Poor attendance

Rocko604

Sports will break your heart.
Apr 29, 2009
8,562
273
Vancouver, BC
Without the outdoor game the average attendance was under 5,000 people. Last time it was in Buffalo it was over 10,000. This was hardly a well attended event outside of 2 games.

It's fair to ask, though, what attendance would have been for the other US games if the outdoor game didn't happen. How much were tickets for that game on its own? Also, wasn't the USA/Finland game up against the Bills/Dolphins? Yes, the game was in Miami, but it was a must win for the Bills, so I would imagine all eyes were on that.
 

PG Canuck

Registered User
Mar 29, 2010
62,739
23,887
Well maybe don’t host the damn thing in the same place 3 out of the last four years.

I agree it’s stupid. They shouldn’t be hosting prelim games in huge arenas either, it feels stupid. Saskatoon etc the atmosphere was electric.
 

EverybodyLovesRay

Registered User
Sep 21, 2008
637
57
Really pathetic attendance in this tournament. All in all this tournament was most boring thing to watch in recent memory, so maybe that has something to do with it? Glad this is over.
 

General Zodd

Registered User
May 6, 2013
3,323
87
Toronto
45,000 people, including me, set a World Juniors attendance record by watching US-Canada outdoors in 5F/-15C degree weather. This entire tournament will still rank top 10 all time in WJC attendance. When Guertin in Hull can top that, then you can call Buffalo a joke.
That wasn't even a real game anyway. Played outside in a FOOTBALL stadium with a driving-snow type of blizzard plus negative 1600F temperatures!! lol Plus a lot the tickets were papered and freebies. All other games were weak and embarrassing. Buffalo is a shitty hockey town. Every game in 2009 was sold-out in Ottawa at 20.000+ while Toronto had similar number last year. Keep digging sunshine....
 

Bounces R Way

Registered User
Nov 18, 2013
33,476
52,668
Weegartown
At least the gold medal game was good. It usually is in this tournament. Not every place can fill a rink for junior hockey for two weeks. Plus they do it every year.

As much as it was a slog hockey game I thought US Canada matchup was good spectacle for the fans. Always enjoy watching these kids compete for their countries. They're not playing for a paycheque and haven't had the enthusiasm for the sport coached or of them yet.
 

Blender

Registered User
Dec 2, 2009
51,305
45,253
That wasn't even a real game anyway. Played outside in a FOOTBALL stadium with a driving-snow type of blizzard plus negative 1600F temperatures!! lol Plus a lot the tickets were papered and freebies. All other games were weak and embarrassing. Buffalo is a ****ty hockey town. Every game in 2009 was sold-out in Ottawa at 20.000+ while Toronto had similar number last year. Keep digging sunshine....
Where are you getting these numbers from? Link

Average attendance last time it was in Buffalo was 10,635. Ottawa in 2009 was 14,622. Toronto/Montreal in 2017 was 8,596 and 12,212 in 2015.
 

ek93

Registered User
Dec 28, 2014
1,664
1,187
New York
That wasn't even a real game anyway. Played outside in a FOOTBALL stadium with a driving-snow type of blizzard plus negative 1600F temperatures!! lol Plus a lot the tickets were papered and freebies. All other games were weak and embarrassing. Buffalo is a ****ty hockey town. Every game in 2009 was sold-out in Ottawa at 20.000+ while Toronto had similar number last year. Keep digging sunshine....
This place never ceases to amaze me. :laugh::help:

Don't let the factual TV ratings by market get in the way of your narrative just because bad weather, high prices, the Bills making the playoffs and over saturation of the market led to low attendance of JUNIOR hockey games, most of which were played during workdays.

And thank you to the guy above me who proved the rest of your post was incorrect, too. The last time Buffalo hosted they had higher numbers than Toronto in 2017. Toronto must be a really shitty hockey town. Am I doing this right?

Or maybe, just maybe, it was because of over saturation of the market and high prices, kinda like what happened this year? Noooo, couldn't be. Buffalo must just be a shitty hockey town. Keep digging sunshine. :laugh:
 
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thebigbea

Registered User
Jun 14, 2011
2,140
310
Let’s hope Vancouver gets a great crowd. Heard more than 50% of the tickets packages are sold already.. got my tickets first day, can’t wait
 

nhlfan9191

Registered User
Aug 4, 2010
19,585
17,344
To use a saying from Easel, "Less is more". While Moncton and Halifax don't have big NHL sized arenas, they will be absolutely packed and the atmosphere will be electric. Just watching highlights from the 03 WIC when it was in Halifax will give you a sense at how the crowds will be.

