How bad is this years Flames? $8 tickets bad

[memphusk]

Originally Posted by troutman

Several NHL Teams Already Struggling With Attendance Numbers

https://www.nhltraderumors.me/2023/1...truggling.html

The product gets worse every season. I find myself not watching as much also. Not because I'm trying to make a statement but its just too much special teams bull####.

[Mass_nerder]

Originally Posted by Muta

The NHL has basically priced itself out of the market for many people, especially in the age of skyrocketing inflation and living costs. I haven't gone to a game in ages and unless they're free, will continue to just watch on TV. Too expensive.

$8 is pretty good though lol.

$8 ticket, but $40 for a pocket dog and a beer (probably).

[dino7c]

These are also PL tickets...pretty unique to Calgary

What is the cheapest ticket below the jumbotron

[Backstop]

Originally Posted by dino7c

These are also PL tickets...pretty unique to Calgary

What is the cheapest ticket below the jumbotron

I was thinking the same thing, gotta be nosebleeds, but you can sit right behind the bench for $90, that is definitely cheap for our arena

[Blankcanvas]

This is definitely the lowest demand for tickets that I have experienced in 10 years as a season ticket holder. Re-sell is below 50% of STH cost and friends/colleagues used to be happy to get tickets at my cost.

I was in two minds about renewing this year but was hoping they would rebound after such a disappointing season last year. Sadly, I was wrong.

[Aarongavey]

Originally Posted by White Out 403

I think I've been saying this now for years that the NHL is abusing their paying customers in a short-sighted attempt to jack up the salary cap. It's a gate driven league and they've completely driven away the paying public especially in canada. Absurd concession prices and overpriced tickets, I'm glad ownership is feeling the pinch. There needs to be a serious rethink of the game day experience and price is just one aspect

Ya this pipe dream of a salary cap in the 110-120 million dollar level is just that a pipe dream. Ticket prices will flat line, tv revenue will flat line. I would be surprised if it hits 100 million this decade.

[heep223]

Supply and demand is a beautiful thing. It’s the only language that will speak to ownership

[Strange Brew]

Originally Posted by Mathgod

World Series tickets are also cheap right now. This kind of thing is happening everywhere. Inflation is taking its toll on the disposable income families have.

This might be a Phoenix thing, were tickets cheap in games 1 and 2?

People still love spending money.

[Mathgod]

Originally Posted by Strange Brew

This might be a Phoenix thing, were tickets cheap in games 1 and 2?

People still love spending money.

If the Flames were in the cup finals, I'd bet the tickets to those games wouldn't be going for 8 bucks.

Cost of living is having an effect for sure though. More so in some areas than others.

[Matty81]

Originally Posted by White Out 403

I think I've been saying this now for years that the NHL is abusing their paying customers in a short-sighted attempt to jack up the salary cap. It's a gate driven league and they've completely driven away the paying public especially in canada. Absurd concession prices and overpriced tickets, I'm glad ownership is feeling the pinch. There needs to be a serious rethink of the game day experience and price is just one aspect

This is so true... old man comment but compared to when I was growing up in the 80s and 90s, my own kids class has so few kids into hockey. 80% plus of the boys were into hockey when i was a kid, either on tv, road hockey or ice. I'd guess it's 25% or less now although I know it's different from place to place. I think the NHL has faced headwinds but has also been pretty short sighted

Have overpriced tickets and sold the product to more expensive and harder to access cable tv channels and basically milked the hardcore fans with not much care for attracting casuals and new Canadians - at the exact time that the amount of other entertainment options for kids have exploded and other forms of entertainment are going with the model of getting themselves in front of eyeballs for free or very cheap and trying to extract value from advertising, fremium or extra features and small transactions.

I feel like every year it has actually gotten harder to access the NHL since Rogers has taken over.

Not limited to the NHL though, seems to be the model for most of the pro sports to maximize revenue. Hockey has the double whammy of having many more natural barriers to participation than other sports with ice time and equipment costs.

