Ticketmaster is BS should be 1 fee for order not each ticket

Very true. I just got into going to hockey games this year (didn’t make enough back in 2018) but covid restrictions didn’t get lifted at the caps stadium until this season. I have horrible eye sight so I try getting tickets for upper 100 - 300. Even those tickets are like $180 after fees 🤨 I go to the stadium and it’s at like 50% capacity while playing good teams

Supply and demand. It's an auction system which is fairest.

@Joe Blow word I plan on seeing whatever hockey match in new york in my visit there next month, and the fee prices ticketmaster asks for is nuts

I only buy aftermarket tickets here and there anymore. I hated paying 4500 for 2 season tickets in section 212 in season 1 for the VGK. But season 2 my same seat was 7k. I passed. We paid about 150 for season parking or about 15 per game otherwise.

They were selling out games deep into that drought. It was basically right after Covid people with season tickets for decades gave them up. There used to be a cap on season tickets and it cost money just to be on the waiting list. Last year was the first time in over a decade that I bought a ticket on the official Sabres site. Stub hub was how blue collar people in a city of 260k people could afford 41 games a year. They relied on selling some. The Bills play 8 home games. It was that team of Hall, Jack and Skinner costing 30 million by themselves combined and losing 18 games in a row. So people made it kind of political with Pegula like “I’m not renewing because I’m watching a team on random Tuesday nights lose 3 to 1 when I have work at 8am? And I need to be vaxed now?” People just got mad. It did not prove anything other than just looking like a bad market. If Pegula was not the owner Tom would have sold them and the Bills and Sabres would not be in Buffalo currently. I am completely convinced of that.

I’ll never buy that bs excuse as long as I see everyone driving Range Rovers, G Wagens, TRD Pro’s, $80k pickups and new Broncos all over this city and suburbs. Looks to me like nobody in North Buffalo, Elmwood village, Hamburg, OP, East Aurora, Clarence, Williamsville and Amherst are struggling financially whatsoever.

@@axe2grind244 Eh, you see that in small towns in Florida as well. $80,000 truck, $20k double wide, $40k salary. I don't know how they do it, but its not uncommon.

@@axe2grind244 I lived in Buffalo in a nice area from 2015 to 2019. My 2 bedroom beautiful hardwood apartment was $850 a month when I moved in. That was included utilities. They only raised it by $10 every year too. What other NHL city is that possible for an area you can walk at night? Then I bought a house for under 300k in the suburbs. It’s 3 bedrooms in Amherst. Just needed to put 10k into it for a fix up. Tickets in any league Buffalo plays in are normally on the cheaper side, but the cost of living is so low. A good 4 wheel drive car is also a must in this area because we get more than 90 inches of snow a year.

That’s not why bro lmao

The city's population growth has mostly come from tax migration away from the Northeast. Many of those groups have significant allegiances to teams such as the Bruins, the Rangers, the Penguins, the Flyers, and the Sabres. Outside of those particular games, they don't really contribute that much to overall fan attendance. What has shifted the needle is the long period of winning hockey games starting with the 2018-2019 season. Like the vast majority of sports teams, if they win, they will come.

Having lived in Raleigh 29 years, it's pretty simple - if you have people who are committed to putting forth a competitive product on the ice? People will come. Karmanos? Didn't. Dundon and his people at least try.

@@TheZenomeProject I was at the Pens game last night, it was a tough mix lololol

@@grahamrenfrow8059 It's Cary and Apex folk lol

@@mactheknife7049 Buffalo would still be riding that 06 cup haha.

As someone who lives in Seattle, I wonder what will happen to the Kraken's support when & if the NBA decides to bring back the Sonics. This is something to think about as one of the major reasons why the arena was built (in addition to bringing the Kraken into the NHL) was to bring the NBA back. There are many people that want the Sonics to come back which could erode some of the Kraken's support. However there are also some who were so hurt by how the Sonics left town in 2008 to become the OKC Thunder that they stopped watching the NBA entirely & later became Kraken fans. In my view Seattle can provide excellent support to both the Kraken & the revived Sonics.

