Friday, October 06, 2006

How expensive is your ticket?

According to what they say, the NHL think they're onto something by upping the prices of their tickets. Where living in Vancouver probably has people selling their bodies for a decent ticket - in Phoenix you can just skip a movie & a meal for a good night out.

Led by the Stanley Cup champion Carolina Hurricanes, more than half the league's teams have raised ticket prices, including 10 of them by more than 5 percent.
Of course the ones in the pricey range are the usual suspects, the difference in the prices is pretty amazing.

But guys, shouldn't we, like, be trying to win loyal fans before raising the prices as soon as they show some interest? Interestingly, here's a read on "why-the-hell-is-hockey-dying?" A popular topic for many forum goers who worry that it will become the chess club of the sports world. I guess it is pretty much a niche sport nowadays and is slowly fading from the norm. Though I must admit my concerns are mainly on trying to convince my friends that players losing teeth isn't a bad thing.

edit: To rephrase, if you had a chance to promote hockey in any way - with lots of funding to boot - how?

I'm pretty confident of what I'd do, I'd invite Samsonov & Stephen Colbert and work something out. Just you wait. But if I really had a chance at trying to make the NHL be known around Australia, it'd include a lot of publicity stunts with big players, trying to brainwash young hopeful kids with money to pick it up, and last but not least - bribing Australia to be in the finals in the Winter Olympics next time. I mean when Australia qualified for the Soccer World Cup, everyone celebrated. In fact when they lost, the big TV in the center of the city got pelted with beer bottles. That's how bandwagon-y we are. I mean people don't think much - but they need extra oomph.

3 comments:

Miss. Scarlett said...

I think hockey fans in the states are really sick of writers writing about how there are no hockey fans in the States.

We get it, hockey is less popular than geriatric lawn bolwing and hamster rugby, now how about something the fans can actually read?

aquietgirl said...

Let's make it clear that this is mostly addressing the sport's long, agonized, much-discussed death in the United States.

The heartbeat of hockey still beats furiously in the Truth North.

I'm starting to wonder if the wide-spread success of the NHL is that important, if each franchise can still continue to be financially viable with its hardcore fans. I mean, sure, I love spreading the gospel but frankly, it's been a long time and if they don't like our sport then ... they have their football, baseball and basketball. Vastly inferior pursuits, but as long as the franchises are financially viable, why should we [Canadians] worry about how Americans view our sport? Niche, my ass.

That said, promoting a sport that requires very specific weather is hard. I mean, hockey in Australia won't thrive not because Australians are just ignorant (you're great!), but the climate just isn't suitable. I'd look more to expanding in Russia, the Scandinavian countries more -- why haven't we seen the next great Danish or Icelandic Salming?

I'd adopt that same approach for conquering the United States. Hockey is just not natural in Texas, although it strangely has the most pro professional players anywhere. Conquer Minnesota, New England, North Dakota, then we'll worry about ESPN.

Jordi said...

Haha in a sense I'd argue that Australians have a large foreign population, many NHL fans in Australia are possible ex-pats who are just deprived.

To be honest, I doubt NHL is going to leave anytime soon - but I think there are a lot of concerns on how the contained within the North the sport is. Again the potential is there in many European countries but the only other great sport they could love there is soccer or Eurovision. And the climate is perfect but some still struggle.

Nonetheless I still find it interesting in how other people view the sport, general stereotypes aside.