News Article: Big changes coming in for next season

[GCK]

The league is moving away from being gate driven. It will take some time, but the new national tv contract and the potential of centrally generated gambling revenues will go a long way to even the field imo.

The new TV contract in the US, even in tripled will be about 12M additional revenue per team. Unfortunately that will include a bump in floor by about 4-5M. The other issue is the big markets generate so much more revenue growth that it also bumps the floor. The real fix is much more robust revenue sharing. Do you know when the Leafs regional deal is up ?

 

[Sweatred]

Did you not read what @Micklebot posted (at the top of page 17)?

Ottawa has the "smallest corporate base to draw from by the NHLs own internal metric, roughly half the size of Winnipeg's. Let that sink in, their metro population is less than 60% of Ottawa's but they have almost twice the viable corporate entities to try and sell adds, seats and boxes too. "

This is really under reported. Joe Q Government worker rarely shells out for a set of tickets x2 that he/she can't write off. The NHL has moved to a corporate model and Ottawa has the weakest corporate fan base. I'ts hard to justify spending $400 to take a family of 4 to a single hockey game on your own dollar. That's pretty much a season of youth sport registration.

 

[AchtzehnBaby]

So he is blaming drops in attendance on fans that didn't come prior to those drops? Seems like he's targetting the wrong people. You don't win new customers by telling them they suck.

Now he said "they suck"?

...that's the overreaction I am talking about. You are making things up now?

 

[AchtzehnBaby]

lol, it’s hilarious how the same group who continuously blame the fans always pick each event as if it were an isolated incident and not years & years of ongoing dragging the franchise and the fans through the mud. Years and years of alienating players, fans, office staff, senior executives, business community, the city.

it’s like listening to Trump supporters.

 

[branch]

God this is just an embarrassing display.

 

[GCK]

Well that's an extremely simplified way of looking at building real estate on one of the most valuable pieces of property in the entire country, but not terribly surprised by this comment. Carry on, surely this comment is enough stand on its own merits.

Why don’t you spell it out for us.

 

[BankStreetParade]

Well that's an extremely simplified way of looking at building real estate on one of the most valuable pieces of property in the entire country, but not terribly surprised by this comment. Carry on, surely this comment is enough stand on its own merits.

Yeah, we all know how arenas appreciate in value over time...

 

[branch]

Why don’t you spell it out for us.

K nevermind. Let's just keep it in Kanata and watch games with 8,000 people in the stands. Sry I was wrong guys.

 

[Micklebot]

Now he said "they suck"?

...that's the overreaction I am talking about. You are making things up now?

Here's what he said

"When you get to the third round of the playoffs and you're begging people to buy a ticket something's wrong with that picture so we're just hoping that changes."

But yeah, he didn't say they suck, he just implied something was wrong with them and they need to change.

 

[GCK]

K nevermind. Let's just keep it in Kanata and watch games with 8,000 people in the stands. Sry I was wrong guys.

The 8000 fans has nothing to do with location.

 

[branch]

The 8000 fans has nothing to do with location.

Sure. You're right.

 

[GCK]

Sure. You're right.

Thanks for your explanation it was insightful.

 

[AchtzehnBaby]

Here's what he said

"When you get to the third round of the playoffs and you're begging people to buy a ticket something's wrong with that picture so we're just hoping that changes."

But yeah, he didn't say they suck, he just implied something was wrong with them and they need to change.

I agree it is open to interpretation, but realistically it can be taken in many ways. Your take is one extreme. I think it's because of their own marketing and because people don't want to spend money on seeing Ottawa on a regular basis because their favorite team is still X.

I don't think he was targeting fans. He was targeting non-fans or the super cheap fans that do not support the team other than buying a knock-off jersey every 10 years.

 

[branch]

Thanks for your explanation it was insightful.

There's no real sense circling the wagon with you guys. If you can't see how having an arena in a central location will increase attendance, and not in bumf*** Kanata where no one wants to go on even the nicest day, then I can't help you.

 

[GCK]

There's no real sense circling the wagon with you guys. If you can't see how having an arena in a central location will increase attendance, and not in bumf*** Kanata where no one wants to go on even the nicest day, then I can't help you.

