Preseason schedules announced

[tarheelhockey]

Canes have posted theirs:



Anybody else?

Click to read more...

 

[LeafsNation75]

The Maple Leafs announced theirs's today.

 

[Taro Tsujimoto]

Here be Buffalo’s:

 

[Luigi Lemieux]

 

[Kamiccolo]

Man it's going to be a long two months.

 

[talkinaway]

This is new for some teams? Bruins released their schedule a month ago (and, by extension, the Flames, Wings, Caps, and Flyers got at least a piece of their schedule at that time, too.)

I'm sure part of the reason for the early release was that the Bruins and Flames are sending half their players to China for two games. Hopefully the jet lag won't kill the players.

Call me corny, but I still get excited by preseason - it means real hockey is just around the corner. As a STH, I hate the fact that our tickets cost as much as any other game, but it subsidizes the other games.

But...wait...the Canes have a FREE game? I mean, damn, even the Bruins have tickets available off of StubHub for about $20, but free? And for the last game, where you're getting closer to the actual roster?

 

[tarheelhockey]

But...wait...the Canes have a FREE game? I mean, damn, even the Bruins have tickets available off of StubHub for about $20, but free? And for the last game, where you're getting closer to the actual roster?

It’s not like they’re giving back the money they’ve already collected from STH for that “free” game. They’ve already sold thousands of tickets.

What they’re doing is holding their annual pre-season festival that day, and enticing people to get there and fill the building for what would otherwise be a 8K-12K attendance situation (because few people actually buy walkup tickets to a glorified scrimmage). They have nothing to lose by selling a bunch of concessions and merch, rather than striving to sell some $20 tickets that have close to $0 actual market value.

 

[LeafsNation75]

It’s not like they’re giving back the money they’ve already collected from STH for that “free” game. They’ve already sold thousands of tickets.

What they’re doing is holding their annual pre-season festival that day, and enticing people to get there and fill the building for what would otherwise be a 8K-12K attendance situation (because few people actually buy walkup tickets to a glorified scrimmage). They have nothing to lose by selling a bunch of concessions and merch, rather than striving to sell some $20 tickets that have close to $0 actual market value.

During the 2008-2009 and 2009-2010 preseason the Leafs had a preseason game where all the tickets were free.

 

[talkinaway]

It’s not like they’re giving back the money they’ve already collected from STH for that “free” game. They’ve already sold thousands of tickets.

What they’re doing is holding their annual pre-season festival that day, and enticing people to get there and fill the building for what would otherwise be a 8K-12K attendance situation (because few people actually buy walkup tickets to a glorified scrimmage). They have nothing to lose by selling a bunch of concessions and merch, rather than striving to sell some $20 tickets that have close to $0 actual market value.

True....but doesn't it piss off Canes STHs that their preseason ticket to that game is effectively worth $0? IIRC, the Panthers started giving away some regular season games for free about 3-5 years ago...the idea being exactly what you said: to get butts in seats to buy concessions, and maybe even to hopefully return for some "premium" games (weekends, O6). Due to backlash from STHs, I think they quit that, and I can see the point.

I do know that 3-4 years ago, it was pretty easy to get $15 tix (w/ fees) on the secondary market to Bruins preseason games, which I think is a fair deal for a scrimmage - they still have to turn the lights on and pay the people who scan your ticket and clean up the vomitoria. And once you get in, they don't police the arena at all except for the suites/club, so your $15 ticket to one of the top rows of the upper bowl could easily become a seat in the center of the lower bowl 12 rows up, just above the glass.

(Not that I'm speaking from experience....)

 

[Pyrophorus]

Easy trick question, in fact possibly lame:

The Leafs have 8 pre-season games, none are at the ACC, but not all are on the road. Why?

 

[LeafsNation75]

Easy trick question, in fact possibly lame:

The Leafs have 8 pre-season games, none are at the ACC, but not all are on the road. Why?

Is it because on July 1, 2018 the Air Canada Centre's name is changing to Scotiabank Arena, so they can no longer play at the "Air Canada Centre" anymore.

 

[Pyrophorus]

Is it because on July 1, 2018 the Air Canada Centre's name is changing to Scotiabank Arena, so they can no longer play at the "Air Canada Centre" anymore.

Was hoping for opposition fans...but oh well.

 

[tarheelhockey]

True....but doesn't it piss off Canes STHs that their preseason ticket to that game is effectively worth $0? IIRC, the Panthers started giving away some regular season games for free about 3-5 years ago...the idea being exactly what you said: to get butts in seats to buy concessions, and maybe even to hopefully return for some "premium" games (weekends, O6). Due to backlash from STHs, I think they quit that, and I can see the point.

I do know that 3-4 years ago, it was pretty easy to get $15 tix (w/ fees) on the secondary market to Bruins preseason games, which I think is a fair deal for a scrimmage - they still have to turn the lights on and pay the people who scan your ticket and clean up the vomitoria. And once you get in, they don't police the arena at all except for the suites/club, so your $15 ticket to one of the top rows of the upper bowl could easily become a seat in the center of the lower bowl 12 rows up, just above the glass.

(Not that I'm speaking from experience....)

Speaking as a STH, it makes no difference to me. The resale value for a non-sold-out preseaon game between two nontraditional teams including one that hasn’t made the playoffs in a decade... if it isn’t $0, it’s close to it. I’d say something like $8 or so. Most people wouldn’t watch it on TV for free. So the profit motives around that ticket are nearly non existent.

In this situation, the game coincides with the Carnival so most hardcore fans will be there anyway. Since I’ll probably show up, the only way the promotion impacts me is that it makes the arena fuller.

If it were a regular season game, that would be a different story.

 

[boredmale]

Any Clue when the season begins? Going by the pre season schedules I would assume Wed, Oct 3rd? But it could be the 10th

 

[talkinaway]

Any Clue when the season begins? Going by the pre season schedules I would assume Wed, Oct 3rd? But it could be the 10th

Should be Wed October 3rd for the first four matchups (1 each of Eastern US, Eastern Canada, Western US, Western Canada), and Thursday October 4th for almost everyone else. The Bruins preseason schedule aligns perfectly with their schedule last year, so I assume the same would go for the regular season and post-season, just everything shifted by 1 numerical day because 365 = 1 (mod 7). They often stick one or both SCF teams on the Wednesday opening day, and both arenas are technically open.