All-Purpose Attendance Thread: Poll added

[Nac Mac Feegle]

Prescott-Russell is a strangely large Bruins base, as well. I guess the old school fans that hate the Habs but didn't want to support Toronto or Ottawa pretty much migrated to Boston.

 

[stempniaksen]

Prescott-Russell is a strangely large Bruins base, as well. I guess the old school fans that hate the Habs but didn't want to support Toronto or Ottawa pretty much migrated to Boston.

I've met people from Prescott (the town) who are Bruins fans entirely because Leo Boivin was the local kid who made the NHL and played for the Bruins, even though his career ended long before they were born. Bit of a small town pride thing there for sure

I wonder if that's changed since Ben Hutton made the league.

 

[GCK]

Can anyone who was at the game confirm if there was a wack of Bruins fans? In years past they seemed to be one of the better traveling fan bases, which may account for the (slight) bump over the season average.

They are a huge draw here, lots of Bruins fans in Ottawa.

 

[Pierre from Orleans]

Not really. There predictions of terrible attendance this year, some expecting sub 10000 per game, and that just hasn’t happened.

Bodies returning to the rink to watch entertaining hockey is the end game, the attendance dollars aren’t a big deal this year.

I’m surprised at how the numbers seem to be holding steady really. It actually speaks positively to the safety of the team, and the strength of the fanbase, if this is how bad the numbers get after everything the organization has gone through.

His question still holds merit. If there are a ton of freebies given out then the strength of the support isn't as nearly strong as you indicate

 

[Nac Mac Feegle]

I've met people from Prescott (the town) who are Bruins fans entirely because Leo Boivin was the local kid who made the NHL and played for the Bruins, even though his career ended long before they were born. Bit of a small town pride thing there for sure

I wonder if that's changed since Ben Hutton made the league.

Same thing locally with the folks in Bourget. They love their hometown lad in Stephane Yelle and the Avalanche.

 

[coladin]

Can anyone who was at the game confirm if there was a wack of Bruins fans? In years past they seemed to be one of the better traveling fan bases, which may account for the (slight) bump over the season average.

There are always around 3,000 or so at each game, as I was at the previous Bruins game, and am going by jerseys, which is maybe 2,000, as there are going to be maybe another thousand (probably) who don't wear jerseys. The slight bump to the season average is due to more Senator fans watching the team

 

[Ice-Tray]

His question still holds merit. If there are a ton of freebies given out then the strength of the support isn't as nearly strong as you indicate

Whatever floats you boat man.

People turning up to games in Ottawa, in these numbers these days, is a pleasant surprise regardless of some tickets being free or discounted.

It’s a good sign for the organization, and a testament to how entertaining the team in the ice is.

 

[coladin]

Whatever floats you boat man.

People turning up to games in Ottawa, in these numbers these days, is a pleasant surprise regardless of some tickets being free or discounted.

It’s a good sign for the organization, and a testament to how entertaining the team in the ice is.

He did say "if" about the freebies. I don't even know if there are the amount of freebies as before because I am not getting any, and a Bruins game is not s "freebie" game. People clearly want the team to be supported poorly, and I am happy to see the bottoming out phase (hopefully) done with .

Ultimately, these guys are winning the fanbase back in small increments. Let's face it, people in this area love their hockey, love their Senators, and being mad is a waste of energy. Christmastime, stocking stuffers, gifts, etc...there should be more people in the stands. I will be at the matinee against a weak drawing team, curious to see what kind of number that will draw

 

[Ice-Tray]

He did say "if" about the freebies. I don't even know if there are the amount of freebies as before because I am not getting any, and a Bruins game is not s "freebie" game. People clearly want the team to be supported poorly, and I am happy to see the bottoming out phase (hopefully) done with .

Ultimately, these guys are winning the fanbase back in small increments. Let's face it, people in this area love their hockey, love their Senators, and being mad is a waste of energy. Christmastime, stocking stuffers, gifts, etc...there should be more people in the stands. I will be at the matinee against a weak drawing team, curious to see what kind of number that will draw

The team is a blast to watch, I love BT filling in Laughton the other night after a night of trash talking the bench, and then beating Boston in a rematch....

This team has never battled as hard as it does right now. It’s like we are the Gary Roberts team right now, and this time we need to add an Alfie to the mix. So much fun to watch, we just need more finish.

 

[BonkTastic]

So let me get this straight... We have the worst attendance in the league by far, with objective evidence that we are papering the building, and some people are counting "merely showing up to games for which they received free tickets" as a good sign for the organization?

...maybe I went to the wrong marketing & economics classes, but I'm going to politely decline to share that opinion and just move on.

 

[Micklebot]

There are always around 3,000 or so at each game, as I was at the previous Bruins game, and am going by jerseys, which is maybe 2,000, as there are going to be maybe another thousand (probably) who don't wear jerseys. The slight bump to the season average is due to more Senator fans watching the team

The team has been a bit more competitive than many expected, plays a style that is fun to watch (unlike Boucher's system...) and I'd like to think the Sens Pass has been successful in making up some ground.

