Your opinions on how to jumpstart hockey in the U.S

[Dominator13]

Being a current student in business and a future student in marketing, i would like to know your opinions on how the NHL could accelerate and uprise in ratings and attendence cause i do think that the sport of hockey has a lot of unique features (i.e hits and fights) and i do think it's just a matter on how to approach U.S citizens that could bring hockey to new heights. Personnaly i think the NHL should let go Comcast and desperatly try to convince ESPN (at low price) to broadcast their games cause they are the source for sports. The NHL also needs more shows about the sport. Now i'm sure theyre's plenty more and i can't wait to hear them. If this thread goes well it can become my next paper, so rock on guys

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[JarkkoRuutu]

These threads have a few ideas that you may find interesting:

http://hfboards.com/showthread.php?t=576315
http://hfboards.com/showthread.php?t=566727

I think more interesting players would help. Outside of a handful of colourful characters most NHLers are quite bland in interviews. But there's a plethora of ways the NHL could do better in the US.

I wouldn't recommend using this as more than a brainstorming session for anything academic btw. Good luck with your paper.

 

[mucker*]

I don't really think hockey can be jumpstarted to reach the popularity level most people on this board would like.

Could hockey be more popular?
Yes.
But the extent is limited.

Hockey is a niche sport, that really goes hand and hand with a cold climate.
This is not something which is a natural fit in most regions south of the Mason-Dixon line.

It is not in the culture of America like baseball, and with the exception of Minnesota it really isn't the "thing" to do play in high school.

If you live in the south, I mean how attractive would it be to play hockey.
The sport naturally has self limitations to being a broad appeal.

For that reason, I believe it is unreasonable for it to be anymore than a niche sport.
However, rather than "whinning" hockey fans should embrace and target their "base" in this areas condusive and more culturally inline with the sport.

How much do people enjoy Phoenix in their arena vs Quebec?
Exactly.

Accept hockey is not America's pastime or culture, but a niche.
Embrace, and market it to be as attractive to the core base areas.

 

[OG6ix]

This is not something you can do overnight... the only thing that will work is grass roots development. It's pretty narrowminded to think that hockey will not grow outside of non-cold winter climates considering the game is played indoors and more and more people are transplants in cities like Phoenix or even Raleigh.

Marketing their superstars is definitely something the NHL has neglected until as of late, and it's working (I've heard a few refrences to hockey lately in pop culture). It makes people more accustomed to a brand of any kind (not just sports) if people can relate it to a face or symbol.

 

[mucker*]

Well in Phoenix and North Carolina hockey will NEVER outdo the other sports.
It just is not in the fabric of the culture...and with global warming it will have even less appeal/practicality.

Further...if you are in a traditional hockey city...how fun is it to have Phoenix visit?

 

[mooseOAK*]

Mod-edit: deleted.

There is no short term solution, only long term ones.

 

[ncsu1]

Well in Phoenix and North Carolina hockey will NEVER outdo the other sports.
It just is not in the fabric of the culture...and with global warming it will have even less appeal/practicality.

Further...if you are in a traditional hockey city...how fun is it to have Phoenix visit?

Well, if every player on UNC, Duke, and NC State tear their ACLs then there's a chance it could for a little bit.

But seriously, youth hockey is definitely growing around here. (NC)

 

[Dumpster Flyers]

Get hockey back on ESPN. Americans get their sports news from a TV station that not only ignores hockey, but bashes it with the few opportunities given.

 

[Bixby Snyder]

Snoop Dogg as commissioner of the NHL.

 

[Raoul Duke*]

Have fans text in their votes for the winner of games.

 

[Dominator13]

Mod-edit: deleted.

There is no short term solution, only long term ones.

Mod-edit: deleted.

Thanks for all the answers guys, very appreciated. I do know that it can't be done short term, but i don't feel that the NHL is helping itself to be attractive to the public, starting with the number of games that are presented on TV, if i remember correctly, Chicago coudn't even watch hom games a while back, it's rather insulting if you ask me. I'm simply looking for ways for the league to have more exposure, but i know that in some citys like Pheonix and New Jersey it just can't be done.

 

[RingWraith]

Exciting hockey and pulsating fanbases in Chicago, Boston, Philadelphia, Detroit, New York and Los Angeles are the key to making hockey relevent in the United States. Markets like Phoenix, Miami, Atlanta, Nashville and Raleigh will not do that for the league. Ever.

 

[vivianmb]

two words.... more fights

 

[RTN]

Move teams to Seattle, Portland, and Houston.

Find a way to cut costs for equipment and ice time at the minor hockey level.

 

[Turkpbr*]

Move teams to Seattle, Portland, and Houston.

Find a way to cut costs for equipment and ice time at the minor hockey level.

Yes, because the University of Washington, the University of Oregon and the University of Houston are hotbeds of hockey. I remember the last time all of these college hockey teams went into the Kohl Center and beat Wisconsin, it was epic.

Don't excuse my sarcasm, but 2/3 of the people here don't think hockey could ever survive outside of Hamilton, Winnipeg or Quebec.

 

[RTN]

Yes, because the University of Washington, the University of Oregon and the University of Houston are hotbeds of hockey. I remember the last time all of these college hockey teams went into the Kohl Center and beat Wisconsin, it was epic.

Don't excuse my sarcasm, but 2/3 of the people here don't think hockey could ever survive outside of Hamilton, Winnipeg or Quebec.

Well, I'm not American, so I only know of the top Div. 1 teams, but I don't see how that adds to the argument.

