First Home Playoff Game Doesnt Sell-out

[Erick Estrada]

Calgary fans have been accustomed to the Flames and Stamps letting them down in the playoffs and has been stated they never sold out in the 90's due to fans not willing to invest in another first round loss. Throw in the economy and price of seats an it's just not a great recipe although if last night wasn't sold out it was as close as you can get. I'm worried more about the team on the ice getting their act together over a small handful of seats unsold.

[MrMastodonFarm]

The game was officially sold out.
http://www.nhl.com/scores/htmlreport...7/GS030173.HTM

[Badgers Nose]

Originally Posted by nemanja2306

Nobody has an agenda against the Flames. Not the refs, not the league.

The Flames are not mentally strong enough. Period.

Just accept it, and for the love of God, stop with the conspiracy theories. There's no conspiracy against the Flames.

fyp

[Bingo]

Looked full to me.

And in fact I almost burst my bladder as even the "quiet" bathroom was lined up to the point where you couldn't get it done in an intermission.

[redsunsdriver]

I was on Ticketmaster minutes before puck drop and there were literally rows of seats available....

[Resolute 14]

Originally Posted by redsunsdriver

I was on Ticketmaster minutes before puck drop and there were literally rows of seats available....

lol, no there wasn't.

[demzor]

Couldn't sell out a playoff game? Embarrassing.

[Hot_Flatus]

Originally Posted by calgaryjohn87

That's what happens when you have wishy washy fans. Look at how many people on here will "wait and see" if prices come down instead of just buying the tickets.

I wouldn't be surprised if the team moved, no joke, the fan support here is a joke. It's disheartening to see for sure, definitely has an effect on the guys knowing they make the playoffs and 19,000 people out of 1.4 million can't be bothered to show up and support them. And this is all based on some sort of "principal" .

Mark my words, if the team does not do substancially better next year this is the end of the franchise in Calgary. Argue or don't argue, I don't care, just remember I am saying it for future reference.

People here just do not care enough about the team to put up the money to watch them which is very bad for business

People here expect to be treated fairly and are extremely passionate. Don't give me this garbage about how Calgary is full of cheap, fair-weather fans. Flames fans have had very little to cheer about since the cup win and have stood by the team through thick and thin. I certainly wouldn't support this team out of choice if I lived somewhere else....it's extremely painful from a fans perspective but I've stuck with them like so many others have as well.

The prices are out of control for sure and that needs to be checked by the team as they are risking alienating more fans when they should be trying to create sympathy for their cause. I really doubt there were empty seats all over the place, it certainly didn't look that way on tv anyway.

[Cleveland Steam Whistle]

Originally Posted by Bill Bumface

Has this ever happened before?

Seats on Ticketmaster flipped from regular seats to resale at a lower price instantly and people were moved from the upper bleeds to the 2nd bowl by Flames staff.

I was curious if game 4 against Chicago didn't sell out as we were facing a sweep, but this seems like it's the first time the first playoff home game wasn't sold out.

Prices were high and times are tough. The Flames tried to get blood from a stone.

It really emphasizes the fact a new arena isn't about the good of the city, but just more revenue.

They made a decision that kept empty seats in the dome tonight while tens of thousands couldn't afford the price of admission.

Given the result, lucky those that decided they couldn't afford it.

If it was indeed not a sell out, and if it wasn't, it didn't miss by much, still doesn't mean it wasn't the right decision for Flames on pricing on the tickets. Filling those last few seats versus discounting seats to sell all of them (you can't cherry pick your price points) might not have been the best business decision.

And of course a new arena is about more revenue, but it's also about quality of life and options of entertainment for the population of this city. That's not the same thing as providing seats to hockey games as a discount price as public service, no one is pretending that.

For me as a STH, I'd love a new building to see games in, but to be honest, I could spend another 10 years in the dome happily. As a Calgarian what's driving my desire for a new building (however it comes) is actually with the opening of Roger's place, we are truly missing out on most of the good shows these days, across all genres. Having to go to Edmonton for the next 5 years anytime I want to see a good show isn't awesome, and is actually the most pressing reason this city needs a new facility IMO.

