Canadians in Phoenix

[DannoManno*]

To start this off, I'm pretty optimistic about the Coyotes future, and think the new ownership group is going to do a lot of good work to raise awareness about the team.

However, one thing I really don't get is how there are so Canadians who live in Phoenix during the winter, yet they don't seem to go to that many Coyotes games.

I think the new ownership should take a look at this and market the Coyotes better to the snowbirds. I know a lot of the Canadians live in Scottsdale and Mesa, which is on the opposite side of Glendale, but I think most of them either drive down or have cars down there... So it's not like they can't get to the games Sure 40 minutes is a long drive, but to see an NHL hockey game, that's nothing!

I've read online around 50-90 thousand Canadians live in Arizona during the winter or year round, and assume a big chunk of them end up in Phoenix.

Jobing.com is nicer than most of if not all of the arenas in Canada... And tickets are far easier to obtain and far cheaper than tickets to NHL games in Canada.

Basically, what is holding the Canadians living in and around the Valley from going to see Coyotes hockey games... are they just too busy playing golf or what?

What should the new ownership group do to get more snowbirds out to games? Open a Tim Hortons next to the arena?

Click to read more...

 

[Dave is a killer]

To start this off, I'm pretty optimistic about the Coyotes future, and think the new ownership group is going to do a lot of good work to raise awareness about the team.

However, one thing I really don't get is how there are so Canadians who live in Phoenix during the winter, yet they don't seem to go to that many Coyotes games.

I think the new ownership should take a look at this and market the Coyotes better to the snowbirds. I know a lot of the Canadians live in Scottsdale and Mesa, which is on the opposite side of Glendale, but I think most of them either drive down or have cars down there... So it's not like they can't get to the games Sure 40 minutes is a long drive, but to see an NHL hockey game, that's nothing!

I've read online around 50-90 thousand Canadians live in Arizona during the winter or year round, and assume a big chunk of them end up in Phoenix.

Jobing.com is nicer than most of if not all of the arenas in Canada... And tickets are far easier to obtain and far cheaper than tickets to NHL games in Canada.

Basically, what is holding the Canadians living in and around the Valley from going to see Coyotes hockey games... are they just too busy playing golf or what?

What should the new ownership group do to get more snowbirds out to games? Open a Tim Hortons next to the arena?

Has anyone ever thought that those snowbirds don't give a fig about Hockey ?

 

[BigZ65]

To start this off, I'm pretty optimistic about the Coyotes future, and think the new ownership group is going to do a lot of good work to raise awareness about the team.

However, one thing I really don't get is how there are so Canadians who live in Phoenix during the winter, yet they don't seem to go to that many Coyotes games.

I think the new ownership should take a look at this and market the Coyotes better to the snowbirds. I know a lot of the Canadians live in Scottsdale and Mesa, which is on the opposite side of Glendale, but I think most of them either drive down or have cars down there... So it's not like they can't get to the games Sure 40 minutes is a long drive, but to see an NHL hockey game, that's nothing!

I've read online around 50-90 thousand Canadians live in Arizona during the winter or year round, and assume a big chunk of them end up in Phoenix.

Jobing.com is nicer than most of if not all of the arenas in Canada... And tickets are far easier to obtain and far cheaper than tickets to NHL games in Canada.

Basically, what is holding the Canadians living in and around the Valley from going to see Coyotes hockey games... are they just too busy playing golf or what? What should the new ownership group do to get more snowbirds out to games? Open a Tim Hortons next to the arena?

That's basically it. They youngest of the snowbirds are in their late 50s and the median age is probably early 70s...look at a NHL crowd anywhere, not a lot of 70 year-olds in the mix for a number of reasons (mobility issues, bathroom issues etc).

All of the snowbirds I know (former co-workers and relatives) are down there to relax and they don't care a whole lot about the outside world. They just want to enjoy the sun and dry air.

 

[DannoManno*]

Has anyone ever thought that those snowbirds don't give a fig about Hockey ?

Since when do Canadians not give a "fig" about hockey?

I think a lot of 55-65 year olds care about hockey enough to go see games. No such thing as being too old to go see a hockey game!

