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SBD/Issue 144/The Back of the Book
NHL Attendance Up 1.1%; Blackhawks, Caps, Bruins Up Double Digits
Published April 15, 2009
NHL franchises averaged 17,460 fans per game during the '08-09 regular season, up 1.1% from 17,265 fans per game last season. The Blackhawks overtook the Canadiens for the top spot, averaging 21,752 fans per game at United Center (106% capacity), which was up 29.4% from a year ago. Also seeing double-digit gains were the Capitals (+17%) and Bruins (+10.4%). The Blue Jackets, who made the postseason for the first time in franchise history, saw a 4.9% gain in attendance for the year. The team also saw significant gains during the second half playoff run, as attendance jumped 15.9% for the 22 homes games after January 11. The Panthers also got a bump at the gate during the second half of the season, as attendance saw a 5.5% spike at the gate for 23 home games after January 11. The Lightning, in their first season under new ownership group OK Hockey, were the only team to see a double-digit decline in attendance, off 11.7% from '07-08. In Newark, the Devils, who marked their sophomore season at Prudential Center, once again saw an attendance bump, up 1.5% from their inaugural season at the venue. The chart below lists NHL team-by-team attendance for the '08-09 regular season, with comparisons to '07-08 (THE DAILY).
|
'08-09 NHL REGULAR-SEASON ATTENDANCE
|
|||||||
|
HOME TEAM
|
GMS
|
TOTAL
|
AVG.
|
% CAP.
|
PREV.
|
% +/-
|
GMS ('07-08)
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Blackhawks*
|
41
|
891,837
|
21,752
|
106.0%
|
16,814
|
29.4%
|
41
|
|
Canadiens
|
41
|
872,193
|
21,273
|
100.0%
|
21,273
|
0.0%
|
41
|
|
Red Wings
|
41
|
814,474
|
19,865
|
99.0%
|
18,912
|
5.0%
|
41
|
|
Flyers
|
41
|
801,372
|
19,546
|
100.0%
|
19,556
|
-0.1%
|
41
|
|
Maple Leafs
|
41
|
791,795
|
19,312
|
102.6%
|
19,434
|
-0.6%
|
41
|
|
Flames
|
41
|
790,849
|
19,289
|
100.0%
|
19,289
|
0.0%
|
41
|
|
Senators^
|
41
|
776,947
|
18,950
|
99.6%
|
19,821
|
-4.4%
|
41
|
| Canucks |
41
|
763,830
|
18,630
|
100.0%
|
18,630
|
0.0%
|
41
|
| Wild |
41
|
761,288
|
18,568
|
102.8%
|
18,568
|
0.0%
|
41
|
| Blues |
41
|
760,732
|
18,554
|
96.9%
|
17,627
|
5.3%
|
41
|
| Sabres** |
41
|
759,798
|
18,532
|
99.2%
|
18,532
|
0.0%
|
41
|
| Rangers^^ |
41
|
745,085
|
18,173
|
100.0%
|
18,200
|
-0.1%
|
41
|
| Capitals |
41
|
741,992
|
18,097
|
99.0%
|
15,473
|
17.0%
|
41
|
| Stars |
41
|
724,911
|
17,681
|
95.4%
|
18,039
|
-2.0%
|
41
|
| Sharks |
41
|
717,023
|
17,488
|
100.0%
|
17,411
|
0.4%
|
41
|
| Bruins |
41
|
698,638
|
17,040
|
97.0%
|
15,430
|
10.4%
|
41
|
| Ducks |
41
|
696,629
|
16,991
|
98.9%
|
17,193
|
-1.2%
|
41
|
| Penguins^ |
41
|
695,997
|
16,976
|
100.7%
|
17,077
|
-0.6%
|
41
|
| Oilers |
41
|
690,399
|
16,839
|
100.0%
|
16,839
|
0.0%
|
41
|
| Hurricanes |
41
|
679,488
|
16,573
|
88.7%
|
16,633
|
-0.4%
|
41
|
| Lightning^^ |
41
|
676,409
|
16,498
|
83.8%
|
18,693
|
-11.7%
|
41
|
| Kings |
41
|
676,042
|
16,489
|
91.0%
|
16,607
|
-0.7%
|
41
|
| Devils |
41
|
647,397
|
15,790
|
89.6%
|
15,564
|
1.5%
|
41
|
| Panthers |
41
|
640,496
|
15,622
|
81.2%
|
15,436
|
1.2%
|
41
|
| Blue Jackets |
41
|
637,284
|
15,544
|
85.7%
|
14,823
|
4.9%
|
41
|
| Avalanche |
41
|
632,602
|
15,429
|
85.7%
|
16,843
|
-8.4%
|
41
|
| Predators |
41
|
615,439
|
15,011
|
87.7%
|
14,910
|
0.7%
|
41
|
| Coyotes |
41
|
609,907
|
14,876
|
86.9%
|
14,820
|
0.4%
|
41
|
| Thrashers |
41
|
599,673
|
14,626
|
78.9%
|
15,825
|
-7.6%
|
41
|
| Islanders |
41
|
564,697
|
13,773
|
84.8%
|
13,640
|
1.0%
|
41
|
| TOTALS |
1,230
|
21,475,223
|
17,460
|
94.8%
|
17,265
|
1.1%
|
1,230
|
NOTES: * = Includes January 1, 2008 NHL Winter Classic played at Wrigley Field, which is credited with United Center's official capacity figure (20,500). ** = Includes January 1, 2008 NHL Winter Classic played at Ralph Wilson Stadium, which is credited with HSBC Arena's official capacity figure (18,690). ^ = Includes one designated home game of a two-game series played in Prague, Czech Republic. Posted attendance was 17,085. ^^ = Includes one designated home game of a two-game series played in Stockholm, Sweden. Posted attendance was 13,699.