What will be interesting is to see which opponents are draws this year. Last year we drew 17.5k against the Sharks, this year it was 9740 (I think it was billed as the return of Karlsson even though he ended up not playing. The kings drew 15k last year, this year, it was 9929. On the flip side, NYR actually drew almost 3k more this year than last year however last year was a weekday mid season game and this year was our home opener on a Saturday. Additionally, we've yet to have a home game against Toronto or Montreal, which are typically teams that boost our attendance figures, so that's 4 home games that should help. Edmonton is also typically a great draw so there's another game that should boost things. In fact, of our top draws from last year (Tor, Mtl, SJ, Pens, Edm) we've only faced SJ.

Suffice it to say, 13 home games probably isn't enough to draw firm conclusions from without digging deeper into the variables.

 

[Pierre from Orleans]

So let me get this straight... We have the worst attendance in the league by far, with objective evidence that we are papering the building, and some people are counting "merely showing up to games for which they received free tickets" as a good sign for the organization?

...maybe I went to the wrong marketing & economics classes, but I'm going to politely decline to share that opinion and just move on.

Whatever floats your boat man

 

[Micklebot]

So let me get this straight... We have the worst attendance in the league by far, with objective evidence that we are papering the building, and some people are counting "merely showing up to games for which they received free tickets" as a good sign for the organization?

...maybe I went to the wrong marketing & economics classes, but I'm going to politely decline to share that opinion and just move on.

There were definitely some freebies early on, but are we still seeing evidence of that? I haven't been seeing anything myself, so I'm asking because I really don't know an answer.

 

[BatherSeason]

He did say "if" about the freebies. I don't even know if there are the amount of freebies as before because I am not getting any, and a Bruins game is not s "freebie" game. People clearly want the team to be supported poorly, and I am happy to see the bottoming out phase (hopefully) done with .

Ultimately, these guys are winning the fanbase back in small increments. Let's face it, people in this area love their hockey, love their Senators, and being mad is a waste of energy. Christmastime, stocking stuffers, gifts, etc...there should be more people in the stands. I will be at the matinee against a weak drawing team, curious to see what kind of number that will draw

The team averaged close to 3000 more fans a game last year than they have so far this year. Not sure you can say the "bottoming out" phase is over. While the slight bump they have gotten lately is encouraging, it isn't good enough. Lets see what happens in February and March.

Ottawa Senators [NHL, 1992-2020] yearly attendance at hockeydb.com

 

[Ice-Tray]

So let me get this straight... We have the worst attendance in the league by far, with objective evidence that we are papering the building, and some people are counting "merely showing up to games for which they received free tickets" as a good sign for the organization?

...maybe I went to the wrong marketing & economics classes, but I'm going to politely decline to share that opinion and just move on.

Or you could consider the context under which my posts were made. Seriously man, take a moment before trying to be clever in response to my posts.

Let me be more clear for you since you likely didn’t read my original post and just jumped in on the last one.

Give how many people thought that we would bottom out attendance-wise into single digit thousands, it’s a positive sign that that hasn’t happened much. That interest in viewing the team live hasn’t dropped any further than last year and may even end up rising a little.

Given everything that has happened, and that we still have the same owner and management, yes it is a positive sign for the organization. As with any trauma, stopping the bleeding is priority number one, and is definitely a positive when it looks like it may have.

This may not be good for folks who care more about the fantasy of starving the owner out through terrible attendance, but for the optics surrounding the fanbase from the outside, and for the team that has to play in front of them, it is nice to see.

In the end it looks like a competitive and entertaining young team on the ice is proving to be interesting to many Sens fans, and hopefully the trend continues.

At least you can do your thing in response now that you understand where my opinions come from.

 

[AchtzehnBaby]

Or you could consider the context under which my posts were made. Seriously man, take a moment before trying to be clever in response to my posts.

Let me be more clear for you since you likely didn’t read my original post and just jumped in on the last one.

Give how many people thought that we would bottom out attendance-wise into single digit thousands, it’s a positive sign that that hasn’t happened. That interest in viewing the team live hasn’t dropped any further than last year and may even end up rising a little.

Given everything that has happened, and that we still have the same owner and management, yes it is a positive sign for the organization. As with any trauma, stopping the bleeding is priority number one, and is definitely a positive when it looks like it may have.

This may not be good for folks who care more about the fantasy of starving the owner out through terrible attendance, but for the optics surrounding the fanbase from the outside, and for the team that has to play in front of them, it is nice to see.

In the end it looks like a competitive and entertaining young team on the ice is proving to be interesting to many Sens fans, and hopefully the trend continues.

At least you can do your thing in response now that you understand where my opinions come from.

Excellent summary.

I take it as a positive. Those who don’t value the optics outside of Ottawa are being too shortsighted IMO.

 

[stempniaksen]

Or you could consider the context under which my posts were made. Seriously man, take a moment before trying to be clever in response to my posts.

Let me be more clear for you since you likely didn’t read my original post and just jumped in on the last one.

Give how many people thought that we would bottom out attendance-wise into single digit thousands, it’s a positive sign that that hasn’t happened much. That interest in viewing the team live hasn’t dropped any further than last year and may even end up rising a little.

