Canadian Teams Set Ticket Prices For Upcoming NHL Season

Some Flames Season-Ticket Holders To See Two-Year Price Freeze

The Flames plan to “hold the line” on ticket prices for the ’05-06 season and “reward those who left their season-ticket deposits with the club with a two-year price freeze,” according to Allan Maki of the Toronto GLOBE & MAIL. Flames VP/Sales Rollie Cyr said, “Since the [CBA] was ratified, we’ve been selling about 80 season tickets a day.” Maki also noted the Maple Leafs are cutting ticket prices by 5%, to the “lowest they’ve been in three years.” More than 43% of tickets will be C$68 or less, with 14% of those “capped at [C]$35 during the regular season.” The team will also freeze season-ticket prices for the ’06-07 season. MLSE Exec VP & COO Tom Anselmi said that the Maple Leafs “will have to pay roughly [C$9M] to the NHL for revenue sharing.” Meanwhile, Maki noted the Canadiens will have 4,800 available for C$10-29. The club will also “give away 500 free tickets to 15 Tuesday night home games” and pay 10% interest to season-ticket holders who left a full deposit with the team. The Senators are also reducing season-ticket prices by 5% (Toronto GLOBE & MAIL, 7/30).

STARS: Stars Owner Tom Hicks, when asked how long it will take to get the NHL “back on its feet,” said, “There aren’t as many hockey fans as there are baseball or football fans, but the fans we’ve got are very ardent. ... We have a growing fan base, and so many of them have missed hockey. Our job is to give them an exciting product and make their tickets more affordable, which we’re doing, and get them back to sample the product. And they’ve got to like the product” (DALLAS MORNING NEWS, 8/1).

WE’RE HAVING A PARTY: In Newark, Michael Becker reported over 6,000 fans attended the Devils’ draft party Saturday inside the practice bubble at the Meadowlands, well over the 2,000 who the ’04 draft party. Devils Exec VP Chris Modrzynski said, “This was totally unexpected. We were a little overwhelmed” (Newark STAR-LEDGER, 7/31)....Over 2,000 fans attended the Predators’ draft party at Gaylord Entertainment Center (Nashville TENNESSEAN, 7/31)....About 1,700 Thrashers fans attended a draft party at Philips Arena, where Thrashers RW Scott Mellanby, D Garnet Exelby and D Jaroslav Modry signed autographs (John Manasso, ATLANTA CONSTITUTION, 7/31).