-10-17 02:25:33)

It is really a shame that the franchise will likely fail in Phoenix. The problem with markets like Phoenix is you need to setup some sort of product to develop the fan base. These markets have a very large population of North Easterners, and this is a huge continuing market trend so this just means more reason why these markets are the places to put teams. But if you don't grab these people with an interesting team in the first ten years, you probably aren't going to make it without a Gretzky/Lemieux player. They have desperately needed a draft pick like Ovechkin who can single handlely entertain (or Crosby that has a hype that follows him), but some how have managed to be average bad every year. The reason why similar markets like San Jose, Anaheim, and Raleigh, NC aren't in the same situation is they have had management that cares, and tries to improve the product. San Jose is evidence you don't even need to win a cup. The closest Phoenix has ever come to an entertaining product was having Roenick, Tkachuk, and Khabby. At this point, the franchise is just too tainted by everything up until this point to really recover (especially when people pulled in by the cheap tickets get to watch the trap). Most of the teams that have pulled themselves out of similar situations had a lot more history in the location, and therefore more generation of fans. I hope they can right themselves under better management, but I think they already failed to convert the transplanted people in the area to Coyotes fans (they had more than enough time), and what they are left with are a ton of hockey fans rooting for the away team. It is crucial for teams to do well in the sunbelt states for the future of the NHL. A lot of people like to think hockey belongs in areas where you can play it on ice parts of the year, but if teams stay exclusive to colder climates, you are going to see the sport die out (compared to other sports) simply because the populations are going to continue their exodus from the cold climates to nicer areas. Bettman isn't an idiot because of the markets he tried expanding into (it is very good for the future of the league), he is an idiot because he hasn't been controlling the people being put in charge of these markets. For every franchise that takes off (Ducks, Sharks, Hurricanes, Stars, maybe even Lightning) you have those that never really compete and are in constant turmoil (Panthers, Predators, Thrashers [though, they have an insanely rich corporate market that can keep them alive]).

ktownboy Posted
(2009-10-17 02:01:10)

Reminds me of what Jack Kent Cooke said after losing money with the Kings. He figured that hockey would do well in Los Angeles because it had the fourth largest Canadian population in North America. He said Canadians must have moved there because they did not like hockey.

statisticsarefun Posted
(2009-10-17 01:24:35)

Time to shrink back! Let's go down to 24 teams. 5 x 6 games + 6 x 4 games + 12 x 2 games = 78 game season.

yngvarthemean Posted
(2009-10-17 00:07:32)

All of you guys are missing the point . . . The NHL has stated that they only want a person of "good character" to own the Coyotes. Once Peter Pocklington gets to remove his ankle bracelet - he'll be down with Bruce McNall to buy the franchise and everything will be fine.