Hurricanes attendance rebound: the fundamentals are looking better

[The Feckless Puck]

I hope Carolina embraces the hell out of the "Bunch of Jerks" meme. That touch of rebellion plays very well in the region generally, and nothing galvanizes people like an "us against the world" movement.

 

[sctvman]

Last night’s Canes-Caps game was the highest rated national TV regular season Canes game in Raleigh in over a decade (2008). A 1.4 rating (about 15,000 or so TV households). So most of the time their ratings are probably below 1.



A good chunk of the Canes fan base is in the other NC markets (Greensboro, Charlotte). That might be why ratings are not revealed otherwise.

They also do the “Cool Bar” series for road games very frequently at local bar chain Carolina Ale House. They go all over the state for these. As far W as Charlotte, and as far E as Wilmington and Jacksonville (both in the eastern part of the state).

There is no real dominant NHL team in South Carolina. Charleston and Greenville both have minor league hockey. There are a surprising number of Capitals fans in SC as the ECHL affiliate in Charleston is a Caps affiliate. Lots of Penguins fans too. They travel to Raleigh pretty frequently.

They brought the Cup down here in October and probably 1/2 or 2/3 of the crowd were wearing Caps sweaters. I go to Stingrays games frequently and you usually see sweaters from at least 1/3 of the teams in the league.

 

[tarheelhockey]

Last night’s Canes-Caps game was the highest rated national TV regular season Canes game in Raleigh in over a decade (2008).

Just to clarify -- the highest rated regular season Hurricanes game in a decade that was broadcast by NBC specifically.

Raleigh occasionally shows up in the top-10 TV markets for big national broadcasts (despite hardly ever actually appearing in one) usually drawing in the 3.0-4.0 range.
Game 1 local ratings
2016 STANLEY CUP FINAL IS MOST-WATCHED NON-ORIGINAL SIX SERIES IN 15 YEARS

 

[Hockeyholic]

This is the equivalent of a homeless guy finding $80 bucks. I mean technically things "improved". But....still not good enough.

 

[Tom ServoMST3K]

This is the equivalent of a homeless guy finding $80 bucks. I mean technically things "improved". But....still not good enough.

Define "good enough"

as long as there's a committed owner, with a good lease, they're in a "Good enough" situation.

A taste of success is needed in markets before they collapse. Hoping the 'Canes can get that this season.

 

[DaveG]

Yup. I (along with everyone else in the northeast) know a bunch of people that either currently live in the Raleigh-Durham area or did at one point as adults. All of them who are sports fans remained fans of their old teams.

Yeah there's definitely some who made the switch, but still quite a few who will support their old team primarily and the Canes as a secondary team since they're in the market.

Those of us that were around my age or younger (started college in the late 90s) when the team moved here and was initially very successful with 3 of 4 years in the playoffs starting in their 2nd season here are where the team was likely hoping to build their fanbase off of long-term. Those my age came up with the team and have stuck with them for the most part, as well as those that were a few years younger that may have been too young to remember the first few seasons with guys like Gary Roberts and Paul Coffey, but were old enough for the 02 run and the Cup win. But after 09? It's basically a lost generation of potential fans. Instead of going with the local team they were going with the team their parents grew up with or teams with the superstar players since there really wasn't anything to cheer for here for a solid decade.

Even if this year is progress there's still a ways to go to get back to what it should be. But it's been a big move in the right direction thankfully.

 

[BKIslandersFan]

This is the equivalent of a homeless guy finding $80 bucks. I mean technically things "improved". But....still not good enough.

I don’t think you are in the position to make that call tbh.

 

[Hockeyholic]

Define "good enough"

as long as there's a committed owner, with a good lease, they're in a "Good enough" situation.

A taste of success is needed in markets before they collapse. Hoping the 'Canes can get that this season.

Maybe average over 16-17 k during a season that the team has been a playoff contender. And not at dirt cheap prices either.

 

[TheLegend]

Maybe average over 16-17 k during a season that the team has been a playoff contender. And not at dirt cheap prices either.

Gee..... there's 30 other teams who would like that.

Wait..... Winnipeg can only seat just over 15K maximum.....guess they don't meet the requirement.

 

[Nino33]

Gee..... there's 30 other teams who would like that.

