4 out of 5 Canadian teams did not sell out last night

[sandysan]

I don't think the game growing in the USA is causing Canadians to lose interest. In fact it growing in the USA is nothing but good for the game, the United States IS the next powerhouse in hockey and it will remain that way for the forseeable future IF the game continues to grow as much as it has recently. I think the problem in Canada is not so much the popularity elsewhere, it's the cost here. It is incredibly expensive in Canada to put your child through hockey, so much so that most parents just cannot afford it and are putting their children in other sports.

you think it is cheaper in the states where there are far fewer rinks ?
is hockey growing in some parts of the states ? Sure. but the growth we see isn't sustainable unless people pony up and build new sheets ( it seems VERY unlikely that these will be paid for with public funds like they are in Canada). Because of that cost, growth is going to reach a cap relatively soon or we will replace the current batch of players with a richer batch that can absorb increasing ice rental costs.

 

[Tom Polakis]

"What's your solution to get attendance up again" has been answered multiple times in this thread. Player salaries, cost of arenas, and other expenses have outpaced the average customer's ability to pay for them. It's simple economics.

 

[sandysan]

Last time I went to a Habs game it cost 500 bucks for 2 nose bleed tickets. Now look at the product the Habs have on the ice.

- A team that has no direction. Too good to get good draft picks and too bad to do any damage in the playoffs.

- A coach who is a dinosaur and has been burying what should be the exciting parts of the team in their youth (like KK) down the lineup and ruining his confidence by singling him out for every little thing.

- A GM who won't make any big win now trades or any future trades. He stays patient and will only get players on discounts (hence his Bargin bin nick name). Who is the Habs best forward? This year is easily Drouin. If Drouin or Domi are your best forward god help you. And now Drouin is out until the new year basically ensuring missing the playoffs.

- Going on 3 years now with 10M in cap space being unused as their best players exit their primes (Price and Weber). This is after refusing to pay Radulov and Markov and letting them walk.

It's simple. The cost vs product just isn't there. Molson is happy to just let the team bring him in money and let the product suck. Going on 30 years without a cup for the Habs, soon to be 3 out of last 4 years without the playoffs.

How do I know all this? I live in their broadcast region and my entire family are Habs fans so I hear their rants.

did brendan gallagher die ?

And we offered to pay radulov market price. what we didnt want to do is OVERPAY for radulov. He's a UFA, its his choice but radulov is precisely the type of player you DON'T back the brinks truck up for.

and of the kids that are getting buried, Suzuki is doing just fine.

we have problems, sure, but more drouin aint the antidote because he isnt now, and never has been the habs best forward.

 

[sepHF]

Keep growing the game in the USA. Canadians are losing interest.

we cant afford it... lol

 

[DJJones]

Flames have a monster 19,289 capacity rink. For their population size, I’d say it’s too large and obviously the rink is too old.

I attend quite a few games a season and honestly, they sell out. The only available seats are generally in the nose bleeds that have an obstructed view. Not selling out 2000+ seats that feels like you’re scaling a mountain to get to your seat with awful sight-lines isn’t a problem.

The important thing is they sell out the expensive tickets and the boxes which is way more important to the bottom line.

I think they used to count the Sports Chek zone as sold out all the time regardless if anyone bought the ticket or not. So all of our sell outs from the passed decade probably has an asterisk on them. I can't remember when that changed and why.

But oh well, nose bleeds are gigantic and cheap. They don't need to sell out every game.

 

[mondo3]

Winnipeg is still selling out, but it's much easier to buy second hand seats now, and it's getting tougher to sell seats. I really think it's an economics issue, with seat prices rising more than the cost of living percentage. I have no idea how this can be fixed

 

[Duke749]

Winnipeg is still selling out, but it's much easier to buy second hand seats now, and it's getting tougher to sell seats. I really think it's an economics issue, with seat prices rising more than the cost of living percentage. I have no idea how this can be fixed

I have no idea how the people of Winnipeg even afford season tickets. Their prices are nuts(as are most Canadian teams). Feel like you really gotta have your finances in order to do it.

 

[blueandgoldguy]

I have no idea how the people of Winnipeg even afford season tickets. Their prices are nuts(as are most Canadian teams). Feel like you really gotta have your finances in order to do it.