I get that but how does that revenue bump pay for a 500M rink.

 

[RaMai]

I agree it is open to interpretation, but realistically it can be taken in many ways. Your take is one extreme. I think it's because of their own marketing and because people don't want to spend money on seeing Ottawa on a regular basis because their favorite team is still X.

I don't think he was targeting fans. He was targeting non-fans or the super cheap fans that do not support the team other than buying a knock-off jersey every 10 years.

If there is a disclaimer necessary it's probably a good idea to let other, more talented, people do the talking.
He is putting his foot in his mouth more than anyone else in the organization, he's learning nothing from those mishaps...

 

[branch]

I get that but how does that revenue bump pay for a 500M rink.

I never insinuated that, all I said was that it would increase attendance.

 

[RaMai]

I get that but how does that revenue bump pay for a 500M rink.

First thing that comes to mind is naming rights, usually new arenas are built tailored to the market.
When organizations decide to build new they usually change as well how the stadium is structured, this might be less 300's and more suites for some markets. In Ottawa this could be something like zones marketed by various businesses (doesn't have to be OTT, could be Global or Canada wide).
But our Owner went from "This is the best idea since sliced bread" to "This is a dumb idea, I don't pay a dime and sue all of you".

 

[Oriole]

For years, Ottawa averaged 18,000+ fans per game. You seem to think that fans never went and always complained. This is completely untrue.

And to "boycotters" are not the problem. The die-hards who complain on talk radio and internet forums are not the problem. There's not enough of them to make a dent.

The casual fans are not going because the team sucks.

Bad team = people don't go.
Good team = people go.

It's a simple problem to solve. Start winning.

And no, you don't need to spend like the Leafs to have a competitive team.

I think you've hit the nail on the head here. What we are currently witnessing is the implementation of the new model of Ottawa Senators. This model will consist of a no superstar signings unless they are willing to take the hometown discount. Unfortunately to get to this model the superstars we had needed to go. That upset a lot of fans but once people get used to having a fairly competitive team every year they won't be as upset watching players walk because we'll still have a competitive team the next year regardless.

I can't say it's a bad strategy. I mean who do the Islanders really have? Barzal is a great player but not a "superstar" and they look great. They roll 4 lines of quality every shift and wear other teams down. It works. The Bruins are the same way. A lot more superstars but they have all taken discounts to build something there.

 

[Oriole]

The key word here is "whined". Nobody likes to listen to a whiner. Kids that whine are the absolutely worst kids to be around. A millionaire whining about losing money does not resonate well with a lot of people.

The irony of this post is amusing!

 

[NyQuil]

My take as someone who still pays for tickets in this city and still wants Melnyk gone.

1. Ottawa isn't one of the top hockey markets in Canada. The reasons are obvious and have already been identified multiple times.

-We have a relatively small metro population compared with the big three cities and most US markets.
-We don't have a large corporate season ticket base.
-Government clients cannot receive tickets as gifts, or attend games on the dime of businesses.
-Ottawa is not a dynamic blue-collar type town, but rather a white-collar buttoned down town. I believe (but I admit I don't have the stats) that team sports resonate more with blue collar folks - at least as far as sports fanaticism is concerned. (I am not judging - I'm a white collar guy who is a Sens nut, but all of my friends think I'm crazy and don't really watch or attend games.).

2. The arena location does have an impact on fan support.

-The arena is not centrally located and does not provide a lot of immediate external options for pre and post-game entertainment. It would be nice if hockey was a sufficient draw but in today's crowded entertainment market, you need to appeal to people in lots of different ways.
-The traffic situation sucks.
-People's behaviour responds to incentives. One issue that Mrs_NyQuil and I are passionate about is 7:30 PM start-times on weeknight games. We both work relatively late, so it's always frantic to try and make a 7:00 PM game, and the commuting traffic is worse. We have given away tickets (or simply abandoned tickets) to 7:00 PM games in the past because we just didn't want to go. Judge me all you want, we made a decision about attendance based on that fact alone. The move to 7:30 PM games has resulted in us giving away fewer tickets.