[Jordan!]

Originally Posted by dino7c

has more to do with the rigged results than the price...people are thinking whats the ####ing point

pay money to watch the league #### your favorite team

Excuses, the league isn't rigging anything.. the flames lost on deflections

[Jordan!]

Originally Posted by Dion

Not surprised given the shocking prices they were asking for bowl seats. It was a calculated risk by the Flames testing how much fans were willing to pay. In this case they guessed too high and ended up with empty seats.

In a struggling economy fans don't always have the extra income for events such as NHL hockey. The optics of the prices left me wondering if the ownership group is really in touch with what the average Albertan is dealing with. They could have priced the tickets at a more reasonable level and filled the building. Any lost revenue in ticket prices could have been made up in concession and alcohol sales.

Wait, I thought Canadian hockey fans would pay ANYTHING for the love of the game, even in a non playoff situation?

I'll be..

[GGG]

Originally Posted by Itse

It seems the prices of playoff tickets really were too damned high.

Not really if they have 3000 non season ticket seats to sell and have 30 leftover at the end that would indicate perfect pricing. Maximizing revenue would have the last seat sell just after puck drop.

From a dollar maximization standpoint even though it appears that the Flames bought tickets and then resold below face was probably pretty close to perfect.

[Smartcar]

I don't think so, pretty sure it sold out. Guy at the LRT was yelling "anyone selling tickets?" I've never seen that before it's always "anyone need tickets?"

[OffsideSpecialist]

nm

[burn_baby_burn]

Sold out or not, the Flames would have set a franchise record last night for revenue for a single game. Highest ticket prices ever, by far. Beer sales looked very high. A win for the business side of the franchise.

[Resolute 14]

Originally Posted by Bouw N Arrow

Wait, I thought Canadian hockey fans would pay ANYTHING for the love of the game, even in a non playoff situation?

I'll be..

Your inferiority complex is showing, Jordan.

[GeoRock]

Originally Posted by Resolute 14

lol, no there wasn't.

He's right actually, I was considering going last minute and checked around 6 pm and I saw a huge row available in the 2nd bowl, several other pairs all over. Probably player ticket holds. But for 350 per seat I just couldn't swallow it.

Sent from my SM-G900W8 using Tapatalk

[Backlunds_socks]

why would i waste my money on that game last night?

[Sainters7]

Originally Posted by calgaryjohn87

That's what happens when you have wishy washy fans. Look at how many people on here will "wait and see" if prices come down instead of just buying the tickets.

Jebus. I was doing that because I can't really afford to spend $300+ on a ticket, but I really wanted to go. So my only choice is resale. And after my buddy's office tickets fell through, he refused to spend more than $80-100 because he's a bit tight for cash and is a Habs fan so he doesn't care enough to spend exorbitant amounts on tix when it's not his team. So I had no choice but to pray they came down more, or he was going to bail.

Then when he did finally bail, I decided I still wanted to go, but getting one reasonably-priced ticket I could afford on Stub Hub was even more difficult. In a desperate attempt after that fell through, I took the train ticketless to the Dome by myself, praying I could find a scalper. But all I could find were reverse scalpers hollering FOR tickets, so I dejectedly took the train back home. After all that, I'm a wishy-washy fan then?

I take it you think Calgary's best fans are in Signal Hill, Eagle Ridge and Mount Royal. Fact is prices are just too high, and not reflective of a city in the midst of a bad recession. Many people just can't afford to go right now. Glad to hear that's not the case for you, buy my tickets for game 4 then since money is no object for yourself, then I'll definitely be there for game 4. K thx

[CliffFletcher]

The following teams routinely have thousands of empty seats a game, and rarely sell out - even in the playoffs.

Anaheim
Florida
New Jersey
New York Islanders
Ottawa
Carolina
Colorado
San Jose
Arizona
Columbus

The Flames aren't going anywhere.