Avalanche’s NHL Record Sellout Streak Ends At 487 Games

Avalanche Fall 326 Fans Short Of Extending Record Sellout Streak

The official attendance of 17,681 for last night’s Blackhawks-Avalanche game was 326 short of capacity at the Pepsi Center, ending “the longest recorded sellout streak in [NHL] history at 487 games,” according to Terry Frei of the DENVER POST. Kroenke Sports Enterprises Exec VP & CMO Paul Andrews said that “‘there are probably 27, 28 teams’ that would have been thrilled with a near-sellout ‘on a Monday night in October, so we’re very fortunate to have had the support we’ve had over the years.’” Andrews said that “there was a silver lining to the end of the streak,” which began with the team’s eighth regular-season home game after moving from Quebec in ’95. Andrews: “The thing that we battle most in this market is that we’re always sold out, and nobody tries to buy tickets. That perception being lifted by tonight’s game, I think, will drive a lot of sellouts here in the future” (DENVER POST, 10/17).

EARLY RETURNS: NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman said that it was “too early to be concerned about attendance around the league, which seems to be lagging significantly in some markets.” Bettman: “It’s a little premature two to three weeks into the season to be writing attendance stories.” But in L.A., Chris Foster notes the Kings announced a five-year low attendance last Thursday, the same night the Blackhawks announced a crowd of 8,008. The Kings last season had “only one crowd below 17,000” and had “five capacity crowds” in nine October games. This season, the Kings “have had only one capacity crowd,” through their first five home games (L.A. TIMES, 10/17). In a separate piece, Foster reports 17,417 attended last night’s Red Wings-Kings game, “which was heavily underwritten” by Red Wings fans. While it was the second-largest crowd at Staples Center this season, “it was the first time the Kings have failed to sell out a game against the Red Wings since the arena opened” in ’99 (L.A. TIMES, 10/17).