MIGHTY DUCKS: Attendance for the Mighty Ducks is down
12% from last season, and the ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER "asked
readers" to comment on reasons for the attendance drop. Of
the 113 fans who responded to the question via fax or e-
mail, 68 said that the Mighty Ducks "simply have priced them
out of The Pond with their escalating costs for tickets and
concessions." Mighty Ducks President & GM Pierre Gauthier:
"We're very conscious of the problem. Ticket prices are a
league-wide topic, not just here" (O.C. REGISTER, 12/17).
'CANES: In Raleigh, Ned Barnett wrote that while
tickets to NC State Univ. men's basketball are in "demand,"
the Hurricanes "have an excess of supply." Barnett: "It's
an imbalance that does not bode well for hockey." Barnett
wondered whether the Hurricanes "can afford to keep charging
amounts [between $17-99] that leave some 4,000 seats empty"
at the Raleigh arena and suggested the team cut prices
(Raleigh NEWS & OBSERVER, 12/18). Also in Raleigh, Cecil
Harris noted that "traffic still doesn't flow" around the
arena and that the arena has been "barely half-full" for its
last three Canes games (Raleigh NEWS & OBSERVER, 12/19).
