how to fix whl attendance?

[wango tango]

from gregg drinnan's blog.

http://gdrinnan.blogspot.com/2010/05/did-economy-sting-whl.html

whl attendance is down, no shock.

how to fix it?

first stop raising ticket prices! that'd be a good place to start.

i think in most whl markets they're at the threshold of what fans are willing to pay.

second more excitement on the ice. i've been to a lot of rinks around the league and they all have their giveaways and giveaway people, their fan experiences are all comparable.

on the ice the league has through expansion and over zealous enforcement made the product more vanilla and boring.

put an end to expansion for now.

i want the game to be fast skating, hard hitting, crisp passes, blistering shots, big saves, gloves off knuckles flying, hockey.

i want the league to keep cracking down hard on hooking, holding, grabbing, interference. this is a speedy skilled game, i don't want slow lumbering guys. get rid of the bs after a big hit. don't take fighting out of the game with these ridiculous suspensions that take the character out of hockey.

how about you?

[Joe Hallenback]

Well its alot of things

1. Economy is down everywhere for the most part. That is a huge factor. People don't have the disposable income right now. If that changes then attendance will go up.

2. Stop Pussifying the league. Alot of people loved the toughness of the old WHL and slowly but surely we are allowing eastern liberalism to dictate how we like our Hockey. I know alot of fans that don't come anymore because there is no emotion in any of the games.

[scrunt]

I would say the challenges are different in different markets. I would characterize the WHL as having three different types of markets: NHL markets (Calgary, Vancouver, Edmonton), large cities without NHL teams (Portland, Seattle, Regina) and the rest.

WHL teams in NHL markets need to promote affordability relative to the NHL and improve the marketing of NHL-drafted players ('See them before they become NHL stars,' etc.).

"The Rest" tend to be small markets where the WHL is the best game in town. These markets are more closely tied to the local economy, and may face greater challenges to attract the best talent (perceived reduction in attention from scouts, less "black market" funds or other perks to entice top players, etc.). The personality or other intangible aspects of ownership seem to be huge factors in market acceptance (see PG and Lethbridge for markets that seem to suffer from accusations of incompetence or indifference that turn off some fans). With less competition for customer dollars from live events, the focus must be on improving the quality of the on-ice product.

Above all that is the quality of the entertainment, a lot of which is based on the quality of the hockey.

With only a fan's understanding of the business of hockey, I would think that the following factors are important to maintain and build a strong league-wide fan base:

- have an effective revenue-sharing program so that the big market teams and the small market teams have a 'level ice surface' with respect to providing high quality training facilities, top level coaching staff, scouting, etc. while keeping ticket prices affordable.

- Make sure the game remains an aggressive product that attracts the grassroots hockey fans. To me this means stopping the trend towards Bettman hockey -- don't try to prevent fighting by imposing peripheral rules (ie. instigator penalties , outlawing the removal of helmets before fights, suspensions for multiple fights, etc), don't allow refs to call penalties on clean but hard hits, etc.

- Lobby as hard as hell to change the NHL draft age to 19. Keep the top talent in the league for longer, and circumvent the NHL salary cap trend that encourages NHL teams to keep 18 and 19 year old players because they are cheap, not because they are ready.

- Set up an oversight committee to advise teams that struggle. Much as I hate to think that a league should have any degree of management control over teams, there seems to be enough instances of perceived bad management affecting the league overall that there should be some level of league-wide competence management. The problems that Portland went through, and the subsequent turn-around, suggest that there may be some benefit to the league having some ability to influence the actions of ownership in extraordinary circumstances. As a proponent of the free market system and a hater of Bettman, I can see that this might be a really bad idea, but on the other hand I hate to see the fan base of some teams turn away because of perpetually recurring bad decisions by ownership/ management.

- Fix the schedule so there is more balance. There are some teams I am sick of seeing, and others I want to see that I almost never do.

- Leverage off of the World Juniors. Most of the viewers of the WJC don't give a rat's ass about the CHL for the rest of the season. That has to change nationally.

