Quote:
Originally Posted by afc wimbledon
League attendance has been down over the last few seasons though and looks to keep trending downwards, predominantly due to the sunbelt teams.
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The last two seasons have been off the league's record peak of 2008-09, yes. Among the factors for a decline, I would suggest, is the 3000 fans per game the Coyotes themselves lost as a result of this two-year mess.
If you look at the 08-09 league peak to this year, the changes are:
Pittsburgh +2482 (New rink + Winter Classic)
Los Angeles +1578
Nashville +1132
Tampa Bay +851 (Up nearly 2000 from last year)
St. Louis +596
Calgary +543 (Heritage Classic)
Boston +469
Washington +300
Vancouver +180
Philadelphia +165
Toronto +47
Edmonton 0
Montreal 0
Florida -3
NY Rangers -69
Buffalo -79
San Jose -122
Detroit -185
Carolina -229
Ottawa -571
Minnesota -694
Chicago -824 (2009 Winter Classic)
New Jersey -1015
Atlanta -1223
Columbus -2193
Anaheim -2252
Dallas -2607
Phoenix -2667
NY Islanders -2714
If you look at the changes over two years, you see the boom-bust nature of the sunbelt. Yes, some of the southern teams have been the biggest losers over the past two seasons, but they are also some of the biggest winners - and Tampa is going to take another big jump next season if their historical trends continue.
As it is, the league still posted its 3rd and 5th highest averages all-time the past two seasons, despite the economic recession in the US. Not bad at all. The league has done well to actually grow its business over this time even with the pressures created.
FWIW, even on complete sellouts, Winnipeg would only have been 23rd in the league for attendance this past season.