 

[ucanthanzalthetruth]

So one poor showing against noted big draw Nashville and people feel the need to start 2 threads about attendance? I thought the folks of the BOH had agreed to lay off them for at least 1 season. And anyways, if for example, you are from Toronto, a Leafs fan and retired in Glendale, why on Earth would you feel the need to see a Wings/Preds vs Yotes game?

 

[JTPoni23]

Snowbirds have barely started arriving. You have to give it a couple more weeks. The more the season goes on, the more attendance will improve.

 

[XX]

Thinly veiled attendance thread is thinly veiled.

There are so many Canadians going to Coyote games that IA is looking into getting a Tim Horton's franchise at Westgate or in Jobing.com

My complex offers furnished month-to-month units. Tons of Canadian plates in the parking lot.

 

[brec7]

2 things here, mainly (although admittedly I'm just guessing):

1) The average age of those Canadians living in Phoenix is a lot higher than the average age of the person who goes to a hockey game.

2) Those people, if they are hockey fans, therefore have lifelong affiliations to whatever NHL team they cheered before Phoenix and aren't going to make a point to go to an out of the way rink for a game they have no rooting interest in.

I'm sure as a small tertiary factor there's also the fact that those who move are probably less likely to be hockey fans as well. The grandmother that loves watching her grandson play minor hockey probably isn't going to be moving to Phoenix if that's a big part of her life, and that person is more likely to go to a live NHL game as well methinks.

 

[sipowicz]

To start this off, I'm pretty optimistic about the Coyotes future, and think the new ownership group is going to do a lot of good work to raise awareness about the team.

However, one thing I really don't get is how there are so Canadians who live in Phoenix during the winter, yet they don't seem to go to that many Coyotes games.

I think the new ownership should take a look at this and market the Coyotes better to the snowbirds. I know a lot of the Canadians live in Scottsdale and Mesa, which is on the opposite side of Glendale, but I think most of them either drive down or have cars down there... So it's not like they can't get to the games Sure 40 minutes is a long drive, but to see an NHL hockey game, that's nothing!

I've read online around 50-90 thousand Canadians live in Arizona during the winter or year round, and assume a big chunk of them end up in Phoenix.

Jobing.com is nicer than most of if not all of the arenas in Canada... And tickets are far easier to obtain and far cheaper than tickets to NHL games in Canada.

Basically, what is holding the Canadians living in and around the Valley from going to see Coyotes hockey games... are they just too busy playing golf or what?

What should the new ownership group do to get more snowbirds out to games? Open a Tim Hortons next to the arena?

Maybe the Coyotes ownership sarcasm get the NHL to only schedule home games with Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton, Winnipeg, Chicago and Minnesota just to take advantage of all those snowbirds flocking to the desert to watch cheap NHL hockey!

 

[Dirty Old Man]

Thinly veiled attendance thread is thinly veiled.

You haven't heard? The Southern Strategy failed!

And there's also plenty of material on this thread's subject in the thread that's 95% less Phoenix (which is presumably why no one looked there before creating its own thread, right? )

 

[DannoManno*]

Thinly veiled attendance thread is thinly veiled.

There are so many Canadians going to Coyote games that IA is looking into getting a Tim Horton's franchise at Westgate or in Jobing.com

My complex offers furnished month-to-month units. Tons of Canadian plates in the parking lot.

Its just a thread about Canadians and i guess out of town American snowbirds attending games, that it... I'm not attacking Phoenicians for not supporting the team, that's freaking lame.

There's a lot more than just old Canadians who go down to Phoenix in the winter, lots of people under 40 years old rent places for a week or two vacation.

I assume you live in the valley... Do they go to hockey games, or are they just down there to relax / play golf?

Still, I think the org could do a better job at getting the long term winter visitors out to the games... Like senior discounts on tickets!

 

[DannoManno*]

Maybe the Coyotes ownership sarcasm get the NHL to only schedule home games with Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton, Winnipeg, Chicago and Minnesota just to take advantage of all those snowbirds flocking to the desert to watch cheap NHL hockey!

It's not just snowbirds from the northwestern part of the continent that go down to live in Phoenix during the winter, you know...

The Coyotes are already in the same division of half the teams you listed.