@@chrisguardiano6143 You don’t think the city can support both? Many smaller cities have more than one team in the big 4 sports.

@@johnnyc.31 I think the city can it's just that the long legacy basketball has in Seattle will play a significant role in what happens to the Kraken's support when & if the Sonics return. Before they were moved in 2008, the Sonics were the best supported team in the city & were often in the top 10 for attendance in the NBA. Of course if the Kraken are doing well on the ice & being competitive with a few playoff appearances, then that will encourage the fans to continue to support the team. However if things start to nosedive, I could see a situation in which the average sports fan in Seattle stops going to games & focuses their attention on the Sonics. This then leads to only the die hard fans being at games & attendance takes a hit. I think the current strategy the Kraken has for building for the future will help them in a Sonics return scenario.

That's amazing to hear. As someone from St. Louis, it's great to hear about sports franchises being net boon to the city instead of causing pain (Rams).

sounds like a grant deal compared to overpriced and underpreforming vancouver. you get jack shit with Canucks tickets. it sells because "its canada hockey" bullshit

@@geoff3103 I've always felt like that's eventually going to happen considering there is a major market in Cleveland now for CBJ. They been moving more games over to the Great Lakes region channel lately too in addition to the standard Bally Ohio market.

Little-known fact: Columbus is a top-15 U.S. city population (bigger than San Francisco) and 32nd U.S. metro area population (bigger than Nashville, San Jose, and Cleveland). So part of it is the need to do better in Central Ohio in general. That said, I agree they should try to capitalize on drawing fans from all over Ohio. I think they can be both Columbus's team and Ohio's team. It's a fine line to walk, but it is feasible for sure, especially when the team name so blatantly harkens to statewide heritage. Ohio is a good hockey state, just needs to pry fans away from the Penguins and Wings more--there is precedent with OSU for sure. Tie the Penguins to the Steelers and Pitt and the Wings to the Tigers and U. Michigan. They also are the only pro team in town, a significant advantage that it feels like they still haven't fully attained. I guess it is possibly a college-sports-only city, akin to Miami, but I think a lot of it boils down to CBJ simply not winning enough, while also lacking true star power. The Jackets are clearly trying to rectify those; here's hoping it works well.

It speaks heavily to the product and new ownership. Canes had problems with a cash strapped owner and terrible GM for the longest time. That’s what sparked all the rumors THG mentioned. As soon as the product and ownership got better things did a 180. Raleigh wasn’t ever in question for it’s viability, nobody wanted to see a .500 hockey club with 0 prospects or care to get better. There’s been more upgrades to the arena and the team in the last 5 years than all the previous years combined. I would suspect with how GM Kevyn Adams is doing, Buffalo will see the same.

@@canesfan1526 100%. Dundon and Waddell have really turned around the organization. Also helps that they hired a likable coach, that is Hurricanes legend, and for all intents and purposes a Raleigh native (he has lived in the Triangle for nearly 25 years). People, especially in North Carolina around the Triangle, like that.

That’s actually a good idea and I wish more teams did that

One of the reasons why I miss going to college.

@@skinnie2838 The hell? I dont remember ever seeing anything at a lightning game that has to do with that. Im so sick of politics in general and every time some dumbass has to bring up like this goofball and others ...that goes for both political sides.

@@skinnie2838 You talk about numbers being down under a comment about a team that has zero change? You must be extra special

Oh my, selling tickets to college students at a reasonable cost. Hmm, smart biz move building on the fan base. FYI- a ticket sold is a ticket sold-regardless of price. Well done Tampa Bay

They usually release both averages if you host an event like that. The original Winter Classic in Buffalo was 76000 people in a year that they missed the playoffs, but also sold out all other 40 home games. So the one statistic was like 110%.

No, the 93% figure is based on PNC's basketball seating, which is 19,700-something. For hockey it's only 18,680. Not THG's fault, since those are the numbers on hockeyreference and other popular sites, but they're wrong.

