Jaded-Fan
Registered User
Or so an article from today claims. From SBN (Sports Business News), some interesting points made, that I have heard echoed on these boards now and then.
Headline Central
February 4, 2005
When all is said and done, those who are hockey fans are passionate
The National Hockey League's biggest weakness during labor peace could be its greatest strength once a new collective bargaining agreement is reached. This report was written by Darren Rovell and appeared at ESPN.com
Often characterized -- and criticized -- as a niche sport with largely regional appeal, the NHL is less likely to suffer at the box office after the lockout because of its higher ratio of hard-core fans to casual fans than other major professional sports.
After the last lockout shortened the 1994-95 NHL season to 48 games, the league averaged 14,798 fans per game when it resumed play, an increase of 50 fans per game over the 1993-94 season. Attendance continued to rise the next two years.
"Because of the makeup of the NHL fan base, the league is less volatile than others when work stoppages occur," said Paul Swangard, managing director of the University of Oregon's Warsaw Sports Marketing Center, which recently studied NHL attendance data before and after its last work stoppage. "Baseball lives and breathes off the casual fan that hockey just doesn't have."
http://www.sportsbusinessnews.com/index.asp?story_id=43699
Headline Central
February 4, 2005
When all is said and done, those who are hockey fans are passionate
The National Hockey League's biggest weakness during labor peace could be its greatest strength once a new collective bargaining agreement is reached. This report was written by Darren Rovell and appeared at ESPN.com
Often characterized -- and criticized -- as a niche sport with largely regional appeal, the NHL is less likely to suffer at the box office after the lockout because of its higher ratio of hard-core fans to casual fans than other major professional sports.
After the last lockout shortened the 1994-95 NHL season to 48 games, the league averaged 14,798 fans per game when it resumed play, an increase of 50 fans per game over the 1993-94 season. Attendance continued to rise the next two years.
"Because of the makeup of the NHL fan base, the league is less volatile than others when work stoppages occur," said Paul Swangard, managing director of the University of Oregon's Warsaw Sports Marketing Center, which recently studied NHL attendance data before and after its last work stoppage. "Baseball lives and breathes off the casual fan that hockey just doesn't have."
http://www.sportsbusinessnews.com/index.asp?story_id=43699