What's with all the empty seats in Vancouver?

[Godin]

What stood out for me was that this was a Saturday night game. It wouldn't have surprised me as much if it was a week game, but Saturday night is hockey night in Canada. At least it has been traditionaly. And it wasn't just a few seats here and there, it was a lot of seats here and there.

[MZac]

I dont live in a major city that houses an NHL team but isn't this an issue in EVERY NHL city? Why is Vancouver different than any other city that doesn't have an attendance issue? Not trying to be a d!ck here, just curious.

I can't explain it outside of what I posted previously. It's just different here.

I'm from Edmonton originally but have been in Vancouver for 13 years and it's just a different feel for regular season and playoffs. I don't believe it's the same in all the other Canadian cities outside of maybe Ottawa. Obviously there are some US markets that are worse. And yes winning solves all the problems here.

[Luffy D Monkey]

Pretty fickle fanbase (I was born in Vancouver and have lived her for most of 40 years), awful team that refuses to admit to rebuilding and continues to founder in mediocrity, expensive prices, I would basically never want to go to a Canucks game even if I was given tickets. Boring.

[Hoopo]

I don't believe it's the same in all the other Canadian cities outside of maybe Ottawa.

The Ottawa thing is pretty new, it's only as of last year. People say the arena was too far out, but it was in the same place for most of the team's existence and wasn't a big problem for attendance until now? it doesn't really add up. I think a combination of the Phoenix Pay System garbage fire, and the emergence of the redblacks as an alternative for Ottawa's sports dollars is probably to blame there. In Vancouver it's definitely a case of the team not being very good.

[newfcollins]

The Ottawa thing is pretty new, it's only as of last year. People say the arena was too far out, but it was in the same place for most of the team's existence and wasn't a big problem for attendance until now? it doesn't really add up. I think a combination of the Phoenix Pay System garbage fire, and the emergence of the redblacks as an alternative for Ottawa's sports dollars is probably to blame there. In Vancouver it's definitely a case of the team not being very good.

Ottawa's had trouble with tickets before. Remember Rod Bryden was always threatening to move the team if they didn't sell more tickets? A Sun writer lived on a scaffold until they sold x amount of season tickets (note, he had to stop after a few weeks when it became apparent it wasn't going to happen). Even back in the early 2000s, when they were competitive and making the playoffs every year, they weren't selling out.

[jake_canucks]

Gotta say I'm planning to get to a few games this year, though only for a reasonable price, snagged a $35 nosebleed ticket to the Nucks Sens game and when I go on my own or with one other person it's pretty easy to find a seat in the lower bowl, just gotta choose my games wisely I guess. Disappointing to see how few seats are full but it means I can go for a decent price more often!

[Hoopo]

Ottawa's had trouble with tickets before. Remember Rod Bryden was always threatening to move the team if they didn't sell more tickets? A Sun writer lived on a scaffold until they sold x amount of season tickets (note, he had to stop after a few weeks when it became apparent it wasn't going to happen). Even back in the early 2000s, when they were competitive and making the playoffs every year, they weren't selling out.

Yeah when they were a 3-4 year-old historically bad team they def had attendance issues. But by 1998 they were selling 17,000ish seats, and actually exceeded 19,000 by quite a lot at times through 2013. They hadn't dipped below 18,000 in over a decade until last year. Those were healthy attendance numbers--average, middle of the pack sort of numbers.

Now look at markets that you traditionally associate with poor attendance. Anaheim has exceeded an average of 17000 only 3 times in their entire existence. Carolina? Twice, and they've been between 11,000 and 14,000 for over 3 seasons consecutively now. Avalanche have averaged more than 17,000 per game only once in the last decade. Jackets haven't average 17,000 since 2003. Alphabetically, I'm only in the Cs here, I hope the point is not lost. Ottawa's finances were brutal because of the original management team, and my understanding is that its still not a great situation. But attendance was only a problem in our first 3-4 years, and this and the last season. The current issue is harder to explain.

http://www.hockeydb.com/nhl-attendan...h.php?tmi=7328