 

[Buck Aki Berg]

I agree that the NHL has come a long way in marketing its stars, but it has to do it a lot more, and with a wider variety of stars. It seems to me that a lot of the new fans that were drawn in by marketing Crosby (for example), aren't hockey fans, they're Crosby fans or Pens fans, and that's it. I'd be the same way if I picked up a new sport. If I started watching basketball tomorrow (*scoff*), I'd be following whichever team/player had the highest amount of media coverage, because that's all I'd have to go on, and the rest of the league would remain a mystery to me.

I also think that the idea that small marketa/non-traditional markets should be second-tier in terms of marketability also needs to go. I'll use the Canadian teams as an example: Fox, ABC, and NBC have never shown a Canadian team in their regular season broadcasts, the reason being that Canadian teams have no marketability in the US. And that makes sense. However, if the networks had tossed in the odd game featuring a Canadian team for the last 10 years (vs. Pittsburgh or the Rangers, of course), these teams would have some amount of marketability outside of their own territory. Same goes for if the Hurricanes or Coyotes or Blues or any other team received some amount of national TV exposure from the networks.

 

[Jarnevic]

Instead of a shootout to determine a tied game at the end of regulation, just have two players duke it out at center ice with the winning team getting the points.


I keed, I keed.

 

[The Korean*]

I don't really think hockey can be jumpstarted to reach the popularity level most people on this board would like.

Could hockey be more popular?
Yes.
But the extent is limited.

Hockey is a niche sport, that really goes hand and hand with a cold climate.
This is not something which is a natural fit in most regions south of the Mason-Dixon line.

It is not in the culture of America like baseball, and with the exception of Minnesota it really isn't the "thing" to do play in high school.

If you live in the south, I mean how attractive would it be to play hockey.
The sport naturally has self limitations to being a broad appeal.

For that reason, I believe it is unreasonable for it to be anymore than a niche sport.
However, rather than "whinning" hockey fans should embrace and target their "base" in this areas condusive and more culturally inline with the sport.

How much do people enjoy Phoenix in their arena vs Quebec?
Exactly.

Accept hockey is not America's pastime or culture, but a niche.
Embrace, and market it to be as attractive to the core base areas.

That is wrong. Hockey is a sport where most of American fans watch instead of play. Even up in North most fans do not play the sports itself, period. Only reason why Phoenix is so unpopular opponent is because they suck. Not because of where they are.

 

[Gooch]

I posted something similar to this on the crosby giving 800 kids hockey gear thread.

The best way to promote the sport within the US is to grow the sport at the grassroots level.

If the NHL worked towards getting equipment out to towns for loaner use similar to pop warner football then kids would only provide the gloves, stick and skates it would make it a lot cheaper on the parents.

Drastically upping the amount of ice rinks avaliable, especially in non traditional markets. You are going to have a rough time getting people interested in the sport when they cant even play it. Most highschool's don't even have a team and non school affiliated teams are almost non existant.

Train and encourage P.E. teachers to teach hockey in gym class. I don't think I have ever played hockey in gym class... in a world where kids are doing parachute ball thingy and freaking square dancing but not hockey in gym that is a sign something is wrong. This is a great way to introduce kids to a sport they probably know nothing about and most likely would never show interest in otherwise.

Overall, basically put much more effort and money into cultivating youth in order to grow the sport. When kids play hockey they also watch hockey, they grow up buying tickets to games and teaching their kids to play. I have no doubt in my mind that the NHL would recover every bit of money spent in this way and then some... it will only take time, but the sport will be much better off for it.

 

[Teemu]

Figure out some way to kill Title IX.

 

[BeardyCanuck03]

It's gotta be a grassroots development plan. A hockey game is too fast and fluid for the average American who doesn't have any hockey knowledge. The sports that do well in the states are the sports that have time for the tv broadcasters to breakdown the play. NFL, MLB, and NASCAR all have the time in the course of the game/race to explain to the viewers whats happening and why its happening. Growing the grassroots in the states will grow the % of the American population that has hockey knowledge.

 

[Gil Gunderson]

Have a 30 minute show on ESPN that shows the best hits and fights of the week.

 

[Ola]

Being a current student in business and a future student in marketing, i would like to know your opinions on how the NHL could accelerate and uprise in ratings and attendence cause i do think that the sport of hockey has a lot of unique features (i.e hits and fights) and i do think it's just a matter on how to approach U.S citizens that could bring hockey to new heights. Personnaly i think the NHL should let go Comcast and desperatly try to convince ESPN (at low price) to broadcast their games cause they are the source for sports. The NHL also needs more shows about the sport. Now i'm sure theyre's plenty more and i can't wait to hear them. If this thread goes well it can become my next paper, so rock on guys

Its a long term project. The NHL just have to build long term while trying to sell the game anyway they can, and that includes the Olympics and any publicity they can get... I even think the expansion is a great idea.

The NHL is a great product -- for anyone who got any kind of history of the game. Every sport is hard to pick up for someone with zero history of it. It would be completely impossible to sell Baseball or Fotball in Europe.

Though, the NHL can't build 3-4 years ahead -- they need to build 15-20 years ahead. And especially focus on getting kids involved in the game.

 

[Ola]

It's gotta be a grassroots development plan. A hockey game is too fast and fluid for the average American who doesn't have any hockey knowledge. The sports that do well in the states are the sports that have time for the tv broadcasters to breakdown the play. NFL, MLB, and NASCAR all have the time in the course of the game/race to explain to the viewers whats happening and why its happening. Growing the grassroots in the states will grow the % of the American population that has hockey knowledge.

Exactly!