@@mdd47 yea I was thinking this exactly

Agree. I went to a game late last year and it was fuller than the beginning if the year. Fans still watch considering we usually rate high compared to other cities in the regular season and playoffs.

@@bjp1920 In The 07 finals the Buffalo market beat both markets in viewers...... and the Sabres were not in the finals.

Some yes. Buffalo has about 10% to 20% that come because it’s right over the border. Before Covid on a quiet afternoon you could drive from the arena and over the boarder in 5 minutes.

Canucks had a 474 sellout streak. Funny enough it was the Lightning that ended it.

@@joeynova9896 Places like Winnipeg and Minnesota went absolutely insane when they got teams back. I remember when I was in high school the Wild had sold out every game they had played. They had been in the league for years already.

@@joeynova9896 Now tickets for Canucks games are 60$ canadian.

@@justingallant1593 dude try like 180/200 for NOSEBLEEDS on a weekend night game.

for most places, but not in New Jersey

I went to a playoff game in 06 in the ECF. I was 15 and my friends older brother drove 5 of us in a 2000 Saturn from Buffalo to Carolina. We were able to get tickets. In Buffalo they sold out the series in minutes. So you needed to pay a crazy amount or know a season ticket holder because they got first dibs. Buffalo kept that same energy really until covid almost and that's with not making a single playoffs since 2011. When I was 20 I never imagined I would be 32 and still no playoffs, but the team is finally showing promise.

I have played and watched hockey in many NHL stadiums. You are correct! PNC is unbelievable! You have to experience it for yourself.

I didn’t know you played for the Tampa bay lightning?

@@mattreid8292 The owner, Mr. Vinik, has made the team and local community a true partnership. It's been amazing to see the change since he purchased the team in 2010. Does not surprise me in the least that Lightning fans use the term "we" regarding team success.

@@schumdav there fan base is very strong and clearly a very well put together team, I just find it funny using the term we when they don’t do anything other than cheer for a team.

I mean even when Columbus swept them they still had a great team. Then they win 2 cups in a row and go to the finals. Aside from 1990s Wings or 1980s Oilers it does not get much better for a fan base.

@@mattreid8292 and buy tickets, jerseys, etc. , yeah it's definitely "we" IMO but I see your point from a technical roster putting pucks in net point of view.

The league have games on Sundays. just not that many usually.

Same in San Jose, bumper to bumper traffic makes it way to hard to go after work. Not to mention 30$ to park and 13$ for a freaking bud light now. Plus tickets, etc. Rather just watch at home

@@Asymmetrical-Saggin There's also definitely more sunday games once the NFL season is done as well

I need to be up too early for work. I can’t be at anything on a weeknight at 10pm. Plus if you have a few beers you need to take a Lyft or something which cost money and is awful to take back. I went to a ton of games when I lived downtown and right by a subway stop in my mid 20s. Now I usually park at UB and take the Subway downtown and just don’t have alcohol. I still watch every game. Like the other night I did not even put the Bills game on. It was all the Sabres vs Coyotes. Any market the size of Buffalo would struggle with annoyed fans after 12 years of no playoffs. 12 years and not even a first round sweep. The last time the Sabres won a round was the weekend I took my SATs. I’m 32 now. 41 home games for 19070 seats is a lot.

@@Buffalosabskis Hear ya. I was an Operating Room Nurse for 32 years and started my shift at 5 AM. This means I was up between 3 - 3:30 AM. No way on earth I went anywhere Sunday through Thursday evenings.

LGD!

I live in Indy and the cost to go to Columbus blows away any other market that’s a 4 hour drive and parking is close and far cheaper .

Not sure many students can afford to go to an Oilers game. The ticket prices and concessions price are such a horrible rip off. It’s a $200 dollar jolt ⚡️to see a game in Edmonton

@@craigtwa8671 Most College Students (unless they come from the rich 10% of the population)in both the US and Canada with state of the economy here in 2022/2023, can't afford NHL tickets. Or frankly attend other sporting events i.e NFL, MLB, NBA or MLS Soccer and "A" list music concerts either.

never been there but as a kings fan i can understand, between ticket prices and the traffic and parking its a 3 hour struggle just to get to the arena. In the spring when the dodgers are playing traffic is even worse.

