After crowds of just 12,038 and 12,558 for the team's first
two home games, "there is considerable concern" among Canucks
management over an apparent backlash to the team's ticket
increases and the 103-day work stoppage. Because of the slow
sales, the team will reduce prices approximately $15 on about
1,500 tickets for the "maximum number of games possible this
season." The Canucks hope to announce the details of a deal with
Shoppers Drug Mart sometime this week. The reduction would be on
$54.50 tickets, down to $39 (Jack Keating, Vancouver PROVINCE,
1/24). But in Toronto, Bob McKenzie writes that "all in all,
given the length and bitterness of the lockout there's nothing
too negative to report from the first weekend" (TORONTO STAR,
1/24).
$1 DOGS: The Leafs will feature special offers for opening
night, dubbed fan appreciation night -- snack food for $1, Sony
TV and compact disc giveaways, and autographed team jerseys. Bob
Stellick, Leafs Dir of Business Operations: "We want to make sure
we let the fans know how much we appreciate them" (Mary Ormsby,
TORONTO STAR, 1/24). Leafs Player Rep Kent Manderville: "It's no
secret people here look at hockey as part of the fabric of
Canadian culture and not just as a sport that shut down the way
people in the States do" (Paul Hunter, TORONTO STAR, 1/24).