Wait..... Winnipeg can only seat just over 15K maximum.....guess they don't meet the requirement.

Actually 24 of those 30 are doing that right now (and 23 did so last year), and Winnipeg sells out every game

All a team can do is sell-out
Winnipeg in recent years: 102.1%, 102.1%, 107.5%, 101.9%
Carolina in recent years: 75.7%, 71.3%, 63.0%, 65.3%

The majority of NHL teams average over 16K (24 out of 31 right now, 23 last year); people thinking this would be a reasonable standard have a point

 

[BKIslandersFan]

Actually 24 of those 30 are doing that right now (and 23 did so last year), and Winnipeg sells out every game

All a team can do is sell-out
Winnipeg in recent years: 102.1%, 102.1%, 107.5%, 101.9%
Carolina in recent years: 75.7%, 71.3%, 63.0%, 65.3%

The majority of NHL teams average over 16K (24 out of 31 right now, 23 last year); people thinking this would be a reasonable standard have a point

I know this is a foreign concept to you, but consumers won’t buy bad product.

 

[TheLegend]

Actually 24 of those 30 are doing that right now (and 23 did so last year), and Winnipeg sells out every game

All a team can do is sell-out
Winnipeg in recent years: 102.1%, 102.1%, 107.5%, 101.9%
Carolina in recent years: 75.7%, 71.3%, 63.0%, 65.3%

The majority of NHL teams average over 16K (24 out of 31 right now, 23 last year); people thinking this would be a reasonable standard have a point

You missed the sarcasm. I'm aware of Winnipeg's attendance.

However the entire point of the OP and thread in general, which is how Carolina is recovering from the deep funk they've been in for years now.

Nobody in their right mind would expect the Canes to suddenly start dropping big attendance numbers overnight. Yet there's always some poster with the drive by post that thinks if you aren't selling the arena out every game then you're crap and belong somewhere else.... often above the 49th parallel.

 

[tarheelhockey]

This is the equivalent of a homeless guy finding $80 bucks. I mean technically things "improved". But....still not good enough.

More like a homeless guy getting a job and a good lead on an apartment.

The point, which is clearly stated in the title, is that the fundamentals are looking better.

Demanding 17K attendance in the league’s smallest market because they ALMOST made the playoffs after a decade of misery is completely asinine.

 

[Nino33]

You missed the sarcasm. I'm aware of Winnipeg's attendance.

However the entire point of the OP and thread in general, which is how Carolina is recovering from the deep funk they've been in for years now.

Nobody in their right mind would expect the Canes to suddenly start dropping big attendance numbers overnight. Yet there's always some poster with the drive by post that thinks if you aren't selling the arena out every game then you're crap and belong somewhere else.... often above the 49th parallel.

Your pointing to a team from above the 49th parallel that sells out every game isn't sarcasm to me, its actually arguing the point of the "drive by posters" as you describe them

 

[TheLegend]

Your pointing to a team from above the 49th parallel that sells out every game isn't sarcasm to me, its actually arguing the point of the "drive by posters" as you describe them

Not really.... there are also those who think relocating to another part of Texas would be a good thing.

The sarcasm comes from someone making an overly generalized statement that you need 16-17k seats filled every night to be satisfactory when there’s at least one team who can’t even meet that requirement, yet they are successful.

 

[Nino33]

Not really.... there are also those who think relocating to another part of Texas would be a good thing.

Wouldn't bother me, and it certainly doesn't bother me they think that
And if Blue Jays fans didn't like it, I wouldn't automatically think they're right "because they're Canadian"

The sarcasm comes from someone making an overly generalized statement that you need 16-17k seats filled every night to be satisfactory when there’s at least one team who can’t even meet that requirement, yet they are successful.

I suspect that someone figured you'd be able to figure out on your own that that team sells out every game

 

[jetsv2]

This seems like a positive step

 

[jetsv2]

Not really.... there are also those who think relocating to another part of Texas would be a good thing.

The sarcasm comes from someone making an overly generalized statement that you need 16-17k seats filled every night to be satisfactory when there’s at least one team who can’t even meet that requirement, yet they are successful.

They are successful at 15k because their tickets are much more expensive than most other teams. They are in the top 5 for average ticket price which makes up for the lower maximum attendance. Carolina is never going to pay the prices people in Winnipeg do, if they did then they would be able to get by on 14-15k attendance too.

