Early attendance trends in the NHL

by James Mirtle on Oct 26, 2009 5:28 PM CDT Comment 44 comments

Keep in mind that it's still very early to draw conclusions. I'm comparing the full season attendance totals from last season to the attendance average through the first 12-per-cent of the 2009-10 regular season:

RNK	TEAM	GMS	2008-09	2009-10	Diff
1	Atlanta	3	14,626	15,560	934
2	St. Louis	4	18,554	19,150	596
3	New Jersey	4	15,790	16,114	324
4	Colorado	4	15,429	15,696	267
5	Vancouver	6	18,630	18,810	180
6	Washington	5	18,097	18,277	180
7	Pittsburgh	6	16,975	17,079	104
8	San Jose	3	17,488	17,562	74
9	Florida	3	15,621	15,655	34
10	NY Rangers	6	18,172	18,200	28
11	Columbus	3	15,543	15,563	20
12	Calgary	6	19,289	19,289	0
13	Edmonton	7	16,839	16,839	0
14	Montreal	5	21,273	21,273	0
15	Toronto	5	19,312	19,252	-60
16	Buffalo	5	18,531	18,443	-88
17	Philadelphia	6	19,545	19,369	-176
18	Boston	6	17,039	16,756	-283
19	Minnesota	3	18,568	18,192	-376
20	Ottawa	6	18,949	18,550	-399
21	Dallas	4	17,680	17,229	-451
22	Detroit	4	19,865	19,183	-682
23	Los Angeles	5	16,488	15,798	-690
24	Carolina	4	16,572	15,629	-943
25	Nashville	4	15,010	13,572	-1,438
26	Tampa Bay	5	16,497	14,987	-1,510
27	NY Islanders	5	13,773	12,065	-1,708
28	Anaheim	5	16,990	15,253	-1,737
29	Chicago	6	22,247	20,271	-1,976
30	Phoenix	5	14,875	10,699	-4,176

Teams that played games in Europe have not had their totals adjusted and may be off for that reason. Chicago is significantly lower in part due to the Winter Classic last season boosting their totals so high. And the Coyotes' figures are higher than they should be due to the misleading numbers posted in the sold out home opener.

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The Hawks

also took out about 750 seats for some new bars.

twitter.com/BlackhawksDL

by Original Six on Oct 26, 2009 5:31 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

the Blackhawks new sellout seating capacity has been reduced to 19,717 (formerly 20,500).

link with pictures

twitter.com/BlackhawksDL

by Original Six on Oct 26, 2009 5:33 PM CDT up reply actions 1 recs

It should be noted that the Sharks have added 66 seats to HP Pavilion by moving the broadcast booth, which explains why there is relatively significant higher attendance despite averaging only 8 people less than a sell-out last year.

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by mymclife on Oct 26, 2009 5:37 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

I always thought it was weird that the broadcast booth was so far down in the crowd.

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by Doogie2K on Oct 26, 2009 5:38 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

When they built the arena, they forgot to put in a broadcast booth, so they just stuck it in the stands. I guess they didn’t feel like trying to find somewhere else until now, when they’re selling out every night and tickets are going for at least twice their face value.

"I think I realized after the second or third punch, I should have taken his helmet off sooner." - Ryane Clowe
Proud member of the "Don't Trade Marleau" Club
Fools and Sages

by mymclife on Oct 26, 2009 5:58 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

That was a … slight … oversight.

by Resolute on Oct 26, 2009 5:59 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Originally, the arena’s plans didn’t even have luxury suites or a press box, but then the NHL found out and forced them to change it to bring it up to standards. Compared to that, forgetting to put in a broadcast booth is nothing.

"I think I realized after the second or third punch, I should have taken his helmet off sooner." - Ryane Clowe
Proud member of the "Don't Trade Marleau" Club
Fools and Sages

by mymclife on Oct 26, 2009 7:11 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

That must be why the luxury boxes are all the way up in the rafters.

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by Jibblescribbits on Oct 27, 2009 8:21 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Which is where they belong, honestly.

Now, you can follow my uninteresting life on Twitter.

by Nael M. on Oct 27, 2009 2:02 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

If you’ve ever sat in a box just above the lower level, you might not think so. Beautiful place to watch from.

Blogging on hockey at fromtherink.com

by James Mirtle on Oct 27, 2009 4:37 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Well la di da, your majesty.

