The Blues entering Thursday night's game against the Maple Leafs had an average attendance of 16,514, which is "significantly lower than last season's average" after the lockout, according to Joe Strauss of the ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH. That average ranks the team 19th in the NHL. Blues President of Business Operations Bruce Affleck said if the Blues' season-ending average attendance remains where it currently sits it will be "a red flag." He said, "There is a concern. We need better support to make this sustainable." Strauss notes this "isn’t the first time the Blues have banged the drums about their perilous financial situation," but it "is the first time that they’ve addressed attendance." Blues Owner Tom Stillman has "repeatedly lamented the need for broader corporate support." Affleck said of this season’s projected revenues, "We’re a large dollar amount off. That’s what I’ll say for now." He added, "If it goes this way the whole year it becomes a red flag. There are some ways to make some money up. Typically during the second half of the season gates grow. If that’s the case we’re closer to our goal." Strauss writes the Blues "walk a thin line here." Taking their "situation public may strike some as whining." Perhaps part of the attendance hurdle "stems from a show-me stance that fosters skepticism based on the last two postseason wipeouts" against the Kings (ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH, 12/13).
