Why is attendance so bad this year?

[OffSydes]

People frustrated?
Barracuda taking attendance away?
Tickets too expensive?
People miss seeing Irwin?

Click to read more...

 

[Gene Parmesan]

Maybe no one wants to watch the Carolina Hurricanes.

 

[The Ice Hockey Dude]

yea i was supprised at last night, one of the arena views featuring lower bowl seats with propotional materials... looked mostly empty for sure. I didnt see later in the game, i am courious if there were that many in the building..

 

[Painful Quandary]

Maybe no one wants to watch the Carolina Hurricanes.

That's part of it. Last year, I went to a Sharks game where they were playing the Coyotes, and it wasn't a sellout (close though). When the Sharks play a sunbelt team that isn't very good or the Sabres, there tends to be a dropoff.

Also, I believe season tickets to a drop considering how DW handled last season. It pissed a lot of people off.

 

[Gene Parmesan]

That's part of it. Last year, I went to a Sharks game where they were playing the Coyotes, and it wasn't a sellout (close though). When the Sharks play a sunbelt team that isn't very good or the Sabres, there tends to be a dropoff.

Also, I believe season tickets to a drop considering how DW handled last season. It pissed a lot of people off.

DW stuck to his word though. No one believed him. This is why the Sharks can't afford a full on rebuild.

 

[AgentCooper]

Maybe no one wants to watch the Carolina Hurricanes.

I think this actually has a lot to do with it.

 

[Led Zappa]

I don't think it's that unexpected. Aside from a losing season and besides being a Canes game, we also have the Niners, Quakes and Cuda in recent years to contend with for sports dollars. The Sharks also want $105-$112 for my $86 STH price seats. They had to expect a drop off by raising prices again after missing the PO's. Not sure of the mindset behind that.

We also just lost 3 in a row.

After the Kings loss in 2014

About 89 percent signed on for another season, Tortora said -- above the NHL average and not far from the renewal rate when the team does advance in the post-season.

While the renewal rate was down, Tortora said the team will begin the season with about the same number of seats available for single-game sales -- 3,000 -- because other fans did buy season tickets for the first time. Some, he said, were motivated by early access to tickets for the outdoor game Feb. 21 at Levi's Stadium.

After last year

With a little over three weeks to go before the start of the regular season, the Sharks anticipate a season ticket renewal rate of about 85 percent, John Tortora, chief operating officer of Sharks Sports & Entertainment, said Monday.

Tortora said the team added about 500 new season ticket holders for this year, and should wind up with a season ticket base of between 11,000 to 12,000 subscribers, which includes partial plans.

http://www.mercurynews.com/sharks/ci_26476218/san-jose-sharks-have-small-dip-season-ticket

http://www.mercurynews.com/sharks/c...ine-season-ticket-renewals?source=infinite-up

 

[nabbyfan]

You can't raise ticket prices after the worst season in a Decade and then be surprised the attendance suffers.


Over that decade the Warriors have been mostly irrelevant and no real competition for the fall-spring sports focus of fans. Can't blame people who were casual Sharks/Sports fans for jumping over to the Warriors bandwagon and focusing/spending their money on them.

I feel like if they play well enough the attendance will start to creep back up though. They have to earn the fans trust again.

 

[Led Zappa]

I also wouldn't be surprised that many of the dropped season tickets were brokers giving up some seats. With fewer ST's being sold, a team that is not expected to be competing for the Stanley Cup and more sports teams in the South Bay the investment could become costly. There were many games last year where I had seen more empty seats than ever and they still considered it a "sell out".

 

[Pinkfloyd]

DW stuck to his word though. No one believed him. This is why the Sharks can't afford a full on rebuild.

What exactly was his word though? Also, I think it's a bit misleading to believe they can't afford a full rebuild. That's not the only thing at play here. The team at its core is still the same to a lot of people which means to them a rebuild never happened. They raised ticket prices after missing the playoffs. The idea that full houses need to happen for the Sharks to survive is not something I personally buy when they're backed by someone like Hasso. They have the capability of dealing with lean years and poor attendance when you have someone like that owning your team. And lean years is something you have to expect if you plan on owning a professional sports team.

 

[weastern bias]

Tickets are just so gdmfn expensive

When you're not sure what kind of game you're gonna get to see it's a tough sell to spend that much on what could end up being a bummer night

Luckily with the 'cuda here it's still possible to enjoy a night of live high level hockey without it feeling like an investment

I honestly might not go to a single Sharks game this year because the Barracuda present such a better value

You can get decent seats plus food and drinks for less than the cost of a nosebleed seat to see the Sharks

 

[Goldenshark]

San Francisco Sharks here we come in 2018.

 

[SacLandshark]

Sharks had a hard time selling out games the season after their last meltdown too (03-04) even though they were #2 overall in the NHL that season. When they suck all season long and you are then presented with an enormous bill for the next seasons games, it's not surprising that many decline to renew.

