Rob
Registered User
According to hockey database their attendance last year was 1712. Might be inflated for some reason though.
According to hockey database their attendance last year was 1712. Might be inflated for some reason though.
That number caught me by surprise so I just did a quick scan of their box scores. They did not report attendance for 12 out of 14 games. That number is based on 2 games - 1812 against Laurentian (which was one of those 11am "school day" games where they bring in lots of high school kids), and 1612 against McGill, which is a pretty good crowd.
I only went to one game this year (against Waterloo) and there were about 400 in the rink. I've gone to their games for years and that's a pretty typical crowd. Against a good team - like Lakehead several years ago - they might pull in 800-1,000.
The Question is, and I don't know the answer. maybe someone on these boards has an idea.
Do we know at all, what the minimum attendance per game would have to be to break even or have a chance to break even based on presumed concession sales.
In the case of UNB, does selling 3000 Tournament passes guarantee they will make a huge profit or simply have a chance to break even.
Or compare to I have no doubt Wolfville would sellout their 1800 Seat Rink and Antigonish their 2300 Seat Rink for the Tournament, would that be enough that they will break even or make profit, or will they be guaranteed to lose money even with the presumed concession sales.
You would need to average around 3,000. UNB made money at the other two University Cups, but with the addition of 2 extra teams, it is now a challenge to break even. Extra hotel, transportation, in the the form of busses, meals for the teams as long as they stay in town etc.
Huge 50/50 sales throughout the tournament helped. Although , UNB doesn't get the revenue from the liquor and beer sales.
UNB, also owns the facility, not the city, so minimal cost . A volunteer committee organized the event, also minimal cost to the University.
Overall, I would be shocked, if they didn't make money.
As for the Keating Center (X) too small and I think that capacity is under 2,000, not 2,400.
AUC was 3,800 before adding corporate boxes, It is now 3,400, but UCup figures exclude volunteers, staff, players etc. They oversold and packed the building during Thursday,Saturday's and Sunday's game that involved the home team.
The overall cost to host such an event could easily reach $250-300,000. You need lot's of corporate support to make it happen. That's why Fredericton will host again, because the CIS knows that they will do a good job and provide a positive environment for the student athlete.
As long as the Q stays out and UNB remains competitive.
You would need to average around 3,000. UNB made money at the other two University Cups, but with the addition of 2 extra teams, it is now a challenge to break even. Extra hotel, transportation, in the the form of busses, meals for the teams as long as they stay in town etc.
Huge 50/50 sales throughout the tournament helped. Although , UNB doesn't get the revenue from the liquor and beer sales.
UNB, also owns the facility, not the city, so minimal cost . A volunteer committee organized the event, also minimal cost to the University.
Overall, I would be shocked, if they didn't make money.
As for the Keating Center (X) too small and I think that capacity is under 2,000, not 2,400.
AUC was 3,800 before adding corporate boxes, It is now 3,400, but UCup figures exclude volunteers, staff, players etc. They oversold and packed the building during Thursday,Saturday's and Sunday's game that involved the home team.
The overall cost to host such an event could easily reach $250-300,000. You need lot's of corporate support to make it happen. That's why Fredericton will host again, because the CIS knows that they will do a good job and provide a positive environment for the student athlete.
As long as the Q stays out and UNB remains competitive.
And that figure is contingent on the host team owning their facility.
Once you get into having to rent a facility, the costs increase quickly.
Much of the discussion on this board has considered whether or not there is a suitable facility in the city, not whether or not the host school owns it.
I think you can eliminate schools such as Western, Queen's, etc. From discussion because the cost of renting the local OHL arena would be too high to make the tournament viable.
You would need to average around 3,000. UNB made money at the other two University Cups, but with the addition of 2 extra teams, it is now a challenge to break even. Extra hotel, transportation, in the the form of busses, meals for the teams as long as they stay in town etc.
Huge 50/50 sales throughout the tournament helped. Although , UNB doesn't get the revenue from the liquor and beer sales.
UNB, also owns the facility, not the city, so minimal cost . A volunteer committee organized the event, also minimal cost to the University.
Overall, I would be shocked, if they didn't make money.
As for the Keating Center (X) too small and I think that capacity is under 2,000, not 2,400.