I really don't buy the argument that people need to be fans of the team playing against the coyotes for them to go to coyotes games. A lot of them They're living in Phoenix for half of the year... What's wrong for cheering for the team that you spend half of your year living in?!?!

It's a bit silly to think hockey fans will only go out to the games that feature the team they've cheered for their whole lives. Cheer for the Yotes! Make them your second team, and the few times your lifelong favorite team comes to Phoenix... That game will be that much better!

 

[IceCapsFanNL]

If I was holidaying in the area, which is unlikely due to how far away it is from the Rock, I wouldn't buy tickets to see a game. I wouldn't wan't to support the franchise.

 

[htpwn]

To quote former Kings' owner Jack Kent Cooke:

“When I started the Kings, I was told there were a quarter-million ex-Canadians in L.A. Now I know why they left Canada. They hate hockey.â€

Expecting Snowbirds to fill the seats has never been a sound strategy.

Take the percentage of sports fans in a population.
Subtract those who don't like hockey.
Subtract those who don't fit the profile for your typical NHL audience.
Subtract those who are fans of their team, not the game in general.
Subtract those who are there part-time and not looking to do stuff they can do at home.

... and there isn't a whole lot of people left. Even then, unless people become fans of the team (and only a portion of them will), why would they go to more than a hand full of games per year?

 

[tarheelhockey]

I really don't buy the argument that people need to be fans of the team playing against the coyotes for them to go to coyotes games. A lot of them They're living in Phoenix for half of the year... What's wrong for cheering for the team that you spend half of your year living in?!?!

Don't even get me started. Here in Raleigh there are tens of thousands of transplants who live here FULL time and will only show up at the arena when their hometown team is visiting. These are people who have lived and worked in this community for years, and they only support our team insofar as they buy a ticket so they can get drunk, boo the home team and talk trash to their own neighbors. Easily the most irritating breed of fan in existence.

I guess what it comes down to with these types is that they're not fans of the sport, they're fans of their team. And I'm sure that their 70-year-old counterparts behave the same way, minus the drunken belligerence.

 

[cbcwpg]

I know peps that spend a lot of time ( retired ) down there. The reason they are there is to get away from anything to do with snow, ice ( unless its in your drink ), and cold. They are not and never will be Coyotes fans, yet they will attend a game when Detroit is in town.

Why is this so hard for people in Glendale / Phoenix, the new owners , or the NHL, to understand?

This is no different than expecting someone living in western Canada, who all of the sudden gets transferred to Toronto because of their job, to become a Leafs fan when they have spent their entire lives laughing at and hating the Leafs. It's not going to happen!

I sit beside two die-hard fans of the home team. Jets fans all they way. Except when Montreal comes to town. Then the Hab jerseys come out and they are cheering for the Jets to lose. Two games from now, I will be sitting there cheering for the Jets, while my son will be sitting beside me fully decked out in Detroit gear.

People just won't give up their loyalties.

 

[rojac]

To start this off, I'm pretty optimistic about the Coyotes future, and think the new ownership group is going to do a lot of good work to raise awareness about the team.

However, one thing I really don't get is how there are so Canadians who live in Phoenix during the winter, yet they don't seem to go to that many Coyotes games.

I think the new ownership should take a look at this and market the Coyotes better to the snowbirds. I know a lot of the Canadians live in Scottsdale and Mesa, which is on the opposite side of Glendale, but I think most of them either drive down or have cars down there... So it's not like they can't get to the games Sure 40 minutes is a long drive, but to see an NHL hockey game, that's nothing!

I've read online around 50-90 thousand Canadians live in Arizona during the winter or year round, and assume a big chunk of them end up in Phoenix.

Jobing.com is nicer than most of if not all of the arenas in Canada... And tickets are far easier to obtain and far cheaper than tickets to NHL games in Canada.

Basically, what is holding the Canadians living in and around the Valley from going to see Coyotes hockey games... are they just too busy playing golf or what?

What should the new ownership group do to get more snowbirds out to games? Open a Tim Hortons next to the arena?