 

[kdb209]

Sharks had a hard time selling out games the season after their last meltdown too (03-04) even though they were #2 overall in the NHL that season. When they suck all season long and you are then presented with an enormous bill for the next seasons games, it's not surprising that many decline to renew.

That was basically the same effect that is happening now.

After the debacle of '02-'03 - fire the coach, fire the GM, trade the face of the franchise, and miss the playoffs for the first time in 7 years - the Sharks saw a significant drop in their STH base, due to poor performance, and more important, low expectations. The STH base dropped from ~14K to ~12K.

It is really hard to make that up in individual game box office sales - especially for midweek games and/or games against non compelling opponents - even if the
team does perform well.

Team attendance is really a lagging indicator - driven by STH sales/renewals/expectations.

 

[Gecklund]

Because they were really bad last year.

 

[sjsharky]

It's pretty hard to find tickets under $50 most nights. Maybe you can get them down to $35 if you buy them secondhand. And we're talking nosebleeds there. If you want a decent seat (i.e. in the front half of the upper deck, not behind a goal) on a Saturday night game, you're probably going to be paying at least $80 a pop.

You can get cheaper tickets for the NBA champion Warriors. You can get cheaper tickets for the Raiders. You can get cheaper tickets for the Earthquakes. They don't really compete at the same time, but you can get cheaper tickets for the Giants and the A's. And there's a whole host of minor league options to choose from as well that are far cheaper.

So when the Sharks are rebounding from their worst season in a long time, why should I be paying so much?

 

[LadyStanley]

San Francisco Sharks here we come in 2018.

Not gonna happen as the Sharks just signed a long extension with SJ city for use of SAP Center.



Low attendance: combination of bandwagon fans stepping off after a bad season, less renewals due to raised prices, fans pissed at (perceived mis-)management. And non-original 6 team.

Original 6 teams will always garner more attention

 

[Kcoyote3]

Maybe no one wants to watch the Carolina Hurricanes.

Yeah not to be mean, but what's the most exciting part about the Hurricanes?

Eric Staal seems to be in a 6 year decline, Jordan Staal has done pretty much nothing since he has reunited with his brother, Semin is gone and was nothing fun to watch while he was there.

I guess Noah Hanifin is exciting.

 

[210]

Barracuda taking attendance away?

I have someone texting me the actual turnstile counts...trust me, it ain't the Barracuda.

 

[Quid Pro Clowe]

So, there's about 3,000 available tics per game, meaning 14,500 are sold. Looking at last night's attendance, only 1,300 of those were sold. Sounds like people want to go see a Carolina matchup and the walk up/single game purchases were low. This should be expected from time to time, but they should regularly be above 16,500 per game.

 

[Quid Pro Clowe]

Should say didn't between people and want above.

 

[OffSydes]

I have someone texting me the actual turnstile counts...trust me, it ain't the Barracuda.

I was semi joking.. I play adult hockey at Sharks Ice and they gave every team in the league 37 free tickets to Cuda games with only 2 games blacked out

 

[210]

I was semi joking.. I play adult hockey at Sharks Ice and they gave every team in the league 37 free tickets to Cuda games with only 2 games blacked out

That's not uncommon in minor league sports.

You've already shown an interest because you play the sport. Their goal is to get you to the building for a game where you will hopefully spend some money and then go again, with the possibility of getting a ticket package.

The fact they did that shows they have a clue what they're doing.

 

[CanadienShark]

It's pretty hard to find tickets under $50 most nights. Maybe you can get them down to $35 if you buy them secondhand. And we're talking nosebleeds there. If you want a decent seat (i.e. in the front half of the upper deck, not behind a goal) on a Saturday night game, you're probably going to be paying at least $80 a pop.

You can get cheaper tickets for the NBA champion Warriors. You can get cheaper tickets for the Raiders. You can get cheaper tickets for the Earthquakes. They don't really compete at the same time, but you can get cheaper tickets for the Giants and the A's. And there's a whole host of minor league options to choose from as well that are far cheaper.

So when the Sharks are rebounding from their worst season in a long time, why should I be paying so much?

Holy crap, and I thought you guys had it great down in the States. I buy tix off stubhub and generally pay $40 tops, $20 minimum. I'm seeing the Flyers and Sens in a few weeks and I think it was like $35. It's the cheaper seats, but there isn't really a bad seat in the Canadian Tire Centre.

 

[OffSydes]

That's not uncommon in minor league sports.

You've already shown an interest because you play the sport. Their goal is to get you to the building for a game where you will hopefully spend some money and then go again, with the possibility of getting a ticket package.

The fact they did that shows they have a clue what they're doing.

I get it but I just thought it funny with the blackout dates being so small. I figured if they were going to do it would be mid-week games or something.