Dekea not to get off topic but the Devils really need to be off the MSG Network. They overshadowed in coverage by both the Rangers and Islanders. Ideally the Devils should be on the NY Yankees owned YES channel. Other than the NBA Nets, YES is lacking on winter/early spring live sports programming.

But it's always so empty and mostly road fans. There's no Glendale excuse now.

I remember just a few years after 04 there was like no one and the visitors would be most of the fans. That’s nice if it sticks around this time. Hockey gets more exposure in the southern places now. Big difference from the OLN or VS days that people got one out of market game a week.

@@wza223-fo3mc I mean there will always be some of that in the South. If Vegas missed the playoffs for 2 years in a row people would probably be like "Well I invested my life in this team since day 1, but that's it."

they lwere top 5 in the league in attendance while finishing with the worst record in the league in the mid 2000s....you havent been able to get a ticket easily or cheap since 2010 or so

@@xwhalerfanb776 I mean they won the cup in 04. It was pretty bare in that arena by 07. Panthers and Lighting looked about the same. Tampa just had more fans of the other team.

@@Buffalosabskis That lockout year after the 04' cup win really hurt, Lightning had everyone back for another run but did not get the chance.

Agreed, and I am a lifelong fan of a rival

While I am no fan of now former NY Gov. Cuomo(he rightfully resigned in disgrace following his sex related scandals)got to say his influence of having the Isles being at UBS Arena was one of the best achievements of his political career. Perfect location for both residents in both Long Island (Nassau and Suffolk Counties)and NYC being near 3 major highways. Plus most important the arena being located on the main branch for the LIRR to access to both Brooklyn and Midtown either at NY-Penn or Grand Central.

@@americangiant1003 Also helped that they had Jon Ledecky as a owner, he used to own 25 per cent of the Caps and when they couldn't keep Barry Trotz as Coach after they won the Stanley Cup, he signed to lead the Isles. It was like taking candy from a baby.

Best thing they ever did was get out of that lease in Barclays Center which had some poor sightlines for hockey.

Definitely. Or if they did not have the success they came out with.

I’d guess that Vegas probably gets some of the most away team fans being a good winter destination. The few games I’ve been to, there seemed to be a lot of opposing team fans.

@@spinuck9180 Vegas is a very new city to be born and raised in. People often move there from another place to live/work. Those people especially if they are from the North will continue to support their team if they are playing them. That's why you see a lot of transplant Sabres fans in Florida etc. The winter birds and people that moved when Buffalo was losing thousands of people a year.

That may be the case but I’ll tell you as someone who lives here we’ve ABSOLUTELY become a hockey town. Everywhere you look there’s VGK bumper stickers, people wearing shirts, jerseys, hats. When you walk by someone in the grocery store with VGK merch on we say “go knights go!” To each other . It’s a HUGE thing here now. We’ve fallen in love with our team here .

@@joeydrummer7929 I don’t know if you make it to Northern Nevada much, but they have a huge following there too. Tons of license plates and people wearing VGK attire.

I’m a Leafs fan but I’ll never go to their games. Tickets, parking, hotel…you’re looking at well over $1,000. That much to spend a night in a shithole like Toronto? Lol no thanks.

Toronto is a weird place. What is this thing called Leafs?

@@mrnobody3161 Maple Leaf is considered a proper noun; therefore, you pluralize it by adding an “s”. Not going to school is even weirder than Toronto.

... and magically got awarded multiple #1 overall "lottery" picks

I'd say you'll see more people that time around then you did in 03-04. Fenway Sports Group was the best thing the franchise could have asked for.

Tot well said. And the only reason the Preds nearly moved out of Nashville in the early 2000's had to do with not having at the time, a good ownership group with deep pockets. So despite not knowing much about hockey when they came on the scene, at least I give the sports fans of Nashville for trying to understand a 'new sport' for basically the entire Mid-South region of the United States. Now no chance the Preds will leave Nashville. As much as Bettman get criticized for having the NHL expand to the American "sun belt' only Atlanta has been the big failure.