[eighty]

It makes me wonder if this new NHL 11 (which as most of us know includes the entire CHL, Mem cup, etc) will have any factor on the attendance in the WHL. Seriously, I mean fans of the game will be able to be more educated about players in the league. They will be able to know more about other teams, what players are good, what teams to watch, etc. One might think that if the average person who plays this game will go "hmm, maybe I should actually go check out a game and watch some of these upcoming NHLers..."

Just a thought.

[Chipchura_Fan]

Let's hope!! I am so pumped about the WHL being in the game.
I just wanna see some more butts in the seats, Raider games are getting sad. Although the people that come out are loyal fans. I hate hearing "Why go? They suck, they're just going to lose." Seriously, $16 for a night out and entertainment win or lose.


It makes me wonder if this new NHL 11 (which as most of us know includes the entire CHL, Mem cup, etc) will have any factor on the attendance in the WHL. Seriously, I mean fans of the game will be able to be more educated about players in the league. They will be able to know more about other teams, what players are good, what teams to watch, etc. One might think that if the average person who plays this game will go "hmm, maybe I should actually go check out a game and watch some of these upcoming NHLers..."

Just a thought.

[Nature Boy]

Let's hope!! I am so pumped about the WHL being in the game.
I just wanna see some more butts in the seats, Raider games are getting sad. Although the people that come out are loyal fans. I hate hearing "Why go? They suck, they're just going to lose." Seriously, $16 for a night out and entertainment win or lose.

I agree with that, it's a cheap night out. It's good hockey for the price you pay and it's cheaper then the NHL

[Rocko]

- Leverage off of the World Juniors. Most of the viewers of the WJC don't give a rat's ass about the CHL for the rest of the season. That has to change nationally.

This the biggest thing, I think. The only mention the CHL gets is when Miller, McGuire and Mackenzie mention what junior team a kid is playing for.

But herein lies the problem: Which network broadcasts the World Juniors? TSN.
Which network broadcasts CHL games, including the Memorial Cup? Rogers Sportsnet. Why would TSN want to hype something they have no part of?

Hockey Canada might not care who's broadcasting the World Jrs, it could be on The Score and people will still watch. But the CHL should start throwing their weight around and demand a tie-in to the leagues since they're providing the players.

Personally, I'd love to see more regular season games on TV. Surely a WHL game on Sportsnet Pacific and West on a Saturday night or Sunday afternoon would get more ratings than darts or poker or whatever they show on Saturday nights.

I know it'll never be at the same level, but I'd love to see the WHL be treated much like college football is in the US. If people go crazy for the World Juniors, I can't see why that passion can't continue once they take off the Maple Leaf and put on their club jerseys. Boggles my mind really.

[patsdude114]

It makes me wonder if this new NHL 11 (which as most of us know includes the entire CHL, Mem cup, etc) will have any factor on the attendance in the WHL. Seriously, I mean fans of the game will be able to be more educated about players in the league. They will be able to know more about other teams, what players are good, what teams to watch, etc. One might think that if the average person who plays this game will go "hmm, maybe I should actually go check out a game and watch some of these upcoming NHLers..."

Just a thought.



Ya i cant wait for NHL11 to come out either, im not playing 1 offline game as a NHL team prob have a few WHL seasons going on throughout the year as different teams. But 1st & foremost will be my beloved Regina Pats (haha maybe i can see them win a championship, even if it is in a video game lmao)

Just a question?? what system u have for ur NHL gaming?? i use PS3, maybe ud be interested in a VS game if u have the same system

[DunnerStunner]

Ya i cant wait for NHL11 to come out either, im not playing 1 offline game as a NHL team prob have a few WHL seasons going on throughout the year as different teams. But 1st & foremost will be my beloved Regina Pats (haha maybe i can see them win a championship, even if it is in a video game lmao)

Just a question?? what system u have for ur NHL gaming?? i use PS3, maybe ud be interested in a VS game if u have the same system

i use ps3 and would be interested in playing with or against you. my psn id is jr_hockEE_junkee add me up