The West Coast is the Best Coast.

by RudyKelly on Oct 27, 2009 6:35 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

I have, actually, thanks to tickets from my father’s employer a few years back. While they’re nice, I guess I’m old fashioned (and at 24, no less!) in that I enjoy the company of passionate fans more than I do bored corporate suits.

Plus, I have been kind of disgusted at the ways teams in other sports have been integrating suites into their stadia. Field-level suites at Cowboys Stadium or the underground(!) suites at the Palace at Auburn Hills have been ugly reminders of just how expensive live sports have become on this continent.

Now, you can follow my uninteresting life on Twitter.

by Nael M. on Oct 27, 2009 7:02 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Only about half the boxes are in the rafters...

The other half are lower level, just behind row 25, tucked in under the second deck. The view is spectacular.

(Missing the days when the wife’s company had Box 1—one of the two lower level boxes on the red line. Those were the days!)

The story was that George Gund told the city they needed to upgrade the arena if they hoped to get a team—which they did, by adding the club level concourse and skyboxes. Tacked another year of playing in the Cow Palace to get it all done.

by bison on Oct 29, 2009 3:36 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Ever the watchdog mymclife. Came here to post the same thing.

Here’s an article on it (middle of the piece) for anyone interested.

Fear The Fin: Where Selling Your Soul Is The Likely Solution

by Mr. Plank on Oct 26, 2009 6:01 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

She also beat me. I was also going to explain the broadcast booth.

FIRE BRUCE BOCHY NOW!!!!!!
AND TAKE BRIAN SABEAN WITH HIM!!!!!

by 49er16 on Oct 26, 2009 6:32 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Dear Mr. Jacobs,

So sorry to see that attendance is down through the first few games! I wish I could contribute and go to a few myself, but unfortunately, somehow the prices on tickets went up beyond what I can afford. I cannot imagine that you would ever do such a thing, so I guess it was just a function of price speculators, like the oil market. In the meanwhile, I am still supporting the development of your club by attending it’s AHL affiliate in Providence. I still have $100 of vouchers left – that could get me into as many as 10 games! Hopefully, this support is some consolation for my inability to spend $70 for a nosebleed seat at the Garden. Best of luck!

Sincerely,
Arenacale
Bruins Fan

P.S. – I do hope you are able to buy the Buffalo Bills. Soon.

by Arenacale on Oct 26, 2009 5:46 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

Geez

You guys are getting gouged. Those tickets are more expensive than Montreal’s for the same seating area. Except for the 12 premium games….Hasn’t Jacobs found out about that niche to wring more cash out of you guys yet?

by Exit716 on Oct 27, 2009 1:02 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

I assume Vancouver just want some space for extra seats...

As they sold out every home game last season, and I think they’ve sold out every home game this season, too.

by dbarefoot on Oct 26, 2009 6:43 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

I believe the Canucks are up to almost 270 consecutive sellouts after last night. I’m sure they could half fill BC Place if they chose to play games there.

I've seen enough to know that I've seen too much.

by Smoboy41 on Oct 26, 2009 7:49 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

I’m proud to be sitting in one of the Capitals’ newly-filled seats this season. I should really go introduce myself to the other 179…

IS PAЯTY NOW

by Your Nation's Capital on Oct 26, 2009 9:25 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

Anyone know how these numbers comport with the league's expectations?

And am I right in thinking that it’s this year’s attendance numbers that will determine where the cap is set next June?

Wait till this year.

by Quisp on Oct 26, 2009 9:48 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

If you take out the 40,818 that were reported to be at the winter classic from the Hawks total attendance last year, you get an average of 21,252 rather than the 22,247 that they averaged last year. So they’re only down 981 from last year.

And if you factor in the renovations, probably down something like 200-300 from 2008-09.

Fire Jim Leyland

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by Mike Rogers on Oct 26, 2009 10:05 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

Having been to a majority of the home games so far, it definitely feels a lot emptier in there than last season did. Far more than 200-300.

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by hawksfan21 on Oct 26, 2009 10:28 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

They sold 100 level tickets today

for $30 to students. I’m not sure if this was planned, or if they just needed to move those last tickets. But the price increase this season has definitely hurt attendance a little.

twitter.com/BlackhawksDL

by Original Six on Oct 27, 2009 12:01 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Not good for Islanders or Anaheim

The Islanders are in more trouble than I thought

Blue and Gold (of Buffalo)

by Ebscer on Oct 27, 2009 9:41 AM CDT reply actions 0 recs

I would love to go see Tavares but I hate the Coliseum so much that I will probably wait until the Isles play Jersey to see him.