Yeah, I don’t miss going to Canes games expecting a loss, but boy do I miss the $10-$15 parking days 😂 I’ve tried to become an expert at finding the closest possible free spots now, and some of them are only 5 minutes longer walk than the Carter finley lots - so paying the $30 isn’t worth it at all

It's a little different at Capital One Arena in DC, the garage underneath the Arena is usually for VIPs but since the Arena is in downtown DC most of the commercial garages stay open for most events, around 10 to 25 dollars. There's also the Gallary Place Metro Station which has an Enterace at 7th and F street, NW outside corner of the arena which I take because I live in a condo which is across the street from the Grosvenor Metro stop. Fares are distanced based up to 6 dollars during rush hour, off peak up to $3.25 and after 9:30 and weekends it's flat $2.00.

Agreed. I think the Chicago situation will get better once they get a new younger team away from the Beach situation that ruined a great era of winning 3 Stanley Cups in a 5-6 year period.

Exactly. Other than a handful of cities, extensive NHL media coverage(including social media and local sports radio) in most of the US does not start to pick up until first the first week of January when the College Football season is over. Then again in early Feb. around the time of the 2 week break between the NFL Conference Finals and the Super Bowl.

Same in Canada . Average attendance always spikes after Christmas

Even though all of pro sports and all of "world class" entertainment is now a luxury for the middle class at most 1-2x a year, if the average US/Canadian citizen, MLB regular season games is still among the cheapest.

Lol why

I’m from Baltimore too. Take the metro. Much easier and cheaper than dealing with parking. Get on at Greenbelt station and take it right to Gallery Place. Dumps you out right at the area. But agreed, ticket prices are a bit ridiculous

"The house always wins"

Minnesota's attendance used to be over 100% when the wild started.

At the xcel energy center for a boys class AA high school semi finals match for the state tournament over 21,500 fans attended the game. The seating capacity for the arena is under 18,000. There was over 4 thousand people standing as well just to watch a high school game

@@JarradBruessel32 Yep! State of hockey. When the Wild came people went all in. Plus the popularity of high school and college hockey is second to none. In the Buffalo area youth hockey is big, but then the best thing if you are really good is generally to go to the OHL because it’s right over the border.

Same for Mtl except they suck to add insult to injury

Which is why I laugh when quebec idiots say that there should be a team in quebec city. The jets fans can't afford to sell out a smaller arena than the one in qc. How the hell is quebec city going to sell more tickets when their population is exactly the same as winnipeg's.

Nashville?

I remember how low the attendance was until they made the playoffs for the first time with Ovechkin. In 07 it was pretty bare. Then they went on a big winning streak in 08 and made the playoffs after being like 8 points out on New Years. I’m sure the numbers look better because in such a large city you will always have tickets sold, but not always a person in the seat.

I don't know. Marlins don't fare well, either. Heat to my knowledge have significant downs when the team is bad, but that might have changed in recent years. Dolphins do well enough, but it has always been a U-first city. I know it might seem odd to say Miami faces a totally different challenge from Tampa Bay, but there's a huge segment of the population that I don't think will ever be interested in hockey.

@@closethockeyfan5284 The problem with the Miami/Ft Lauderdale and all of South Fla. is hate to say it both demographics and cultural. In Tampa and all of Central Fla. there are much more younger people and families who are also transplants from both the Midwest, Northeast/New England and even parts of Canada in which some was already hockey fans. However for Miami/Ft Lauderdale, even though its diverse, the demographics are not that friendly to getting NHL fans. That includes retirees who will never be hockey fans. Plus fans who might be born from Latin America and the Caribbean that are more likely be into soccer, baseball or basketball than ever hockey. Just being honest.

@@americangiant1003 Yep, exactly what I was hinting at

Tbh the 2 hour drive to Ottawa + good tickets is worth it ngl

@@thefish560 Ottawa prices are so much better. Even Buffalo is worth.