Keep in mind many people split tickets 2 or even 5 ways so someone a pair of season tickets at $10,000 total might actually be paying $2,000 - $5,000 per year...and that amount may be further divided by selling to friends/co-workers/online resale. Not cheap of course, but considerably less than paying for the full season on your own.

I think a healthy percentage of tickets are bought by corporations/businesses. Winnipeg doesn't have an abundance of those sexy tech jobs compared to other cities (although it's improving) but it has a very healthy manufacturing hub in Western Canada...as well as several prominent investment firms in Canada and I would guess they purchase a significant portion of the suites and more expensive seats in the arena.

With that said, it appears things are coming to a head. When ticket prices increase at a greater rate than economic growth in a city/region it is an absolute certainty that the supply for the product will exceed demand.

 

[Oak]

I don't think the game growing in the USA is causing Canadians to lose interest. In fact it growing in the USA is nothing but good for the game, the United States IS the next powerhouse in hockey and it will remain that way for the forseeable future IF the game continues to grow as much as it has recently. I think the problem in Canada is not so much the popularity elsewhere, it's the cost here. It is incredibly expensive in Canada to put your child through hockey, so much so that most parents just cannot afford it and are putting their children in other sports.

Yes you are right. Also the changing demographic in Canada on top of the cost is really what is changing things. A lot of new immigrants in Canada are not looking to put their kids in hockey.

 

[Hammettf2b]

Ticket prices seem like a problem in Canada. Here in Los Angeles/Anaheim you can always get tickets for under $30 even $20. Glass seats will run you about $175. Of course its not as popular as a Canadian market but whats the point if you are pricing out that market with ridiculous prices to the point that your fans aren't showing up.

 

[NyQuil]

"What's your solution to get attendance up again" has been answered multiple times in this thread. Player salaries, cost of arenas, and other expenses have outpaced the average customer's ability to pay for them. It's simple economics.

Complacency is a factor as well.

Fans hate work stoppages but boy are they ever excited when hockey comes back.

The NHL and the NHLPA missed an opportunity to make hockey tickets a rarity.

 

[Bouboumaster]

Last time I went to a Habs game it cost 500 bucks for 2 nose bleed tickets. Now look at the product the Habs have on the ice.

- A team that has no direction. Too good to get good draft picks and too bad to do any damage in the playoffs.

- A coach who is a dinosaur and has been burying what should be the exciting parts of the team in their youth (like KK) down the lineup and ruining his confidence by singling him out for every little thing.

- A GM who won't make any big win now trades or any future trades. He stays patient and will only get players on discounts (hence his Bargin bin nick name). Who is the Habs best forward? This year is easily Drouin. If Drouin or Domi are your best forward god help you. And now Drouin is out until the new year basically ensuring missing the playoffs.

- Going on 3 years now with 10M in cap space being unused as their best players exit their primes (Price and Weber). This is after refusing to pay Radulov and Markov and letting them walk.

It's simple. The cost vs product just isn't there. Molson is happy to just let the team bring him in money and let the product suck. Going on 30 years without a cup for the Habs, soon to be 3 out of last 4 years without the playoffs.

How do I know all this? I live in their broadcast region and my entire family are Habs fans so I hear their rants.

Last time I went to a Habs game it cost 500 bucks for 2 nose bleed tickets. Now look at the product the Habs have on the ice.

- A team that has no direction. Too good to get good draft picks and too bad to do any damage in the playoffs.

- A coach who is a dinosaur and has been burying what should be the exciting parts of the team in their youth (like KK) down the lineup and ruining his confidence by singling him out for every little thing.

- A GM who won't make any big win now trades or any future trades. He stays patient and will only get players on discounts (hence his Bargin bin nick name). Who is the Habs best forward? This year is easily Drouin. If Drouin or Domi are your best forward god help you. And now Drouin is out until the new year basically ensuring missing the playoffs.

- Going on 3 years now with 10M in cap space being unused as their best players exit their primes (Price and Weber). This is after refusing to pay Radulov and Markov and letting them walk.

It's simple. The cost vs product just isn't there. Molson is happy to just let the team bring him in money and let the product suck. Going on 30 years without a cup for the Habs, soon to be 3 out of last 4 years without the playoffs.

How do I know all this? I live in their broadcast region and my entire family are Habs fans so I hear their rants.

Mostly spot-on.
I would add that Bargain Bin is top worst GM in the league, easely.
He just can't fill the holes we have, for whatever reasons.
He's like the Anti-Poile.