The population of Pominville keeps rising!

by Blackcapricorn on Oct 27, 2009 10:42 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

I don’t have time to look into this closely, but so far half of the teams have experienced a drop in attendence, for an average league-wide drop of about 2.5%. The US economy has fallen much more than that, so while not good, maybe that number isn’t too bad.

However, the fact that it’s only based on a few games makes it even worse in my opinion, because everyone starts out equal (ie: your team isn’t in the basement yet) and will receive a boost for their home opener, and the numbers from season’s ticket holders are pretty much set. It’s a lot harder for attendence to go up from this point, and a lot easier to go down.

by Fultron on Oct 27, 2009 12:04 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

I believe US teams in cities with NFL teams typical see a boost in attendance in January/February. In Chicago, they won’t see that this year because they cut capacity (but are still selling out). Detroit and Phoenix obviously have bigger issues than their local football teams. But places like Dallas, Minnesota, and Philly could potentially see increases.

by RedBirdie on Oct 27, 2009 12:43 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Denver

I can guarantee Denver will see an increase when the Broncos are done.

The New Improved Avalanche. Now with Real Coaches!
Jibblescribbits: C'mon over and waste some time

by Jibblescribbits on Oct 27, 2009 12:59 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Nashville too.

by Afino on Oct 27, 2009 3:39 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

I thought the NFL was done in Nashville for the season

The New Improved Avalanche. Now with Real Coaches!
Jibblescribbits: C'mon over and waste some time

by Jibblescribbits on Oct 27, 2009 3:41 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

I assume Colorado will also see a boost from their hot start? If they can hang on until football season ends, could be a packed house again.

I think Columbus could see a bump when Ohio State football season ends, too. Luckily for them, that comes much sooner than the end of the NFL season.

by RedBirdie on Oct 27, 2009 11:01 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

That’s absolutely true in most cities, which is why it’s so disingenuous to bring this up right now. Comparing the “worst” part of the season with an entire season smacks of agenda.

by boltsfan222 on Oct 28, 2009 3:25 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

FWIW

Those numbers actually slightly flatter the Coyotes. Through five games last year, they announced an average of 15,376. Attendance went down late when the NHL told them to stop buying their own tickets to get to the revenue sharing target.

by Resolute on Oct 27, 2009 1:10 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

“Teams that played games in Europe have not had their totals adjusted and may be off for that reason. Chicago is significantly lower in part due to the Winter Classic last season boosting their totals so high. And the Coyotes’ figures are higher than they should be due to the misleading numbers posted in the sold out home opener.”

The Coyotes numbers aren’t misleading, these are attendance figures after all, not gate receipt numbers. Also how is Chicago lower due to the Winter Classic if you’re only comparing the first 12% of last season to the first 12% of this season, since the Winter Classic wouldn’t be reflected in those numbers.

by Joey Joe Joe Junior Shabadoo on Oct 27, 2009 8:27 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

I’m comparing the full season attendance totals from last season to the attendance average through the first 12-per-cent of the 2009-10 regular season

12% is only for this season.

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by bkblades on Oct 27, 2009 9:38 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Atlanta!

At the top

SEE?! Hockey in the south works if you show an interest in icing a team of professional players.

by antbogey on Oct 28, 2009 11:57 AM CDT reply actions 0 recs

Are these numbers paid attendance, or whoever happens to wander through the doors during the game?

I've seen enough to know that I've seen too much.

by Smoboy41 on Oct 28, 2009 1:50 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

paid attendance.

by RedBirdie on Oct 28, 2009 10:48 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

No they’re just the announced figures that the league provides. That is all that is readily available.

Blogging on hockey at fromtherink.com

by James Mirtle on Oct 28, 2009 11:19 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

"Percentage-of-capacity"

… would have been a good column to add here. I’m guessing that CAL/EDM/MON have zero movement because a sold-out season doesn’t leave any room to improve the attendance numbers.

If the earlier comment regarding Chicago Stadium is true, then the Hawks are still over 100% capacity, despite showing up at #29 on this list.

by BleedBlue42 on Oct 29, 2009 9:14 AM CDT reply actions 0 recs