Why are you assuming that Canadians in Arizona want to see NHL hockey live? You're also assuming that Canadians in Arizona want to see any NHL hockey rather than just seeing their team? For example, if a Leafs fan from Toronto is wintering in Arizona, is there a good reason to go to more than just the one Toronto game in Glendale? And if you are a Canadian who enjoys going to see your NHL team live, do you even winter in Arizona?

 

[powerstuck]

It's not just Canadians but overall snowbirds...all those from northern states (and Canada) will mainly go see their team.

Ever been to a Lightning/Panthers vs Habs game in Florida ?

Both local teams feel more like outsiders in a sea of red toiletseats jerseys.

 

[Brick City]

...There are so many Canadians going to Coyote games that IA is looking into getting a Tim Horton's franchise at Westgate or in Jobing.com...

Prudential Center in Newark replaced New Jersey based Quick Chek with Tim Horton's (a bit of a hypocritical move for the self proclaimed "Jersey's Team" but I digress). Seems the chain is trying to make a push into the area (there has been a lot of advertising for franchise opportunities around here lately), so in our case it has nothing to do with Canadians.

Wonder if they are trying to push into the southwest as well or if it is just a move to cater to snowbirds? Seems the whole snowbirds driving hockey attendance thing has been somewhat debunked already in this thread.

...2) Those people, if they are hockey fans, therefore have lifelong affiliations to whatever NHL team they cheered before Phoenix and aren't going to make a point to go to an out of the way rink for a game they have no rooting interest in...

I know some people are fans of the game or certain players, but most I know including myself have a specific team. I've lived out of New Jersey in other cities with hockey teams and I would only go to a game if the Devils were in town. Otherwise I streamed them online to get my hockey fix.

You haven't heard? The Southern Strategy failed!

And there's also plenty of material on this thread's subject in the thread that's 95% less Phoenix (which is presumably why no one looked there before creating its own thread, right? )

Indeed, some random author 'admitted' to such on behalf of the league!

 

[Buck Aki Berg]

If I'm a Canadian hockey fan living in Arizona, that means I likely already have a team to cheer for, and it isn't Phoenix. Why would I want to see the Coyotes play the Blues or the Sharks or whoever if I'm a Sens fan?

 

[DyerMaker66*]

So one poor showing against noted big draw Nashville and people feel the need to start 2 threads about attendance? I thought the folks of the BOH had agreed to lay off them for at least 1 season. And anyways, if for example, you are from Toronto, a Leafs fan and retired in Glendale, why on Earth would you feel the need to see a Wings/Preds vs Yotes game?

Because you aren't paying 500 bucks to see a game? Because they're the best players of your favourite sport?

If I'm a Canadian hockey fan living in Arizona, that means I likely already have a team to cheer for, and it isn't Phoenix. Why would I want to see the Coyotes play the Blues or the Sharks or whoever if I'm a Sens fan?

See above: I've paid to see two teams I have no rooting interest in. That didn't make the hockey any less exciting. I don't see how you can call yourself a hockey fan and then turn down paying AHL prices to watch NHL players.

 

[Buck Aki Berg]

See above: I've paid to see two teams I have no rooting interest in. That didn't make the hockey any less exciting. I don't see how you can call yourself a hockey fan and then turn down paying AHL prices to watch NHL players.

Congratulations, you're better at liking hockey than I am.

 

[tarheelhockey]

I don't see how you can call yourself a hockey fan and then turn down paying AHL prices to watch NHL players.

There are hockey fans who don't want to see the NHL, period.

 

[DyerMaker66*]

There are hockey fans who don't want to see the NHL, period.

Yeah, tonnes of hockey fans hate seeing the best players in the world.

 

[awfulwaffle]

My old boss while I was in college lived in AZ, but was a Red Wings fan. He couldn't care less about the Coyotes, and was talking trash constantly about the HOME team. He would only go to games if the Red Wings were in town, that's how it worked. And I'm sure there are plenty others out there just like this. Can you blame them though? You can sit at home and watch your favorite team on HD tv. It would be nice if the Coyotes could be their 2nd team, but the problem is most of the teams like the Blackhawks and Red Wings were Western teams, so it's hard to try and get them to root for the Coyotes as well when you know in the end they will be fighting for a playoff spot(and sometimes losing to the Coyotes).