Any way of preventing opposing team fans from taking over the Honda Center?

[AngelDuck]

It's hard for the Ducks (and Angels) to win fans who live in the LA area. The drive just sucks. I get down to the Big A and Honda Center probably 10-15 times a year combined. I live 60 miles from the stadium. So theoretically it should be an easy hour long drive. But it never is. It's 2 hours on average and sometimes 2 and a half depending on the time and day you are going. It gets to the point where it's just more enjoyable for me to watch the games on TV from home because of the traffic

So I don't think the Ducks will ever be a massive fanbase. They'll always be restricted to people in Orange County who care about hockey...and that's a pretty limited demographic in 2015 (although it's getting better).

 

[kducks]

I think, part of the reason, is the Ducks have a marketing issue. My wife is a huge Ducks fan (sigh) and in 2009 ish, I asked some Ducks fans what the Ducks were doing to keep fans from their cup run. The Kings have/had lots of events: Tip a King, rink visits, building playgrounds, Fan Fest, several poker nights, charity games. I know the Ducks do some as well and that's the stuff my wife likes to do. The response I got back, from fans, was the Ducks don't need gimmicks to get fans, they win. While that is true, it seems, SoCal fans want to feel like they are more than cash to the team. The Ducks need to create excitement year round. Not just for kids but for adults as well.
Another thing LA has the Ducks are now just getting: generations of fans. Kids, parents, grandparents being lifelong fans. The Ducks are trying to get the youngsters to be fans, so when they get older they will buy tickets.
Third thing is go to games. Not as much this year, but last year, there were many empty seats. I don't know if they were sold or not, just that they were empty. Last year for the Ducks Tampa game tickets on Stub hub were as low as $8 . By having people there it increases the excitement. People want to cheer and boo and have fun with a group.

As much as I disliked Disney as owners, they were great at getting the team out there with the fans. The meet the players thing is now limited to season ticket holders. Disney started out with having the players at Disneyland. For 20 bucks you got to meet the Ducks as well as ride the rides. They eventually moved it to the Ponda, but it still stayed 20 bucks to go meet & greet the players. I haven't been to a meet & greet in at least ten years because I'm not a season ticket holder. Even when I had a half of a season, I still wasn't able to get tickets cause I wasn't a full season holder. This is a big thing with the regular fan who maybe can't afford Casino Night or Dux in Tux. The Samueli's are great owners but I feel that they have almost taken the team away from the average fan. Say what you want about the Mighty Ducks days, but the seats were filled.

I also think that the multiple lockouts over the years have hurt our fan base. Just in the time the Ducks have been in the league, there has been three & a half lockouts/strikes. Diehards like us stick around. Casual fans lose interest in a league that can't even be bothered to play any games every 10 years or so.

Marketing the players more would help too. Everyone knew Kariya & Selanne back in the day. They were the Mighty Ducks and everyone knew it.

 

[The Midnight Burrito]

The kings current box office success is being overanalyzed. They're a big fan base now because they've won twice in three years. There weren't let's go kings chants in the pond in 1994, or 2004, or 2008 either. Whether they're able to retain that wagon remains to be seen.

The ducks have done a good job of developing a regional rinks and league system in much less haphazard fashion than the Kings did forever, and that should pay off in terms of making the regional market less susceptible to huge swings in interest.

It really has nothing to do with one building having access to better fans 30 miles from another building.

 

[2faded]

The kings current box office success is being overanalyzed. They're a big fan base now because they've won twice in three years. There weren't let's go kings chants in the pond in 1994, or 2004, or 2008 either. Whether they're able to retain that wagon remains to be seen.

The ducks have done a good job of developing a regional rinks and league system in much less haphazard fashion than the Kings did forever, and that should pay off in terms of making the regional market less susceptible to huge swings in interest.

It really has nothing to do with one building having access to better fans 30 miles from another building.

Judging by my Facebook feed (which consists of people I went to middle school and high school with over a decade ago who never mentioned hockey once) there was 2-3 people who had any interest in the Kings 3 years ago. Now it's all I see. I know most of them don't even watch hockey at all, even Kings games. It's about the LA logo and bandwagoning successful LA sports teams. Wearing hats of any winning LA sports team is always the current fad.

How much Laker gear do you see people wearing lately? Been replaced by Kings gear.

 

[PrometheusOC]

I think, part of the reason, is the Ducks have a marketing issue. My wife is a huge Ducks fan (sigh) and in 2009 ish, I asked some Ducks fans what the Ducks were doing to keep fans from their cup run. The Kings have/had lots of events: Tip a King, rink visits, building playgrounds, Fan Fest, several poker nights, charity games. I know the Ducks do some as well and that's the stuff my wife likes to do. The response I got back, from fans, was the Ducks don't need gimmicks to get fans, they win. While that is true, it seems, SoCal fans want to feel like they are more than cash to the team. The Ducks need to create excitement year round. Not just for kids but for adults as well.
Another thing LA has the Ducks are now just getting: generations of fans. Kids, parents, grandparents being lifelong fans. The Ducks are trying to get the youngsters to be fans, so when they get older they will buy tickets.
Third thing is go to games. Not as much this year, but last year, there were many empty seats. I don't know if they were sold or not, just that they were empty. Last year for the Ducks Tampa game tickets on Stub hub were as low as $8 . By having people there it increases the excitement. People want to cheer and boo and have fun with a group.

Good points on the first two, though I think you overstate the significance of their impact.

To your third point - not sure how long you've been a Kings fan, but in 2010 there were plenty sub-$10 seats available for Kings games on Stubhub as well. I know because I bought tickets to watch the Panthers (my second favorite team) lose to the Kings at Staples back in 2010, and there were numerous other seats available in that price range.

If you want to go back a little further, you can just fast forward to :57 of this video:



In general, I think you underestimate the importance of championships. Just look at the attendance for the Ducks in '07-'08 (i.e. the year after they won), and you'll see it was higher than '06-'07. Those are the same fans who somehow managed to take over Staples in that video. That's just how it works, especially in bandwagon-driven markets like SoCal.

 

[DigitalSea]

As others have said, the Ducks seem to be taking the long approach.

The Ducks surprised Hermosa Drive Elementary School students on March 30 with a campus makeover entitled the “Anaheim Ducks PowerPLAY!” On March 27, while the students were on Spring Break, almost 100 team staff, teachers, season seat holders and partners assembled at Hermosa Drive Elementary in Fullerton to rejuvenate the school, including the installation of a permanent street hockey rink on the school playground.

Stuff like this will pay off big time in 10 years.

 

[Norduck]

Certain other teams failing to make the playoffs should definitely help.

 

[Dirby Kach]

I bought tickets to game 2.. but I come in peace.
I'll be wearing a vintage ducks jersey.