Originally Posted by
Shootmaster_44
I think part of the problem has nothing to do with ticket prices, arena location etc. but simply they are not pro. Saskatoon has always thought it was a major league city. Many sports fans think we deserve high level professional hockey. I hate to say this, but if Saskatoon were to get an AHL team, I think it would draw better than the Blades do.
Even when I was a kid and would go to games with my Dad in the early 90s, Blades attendance was still around the 4-5000 mark. Nothing has changed since then. So really, I don't see a huge drop off in attendance in the last 20 years.
The only amateur team that draws very well are the U of S Huskies football team. Why do they do well at the box office? They field a consistent winner and promote the heck out of the team. Huskies attendance wasn't great when they first started winning in the early 90s. I have seen it grow in leaps and bounds since those days. I remember going to games as a kid where the West Side stands weren't even full and there were about 3 people sitting on the tiny moveable East Side stands.
Now some of you might say, how do you field a consistent winner in Junior Hockey? It's different than Huskies football. Every thing goes in cycles because you always have players graduating. The Huskies consistently lose players and are always competitive. There is no reason why the Blades can't be consistent winners too. But beyond this, you have to promote the team. I've seen the Blades commercials on TV and they are professionally done, but really don't do anything to instill pride or passion in the product. The football Huskies on the other hand have the feel of an action movie trailer.
Since attendance largely hasn't increased in 20 years, perhaps Jack Brodsky is fine with the revenue he generates. He doesn't seem to spend money on getting the Blades name out there. How many people do you see wearing Blades merchandise? I don't think I ever have seen someone outside of a game. How many people do you see wearing Huskies merchandise? It's impossible to be out in a mall or at a store and not see someone do this. Why? It is widely available. The Blades have one of two options, run their own store in a mall somewhere that sells their merchandise exclusively or partner with an existing store to sell their merchandise. At any rate, if it was more available people would buy it. If people buy it, then other people might see the hat/t-shirt etc. and think oh yeah the Blades, I should go check them out.
Advertising on radio is all fine and well, but terrestrial radio is a dying breed. With iPods, Sirius and XM Satellite radio and CDs, how many people listen to local radio exclusively? People 50 and over are about it as a group. These people have largely teenage/adult kids who don't hang out with mom and dad anymore. Same with advertising in the Star-Phoenix, the majority of newspaper readers are in the same group. So to attract the younger generation, there are three places for advertising. Billboards, TV and in lounges/bars. I've never seen ads on billboards and haven't seen them in bars either. Two places the Blades need to advertise.
They should also wrap buses in the Blades. You should see Brayden Schenn's face going by you in traffic. You should see Adam Morrison making saves inside bus shelters. You should see Marek Vidensky on ads in buses. But you don't and why is that? I firmly place the blame at Jack Brodsky's feet. He needs to spend some money on promoting the team.
A decent team might bring out a few more fans. But people need to know there is a game. For attendance to go up you need to throw it in people's faces. Instead the Blades seem content to be that thing in the corner collecting dust. Sure it's fun to use once and awhile, but largely it is out of sight out of mind. For most people that is the Blades, they have a good time at games once every few years but it is something they don't think about.