AUC was 3,800 before adding corporate boxes, It is now 3,400, but UCup figures exclude volunteers, staff, players etc. They oversold and packed the building during Thursday,Saturday's and Sunday's game that involved the home team.
The overall cost to host such an event could easily reach $250-300,000. You need lot's of corporate support to make it happen. That's why Fredericton will host again, because the CIS knows that they will do a good job and provide a positive environment for the student athlete.
As long as the Q stays out and UNB remains competitive.
Very accurate I would say, from talking to committee members, the goal was to break even, lots of extra expenses this time (two extra teams), so they were happy to break even, though they thought they would be taking a small loss. Yes they did oversell, I have heard reports of people with tickets being turned away at the door, which I would have been angry about.
Like previously stated, even the AUC is not ideal to host an 8 team even, they don't have the dressing rooms, press rooms, nor the storage room for the extra equipment. The rooms on the soccer field side are not ideal to house an university hockey team (with the exception of the double room down on the far end).
Now, I am not sure how accurate this is, but I have heard that they are closing down the AUC next spring after the Nationals to blow out the side of the AUC on the parking lot side. They are going to expand the bottom of the AUC for new dressing rooms, fitness rooms, coaches room. Though it would be very hard, would be nice to add some seating, like a balcony section in the Moncton Coliseum, though I know it would never happen, as it could open the door to a QMJHL team looking to move.
Second to last point, I have been told that for the AUC to house a QMJHL team, it would cost upwards of a $1million to get it up to Q League requirements, again, this is just what I have been told. I can not see UNB putting in that much money (or any for that matter) that would lead to having a competing team for the hockey dollars in Freddy.
Last point, it will be a while before UNB applies to host a national event, any national event. Having just hosted soccer, and back to back hockey, they want to take a break. Lots of work goes into hosting, lots of volunteers, time, money.
From what I was told, it is not planned until after next years nationals (new ice plant is going in starting next week). It is going to get crowded in there with the woman's team playing out of the AUC once again. Again, this is what I have heard, nothing is confirmed.I couldnt see them blowing out the side of the AUC to add more room to dressing rooms for one more year of this tournament. The cost would be massive and after next tournament it wouldnt be needed again possibly.
Whats Brutal about the AUC when full, is the concourse is so congested. It takes forever to walk anywhere. All bathrooms are lined up into the hall. And forget about hoping to get a Slice of Pizza after the first period, i think they ran out after 1 period every game
Whats Brutal about the AUC when full, is the concourse is so congested. It takes forever to walk anywhere. All bathrooms are lined up into the hall. And forget about hoping to get a Slice of Pizza after the first period, i think they ran out after 1 period every game
The concourse is congested because people stand in the middle and yak. I do agree that it is tight, but if people would put one foot in front of the other it is less so.
The concourse is congested because people stand in the middle and yak. I do agree that it is tight, but if people would put one foot in front of the other it is less so.
Another factor in hosting is the fact that the host team may be out after one game. The only area that I feel that would not be a large issue is in the AUS where you have all 3 entries within 3-4 hours of the venue and you have a good chance to see at least one team playing on Sunday.
I agree with cishockeyfan that interest will fade over time if the event is held in the same place year after year. We'll have to wait a few months until the bids are in.
Here's a question I don't know the answer to.
I know times were different then. But how were the cost of the CIS Championship looked after from 1988 to 1997, when Varsity Arena and Toronto Hosted the tournament for 10 straight seasons? No Host Team, Barely any great crowds.
The first year final was between Alberta and UNB, drawing under 4,000, but the city was blasted with a huge snowstorm on the same weekend, indeed a big factor. Like this year, that hit a couple of days prior to the event.I guess that the AUS is unique in that aspect, that the fans will travel that 3-4 hours to see their team. I thought that Halifax was an amazing host, the games were well attended, I believe that the finals were sellouts (or very close) both years. The location was great, as your hotels were close, plenty of restaurants and entertainment close by, I guess the only knock and I don't even believe it was an issue or should be, that it was not on a campus. I don't think that it affected the event whatsoever.
But lrike mentioned, like everything else, if it was there every year, the novelty of it would wear I believe. One thing about this event, I think it should be held in a city/town where it's the number one show in the city/town, given they have the facilities to host the event. Fredericton is a great spot, with the exception that the AUC could be bigger, I think an arena from 5000-7500 would be ideal for this event.