The World Junior Hockey Championship "has not elicited the same passion from Montrealers that their beloved Canadiens do," according to Christopher Curtis of the Montreal GAZETTE. Attendance at the Slovakia-Canada game Friday night was 14,142, and the announced crowd for Saturday night's Germany-Canada game "was even smaller at 12,733." The "underwhelming world junior ticket sales have sparked a debate in which some pundits have labelled Montreal 'not a hockey city.'" One factor at the center of the problem is that tickets for the Slovakia game "ranged from $78 to $268," and it was a "meaningless game that saw Canada clown the Slovaks." Another factor is that, until December, Hockey Canada "was only selling tickets to the tournament in 10-game packages that cost over $1,000." Finally, junior hockey is something that "thrives in small towns across Canada" but has "never really worked in Montreal" (Montreal GAZETTE, 12/29). YAHOO SPORTS CANADA's Neate Sager wrote there is a "saturation point for every product," and the world junior championship organizers, Hockey Canada and the IIHF "have found it inside the Bell Centre." High single-game ticket prices "are an obvious culprit for lower attendance." Another variable is secondary ticketing, since that market "could become flooded" as sellers "rush to get rid of their inventory before it loses all value." Setting a price point "far beyond the working, middle-class person who doesn't jet off for a tropical holiday vacation also flies in the face to the idea of introducing more people to Canada's game." Montreal also "doesn't have the same corporate base as Toronto, where there's no end of companies who will snap up tickets and pass them out to staff or clients" (CA.SPORTS.YAHOO.com, 12/28).
BLAME CANADA: In Toronto, Kevin McGran notes in comparison to Montreal, Toronto "drew larger crowds on average for every game and didn't have a home team." With all teams having played three games each, "average attendance for games featuring Russia (14,749) and Sweden (14,268) in Toronto have been superior to games featuring Canada (14,197) in Montreal." Tomorrow's U.S.-Canada game in Montreal "should be the hottest ticket in either city for a preliminary round game" (TORONTOSTAR.com, 12/30).