[Flames1217]

When you are paying 15$ a beer, 8$ should be happening far more often.

[Press Level]

The Dome is a dump. I will pay money to sit in it if I know I am going to be watching something exciting. For this season's product, I think someone would have to pay me to go there.

[flames_fan_down_under]

Why would anyone would pay to watch this team live. Their best players don’t even want to be here. This has been a long time coming.

[flames_fan_down_under]

Originally Posted by Matty81

This is so true... old man comment but compared to when I was growing up in the 80s and 90s, my own kids class has so few kids into hockey. 80% plus of the boys were into hockey when i was a kid, either on tv, road hockey or ice. I'd guess it's 25% or less now although I know it's different from place to place. I think the NHL has faced headwinds but has also been pretty short sighted

Have overpriced tickets and sold the product to more expensive and harder to access cable tv channels and basically milked the hardcore fans with not much care for attracting casuals and new Canadians - at the exact time that the amount of other entertainment options for kids have exploded and other forms of entertainment are going with the model of getting themselves in front of eyeballs for free or very cheap and trying to extract value from advertising, fremium or extra features and small transactions.

I feel like every year it has actually gotten harder to access the NHL since Rogers has taken over.

Hockey is now a game reserved for upper class families. It’s no surprise that guys like Connor Bedard comes from West Van. Morgan Reillys family are all Hollyburn Club members for decades. Connor McDavid is from Richmond Hill. These are wealthy enclaves.

[topfiverecords]

Clg?

[Ferarri]

I turned in my season tickets a couple of seasons ago and have no regrets. It’s a pain trying to get downtown when you live in the far north of the city and then you have to contend with over priced parking, food and drinks. You mix in a sub par performance and ownership unwilling to entertain a rebuild (although one would hope there was some positivity on this front today) and it’s an easy decision to stay home.

Also, for a small market team the model is broken. All these NMC clauses kill any excitement I have regarding trades and player acquisition. It’s always so much fun knowing a trade is in place just to see the player say no to Calgary or have them on their list. On top of that you see star players like Tkachuk and Gaudreau leaving to play in more desirable locations (although Columbus is a very strange choice).

Finally you mix in the leagues desire for expansion and you start to question the quality of the product.

All these factors make it easy for me to stay home. At least I can turn it off when the Flames play their enthusiastic brand of hockey…

[Locke]

Man oh man...I remember when you could Flames tickets from almost anywhere in this town.

Those were grim times.

[Johnny Makarov]

Originally Posted by White Out 403

One of the advantages of watching the game at home is, you can have a wank during intermission and it isn't weird. Try doing that in the Saddledome

Eric Francis's #1 fan here!

[GreenLantern2814]

“Competitive” is the wrong thing to strive for.

Likeable.

Interesting.

Fun.

These are the adjectives you want to describe your hockey team.

The early Johnny teams were like that - they’d hold on for dear life, completely overmatched, keep it close, and then storm back in the last ten minutes.

Say what you will about those teams, they never just rolled over.

[FlamesAddiction]

Originally Posted by Ferarri

Also, for a small market team the model is broken. All these NMC clauses kill any excitement I have regarding trades and player acquisition. It’s always so much fun knowing a trade is in place just to see the player say no to Calgary or have them on their list. On top of that you see star players like Tkachuk and Gaudreau leaving to play in more desirable locations (although Columbus is a very strange choice).

This is a big deal in my opinion that could potentially kill off a few of the Canadian markets over time. Every year, the number of NMCs increases and it will eventually get the point that only players on ELCs won't have them. For a league that uses trading a one of the primary ways to build a competitive team, it puts most of the Canadian markets, and even a few American markets at huge disadvantage.

It's especially a kick in the teeth when you look at how much revenue and TV money the 7 Canadian teams bring in compared to the remaining 25 American markets. The players sure love getting that money, but they wouldn't be making as much without the Canadian markets.... yet more and more are refusing to play here.