3. The cost of operating a hockey team has ballooned.

-I do feel sympathy for Eugene Melnyk with respect to the fact that salaries have gone up exponentially (~37M when the cap was first introduced - now past ~80M) while Ottawa fans have either seen ticket costs go down or have refused to pay more for tickets. The media deal has helped keep the team afloat but it's hard to compete with the same ticket structure when the expected outlay for players has doubled.
-Costs for a family to go to a game are high but comparably low. The irony is that a night out at the game is very expensive as a 3 hour entertainment option but extremely cheap when compared with most hockey markets around the league.

4. The lack of organizational stability, questionable comments by ownership and string of exits by players and staff has an impact on fan confidence.

-In the game of brinksmanship between ownership and fans, the fans will not blink first. I truly believe that if push comes to shove, the vast majority of the Ottawa fanbase would wave goodbye to the Senators as opposed to being held hostage by its owner. Trust in Eugene Melnyk is at an all-time low.
-It's hard to build confidence and excitement about the next generation of Senators players on the heels of seeing a parade of superstars walk out the door in their (relative) primes. Heatley, Alfredsson, Karlsson, Stone. It's hard to sell a rebuild when it looks like more of a sell-off, regardless of how smart some of those moves are individually.
-I know more than a few people in that "wait and see" mode because it's painful to attach loyalty to a group of players only to see them walk out the door.

5. Ottawa can be a successful NHL market.

-Of course it can. We outdrew the Toronto Maple Leafs for a time when we were competitive and successful, and that was relying a fair degree on same-day tickets and walk-ups. People in this town will cheer for a good product on the ice. The challenge is being able to fill the stands when we aren't competitive or rebuilding.
-Even if we are a weak hockey market in Canada, it's still hockey and it's still Canada.
-A new arena would spark renewed interest in the team. It's a shame that this has gone on hold, because it's an easy (if temporary) surge.
-Our team competing and winning a lot more games inevitably sparks more interest and attendance.
-The right star or star players could inspire more fans to go to the games. This is why the loss of the #1 pick hits me a little harder than usual - I think he was the perfect player to give attendance a bump.

6. The team would have to be pried from Melnyk's iron-clad grip, and it won't.

-I don't think Melnyk is what we might call a "rational actor" meaning that anticipating his reactions to any boycotts or fan uprisings or whatever is a wasted effort.
-I believe that he will die on the hill of owning the Senators, and I think the NHL has a vested interest in not interfering with ownership.
-I know I bug some of the boycott crowd because I'm so anti-Melnyk and yet buy tickets, but I really don't think it's going to make a difference. He will beg, borrow, steal, cheat and lie to keep his team.

 

[BankStreetParade]

Here's what he said

"When you get to the third round of the playoffs and you're begging people to buy a ticket something's wrong with that picture so we're just hoping that changes."

But yeah, he didn't say they suck, he just implied something was wrong with them and they need to change.

What a bizarre interpretation of that quote.

Seriously, if people aren't willing to pay to go see this team in the Conference Finals then when exactly are they willing to go? There's lots of people on this forum making the argument that people don't want to go watch a loser. I can at least understand that rationale. But if fans can't motivate themselves to go to games of that magnitude I would also question their commitment to supporting the team.

 

[Wondercarrot]

agreed, that’s exactly what you sound like to me. Just substitute “They took our jobs” with “it’s the fans fault”.

 

[NyQuil]

Seriously, if people aren't willing to pay to go see this team in the Conference Finals then when exactly are they willing to go? There's lots of people on this forum making the argument that people don't want to go watch a loser. I can at least understand that rationale. But if fans can't motivate themselves to go to games of that magnitude I would also question their commitment to supporting the team.

I actually asked two family members separately who are Senators fans why they didn't go, and the response was "Tickets were still available?"

On the one hand, it's a bit of a kick to the balls, fair enough.

On the other hand, they were near sell-outs. It's the optics that are bad, not necessarily the lost revenue.

 

[coladin]

Did you not read what @Micklebot posted (at the top of page 17)?

Ottawa has the "smallest corporate base to draw from by the NHLs own internal metric, roughly half the size of Winnipeg's. Let that sink in, their metro population is less than 60% of Ottawa's but they have almost twice the viable corporate entities to try and sell adds, seats and boxes too. "

Yes.