 

[TheLegend]

They are successful at 15k because their tickets are much more expensive than most other teams. They are in the top 5 for average ticket price which makes up for the lower maximum attendance. Carolina is never going to pay the prices people in Winnipeg do, if they did then they would be able to get by on 14-15k attendance too.

TNSE also gets hefty tax breaks, gaming income and has received revenue sharing. On top of all the income at Bell MTS.

There is nothing wrong with that what so ever. It’s how their business plan is set up and it works.

Carolina doesn’t have the same arrangement. Different market with different competition for the entertainment dollar.

 

[GuelphStormer]

I know this is a foreign concept to you, but consumers won’t buy bad product.

His post was informative and fact based. Why be so smarmy?

 

[Negan4Coach]

Yup. I (along with everyone else in the northeast) know a bunch of people that either currently live in the Raleigh-Durham area or did at one point as adults. All of them who are sports fans remained fans of their old teams.

So I grew up in NY as an Isles fan (although a pretty casual one), and have been living in Raleigh for 16 years. I went completely native with all the local sports teams, because unlike others I have faced and embraced the reality that this is now home. I'm kind of an anomoly in that manner,

But I was at the game last night with a transplant from Michigan who has been here as long as me, and although he is still a Red wings fan, last night he was in a "Bunch of Jerks" shirt right next to me cheering loudly for the Canes. Many, many dual hatted fans like that here.

 

[Svechhammer]

So I grew up in NY as an Isles fan (although a pretty casual one), and have been living in Raleigh for 16 years. I went completely native with all the local sports teams, because unlike others I have faced and embraced the reality that this is now home. I'm kind of an anomoly in that manner,

But I was at the game last night with a transplant from Michigan who has been here as long as me, and although he is still a Red wings fan, last night he was in a "Bunch of Jerks" shirt right next to me cheering loudly for the Canes. Many, many dual hatted fans like that here.

I grew up a Flyers fan following the team when Lindros didn't have concussion issues, and I was happy to have a team here in my hometown just so I could watch the Flyers in person. But getting playoff tickets and following the team in person through 3 playoff runs in their first 10 years quickly swung my fandom towards the Canes because its just more fun to be a part of that when its happening right here in your hometown. Don't get me wrong, I still like the Flyers, but if the two faced each other, I'm 100% for the Canes, because I selfishly want to keep following them and going to games.

We've had 10 years of fans not having to deal with that. We've had 10 years of fans being able to watch the Canes as their secondary team because there was no hope of the season actually doing something meaningful. We knew the last regular season game was the last game until opening day. For those dual hats, its been easy to not care about the Canes, because they didn't know what they were missing out on. Develop a team that is making the playoffs every year, bringing back that tailgating atmosphere that we were known for 10 years ago, and that changes quickly and suddenly those dual hatters realize its more fun to cheer for the home team. That's how you build the base, and that's how you grow hockey here in Raleigh. And that's what Karmanos absolutely failed at for the last decade of his ownership.

 

[BKIslandersFan]

His post was informative and fact based. Why be so smarmy?

What exactly was informative about it?

It seemed more like trolling to me.

"We sell out games despite team being bad"

That's not noble. Thats being a sucker.

 

[GuelphStormer]

What exactly was informative about it?

It seemed more like trolling to me.

"We sell out games despite team being bad"

That's not noble. Thats being a sucker.

I have no dog in this race so I just saw a post that contained empirical measures, you saw a post that was provocative and reacted as such. I didn't interpret his post as "We sell out games despite team being bad" ... I guess I just don't buy your main argument that a market should not support a losing team (bad product.) Supporting a team that might need that support even more than when they are winning doesn't make someone a sucker, it makes them a tried and true fan.

 

[zetajerk]

I have no dog in this race so I just saw a post that contained empirical measures, you saw a post that was provocative and reacted as such. I didn't interpret his post as "We sell out games despite team being bad" ... I guess I just don't buy your main argument that a market should not support a losing team (bad product.) Supporting a team that might need that support even more than when they are winning doesn't make someone a sucker, it makes them a tried and true fan.

I just don't believe any business should be entitled to peak profits regardless of how it's performing or the quality of what it's providing.