There was a radio show in Toronto that did an overall cost of a ticket to a game in Toronto and a road trip to Florida and Tampa and by a substantial amount, it was cheaper to go on the road trip. I'm sure it's no different in Montreal

Don't know why you mention ''tickets sold'', ain't that the point? People move around, ence the couple of empty seats, yet they are sold.

The last time they made the playoffs they did just the opposite. Pegula bought the team and that really sparked guys like Miller, Vanek, Ennis, Pominville, Roy etc and they got in after having the worst record in the NHL at the Holiday Freeze. Then they threw money at a miss matched group of guys and it took 12 years to recover.

Pittsburgh is absolutely a fickle market. I am concerned about the end of this era. They might do OK, but I think that's the best case scenario. To my understanding, Pittsburgh actually does pretty well economically. The late 20th century was brutal, but with the new millennium has come a 21st-century economy that revitalized the area to the point it's regularly named one of the country's most livable.

@@closethockeyfan5284 There is no doubt, the Crosby led mini dynasty of the late 2010's has created enough of a fanbase that after he retires, they are still in Western Pa. permanently. Also keep in mind, the Pens also extended into West Virginia and even parts of Northeast Ohio including Youngstown and Cleveland from what I seen in various sources online.

@@americangiant1003 They draw from a good radius in every direction, sure, but as someone who's been a season-ticket holder and lived in Pittsburgh across 20-some years, I assure you the fans are spoiled and entitled. I don't blame people for passing on buying tickets when the local team is bad, but they will tune out on TV too. The Pens will still get several thousand per game, and some folks will continue to follow on TV, but it'll be a steep drop. The Penguins won back-to-back Cups in 1991 and 1992, as well as the Presidents' Trophy in 1993 with a record win streak. They had the longest active playoff streak until it snapped in the early 2000s, driven by Lemieux, Jagr, Francis, and many other great players who didn't quite make the Hall. Lemieux, arguably the greatest hockey player ever, was on the team from 2000 to 2006, albeit injured a fair amount of time. What more could a faltering team ask for in drawing fans, and what makes this time different? People said the same thing before the ensuing dark age: "Pittsburgh is an established NHL market now. The fans will still support this team on TV and in the arena." They couldn't get people to buy tickets for literally $5 when it wasn’t a legitimate away fan base flooding Civic Arena. They struggled to even give away tickets. And people had a lot more free time and disposable income than now, when the tickets are exorbitant. Yinzers are even turning on the *Steelers*, now that they are on the downturn following the retirement of Roethlisberger. I know for sure that Millennials and Gen Z have grown up with the Pens as part of their identity, which should bode better for staying power, but that will go only so far. I presume ticket prices will not drop near the rates they plunged to in the early 2000s, and although Pittsburgh has a solid economy, young adults simply don't have the income or time in great enough numbers. By that very 2015-16 season, fans had already shown their fickleness. The Penguins had to discount or give away increasing numbers of tickets to maintain their sellout streak, which even with the juicing they could not maintain. This was once again (and remains to this day) the team with the longest active playoff streak in the league. Detroit became "Hockeytown" with its record playoff streak. Fans dramatically reduced their participation once the Wings finally started the overdue rebuild. Chicago, even with Kane still one of the most dynamic players in the game (among others whohave played with him even in loaing seasons), has had its issues despite one of the largest populations in the country. They are Surviving Six teams with a century-plus of history. Why on earth should Pittsburgh fare any better once the losing sets in, unless the lottery finds the Penguins yet again?

Ryan not sure you follow other sports but Norm Green Sucks comments is mild to 2 other famous North American teams when they moved. One was when then Owner Walter O' Malley moved the Brooklyn Dodgers from suburban NYC to LA in MLB. And then Art Model moving in the Mid 90's the first Cleveland Browns to Baltimore in the NFL. Both Model and O'Malley got 'death threats' from their former fanbases in both Northern Ohio and Brooklyn/NYC respectively.