Given everything that has happened, and that we still have the same owner and management, yes it is a positive sign for the organization. As with any trauma, stopping the bleeding is priority number one, and is definitely a positive when it looks like it may have.

This may not be good for folks who care more about the fantasy of starving the owner out through terrible attendance, but for the optics surrounding the fanbase from the outside, and for the team that has to play in front of them, it is nice to see.

In the end it looks like a competitive and entertaining young team on the ice is proving to be interesting to many Sens fans, and hopefully the trend continues.

At least you can do your thing in response now that you understand where my opinions come from.

Being a little nitpicky, but the bolded is false.

I'll admit that the optics from outside the city/team matter though, and any jump in attendance can't hurt that.

 

[JD1]

Or you could consider the context under which my posts were made. Seriously man, take a moment before trying to be clever in response to my posts.

Let me be more clear for you since you likely didn’t read my original post and just jumped in on the last one.

Give how many people thought that we would bottom out attendance-wise into single digit thousands, it’s a positive sign that that hasn’t happened much. That interest in viewing the team live hasn’t dropped any further than last year and may even end up rising a little.

Given everything that has happened, and that we still have the same owner and management, yes it is a positive sign for the organization. As with any trauma, stopping the bleeding is priority number one, and is definitely a positive when it looks like it may have.

This may not be good for folks who care more about the fantasy of starving the owner out through terrible attendance, but for the optics surrounding the fanbase from the outside, and for the team that has to play in front of them, it is nice to see.

In the end it looks like a competitive and entertaining young team on the ice is proving to be interesting to many Sens fans, and hopefully the trend continues.

At least you can do your thing in response now that you understand where my opinions come from.

What makes you think you're to be understood? Lol

 

[stempniaksen]

He did say "if" about the freebies. I don't even know if there are the amount of freebies as before because I am not getting any, and a Bruins game is not s "freebie" game. People clearly want the team to be supported poorly, and I am happy to see the bottoming out phase (hopefully) done with .

Ultimately, these guys are winning the fanbase back in small increments. Let's face it, people in this area love their hockey, love their Senators, and being mad is a waste of energy. Christmastime, stocking stuffers, gifts, etc...there should be more people in the stands. I will be at the matinee against a weak drawing team, curious to see what kind of number that will draw

So Ottawa has "good fans" now?

From anyone else I woulda glossed right by this, but how many times in the last couple of years have we had to hear about the awful fans in Ottawa not supporting the team from you? I'm honestly curious, what has changed in your eyes?

 

[Ice-Tray]

Excellent summary.

I take it as a positive. Those who don’t value the optics outside of Ottawa are being too shortsighted IMO.

Many in here don’t put any stock in opinions from people not currently residing in Ottawa, so no surprise there.

Anyways, I’ve always felt that a combination of EM out of the limelight, and a hardworking exciting team on the ice, would start to bring a few fans back to the rink, free tickets or not.

I love the way this team is being built, and I did not particularly like the make up of the previous core so I’m definitely biased. I like high effort, punishing, relentless play, and as a Sens fan I’m finally getting to see what I want.

Shame they almost always suck against Van

 

[Silencio]

TBF Ottawa papered the house fairly heavily during the boom years. Biggest difference maker is the huge decline in the season ticket holder base.

 

[JD1]

Being a little nitpicky, but the bolded is false.

I'll admit that the optics from outside the city/team matter though, and any jump in attendance can't hurt that.

Idk....my sense is positive chatter about the team is picking up

 

[stempniaksen]

Idk....my sense is positive chatter about the team is picking up

At worst the negative chatter has (pretty much) stopped. Imo, can't ask for much more than that this season.

 

[Ice-Tray]

Being a little nitpicky, but the bolded is false.

I'll admit that the optics from outside the city/team matter though, and any jump in attendance can't hurt that.

I do realize that I’ve jumped the gun a bit given that we’ve had so few home games.

I feel pretty good about where the team is trending so I’m suspecting that those numbers will rise and be higher by the end. If I’m wrong I’m wrong, but at the very least It’s looking like the bleeding has likley stopped.

 

[Micklebot]

The team averaged close to 3000 more fans a game last year than they have so far this year. Not sure you can say the "bottoming out" phase is over. While the slight bump they have gotten lately is encouraging, it isn't good enough. Lets see what happens in February and March.

Ottawa Senators [NHL, 1992-2020] yearly attendance at hockeydb.com

I'm hesitant to view our recent attendance as promising. Our last two home games are against a good drawing team in Boston.

Some other trends are not all that promising; Last year, we averaged almost 17k on Saturday nights (13 total games). This year, we've already seen 3 Saturday games, and averaged less than 13k. One of those games was even our home opener. We have 10 more home games on Saturdays, those are the games that will make the difference for us imo. If Toronto and Mtl continue to do poorly, we may not see the typical bump they would provide for the 4 against them. Tampa and Detroit and Clb are three other Sat games against teams suffering in the standings. Will they be able to draw ticket sales if that trend continues?