Like others have said it's simple. Lower prices+ Host in smaller market cities and attendance problems like Buffalo won't happen.

I’ve been to many NHL games and hockey events in general and the best atmosphere I’ve ever experienced in my life was the WJC in Saskatoon in 2010. It was louder then a few playoff games I’ve been too.
 
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Canadian Finn

Oskee Wee Wee
Feb 21, 2014
4,957
4,333
The Hammer
This place never ceases to amaze me. :laugh::help:

Don't let the factual TV ratings by market get in the way of your narrative just because bad weather, high prices, the Bills making the playoffs and over saturation of the market led to low attendance of JUNIOR hockey games, most of which were played during workdays.

And thank you to the guy above me who proved the rest of your post was incorrect, too. The last time Buffalo hosted they had higher numbers than Toronto in 2017. Toronto must be a really ****ty hockey town. Am I doing this right?

Or maybe, just maybe, it was because of over saturation of the market and high prices, kinda like what happened this year? Noooo, couldn't be. Buffalo must just be a ****ty hockey town. Keep digging sunshine. :laugh:

Toronto had the prelim games in 2017. Montreal had the tournament.

When Toronto had it, in 2015, numbers were approx 50% higher than buffalo.

(that is over 1.5 times more, if your from buffalo, and don't understand percentages)
 
Last edited by a moderator:

donghabs98

Moderator
Oct 14, 2010
32,820
17,024
Halifax
I’ve been to many NHL games and hockey events in general and the best atmosphere I’ve ever experienced in my life was the WJC in Saskatoon in 2010. It was louder then a few playoff games I’ve been too.

2010 was a fantastic tournament. The games were rocking for many of the games even non-Canadian ones. It's evidence of the success that smaller size cities that have.
 

Pouchkine

Registered User
May 20, 2015
2,731
294
2 years in a row that the Gold Medal game featuring Canada didn't sell out. The average for the games this year apart from the joke outside game and the final are probably around 1500 people at the games. Worst U20 tournament ever both in terms of crowds and quality of games.
 

Chainshot

Give 'em Enough Rope
Sponsor
Feb 28, 2002
148,140
96,771
Tarnation
IIHF and USAH must be feeling insecure if they are publishing tickets distributed figures for attendance.
 

Pouchkine

Registered User
May 20, 2015
2,731
294
Let's be honest if Canada isn't in the final there's probably no more than 2000 people at the final...
 

Pouchkine

Registered User
May 20, 2015
2,731
294
Are you serious? Nobody from the US went to the games, they had on average probably 1500 for their games most of them wearing red Canadian jerseys...
 

berklon

Registered User
Dec 24, 2008
1,542
359
Buffalo should never have hosted it... and should never host it again.
These games are relying WAY too much on Canadian hockey fans. Just like the last time Buffalo hosted it, the arena was swarming with red. A US/Canada game in Buffalo truly feels like a home game for Canada.

The Sabres aren't much different... a big amount of Canadians go to their games.
 

Statsy

Registered User
Dec 21, 2009
4,665
2,504
Vancouver
Not much you can do about the lack of enthusiasm in the US. If they want big crowds it's always going to be held along the Canadian border. The WJC has been making strides in other countries like Sweden and Finland over the last few years, but those are countries where hockey is already a primary sport. The US is still a LONG way from embracing this tournament.
 

Selanne00008

Registered User
Jun 2, 2006
4,943
825
NYC - UES
has anyone mentioned the atrocious weather in buffalo? Doesn't help when there are 75 car pile up on the main highway. Doesn't account all the poor attendance but it is worth mentioning.
 

Statsy

Registered User
Dec 21, 2009
4,665
2,504
Vancouver
has anyone mentioned the atrocious weather in buffalo? Doesn't help when there are 75 car pile up on the main highway. Doesn't account all the poor attendance but it is worth mentioning.
Back in my day we didn't stop going somewhere until there were 80 cars in the pile up. :laugh:
 

Rob

Registered User
Feb 27, 2002
8,954
1,452
New Brunswick
Visit site
USA Hockey made this choice to try and cash in on Canadian fans coming across. Next time they should be so greedy and pick a legit college town and charge a more reasonable amount for the tickets. Don't treat it like an event to profit from.
 

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