IIHF President Rene Fasel "thinks ticket prices should be lower" for the '17 World Junior Hockey Championships in Montreal, according to John Chidley-Hill of the MONTREAL GAZETTE. Fasel yesterday "suggested that Hockey Canada should consider lowering its prices among other solutions to disappointing ticket sales." Fasel: "It's a big city. I disagree that maybe Montreal people are only there for les Canadiens. They love the game. I think the pricing of the tickets was an issue in Montreal." Chidley-Hill noted ticket sales "were disappointing" in Montreal for the '15 World Juniors that the city co-hosted with Toronto. Hockey Canada COO Scott Smith: "One of the areas we did revise for 2017 is the ticket pricing in Montreal. ... you can see the world's best in men's under-20 hockey for as little as $35, with platinum seats going for $100 per game." Smith said that that represents a 30% "decrease in pricing." Fasel also suggested that perceptions of attendance at the '15 event "may have been skewed by the size of Montreal's Bell Centre." Fasel: "The problem is also that if you have such a big arena, we still had 15-16,000 people, but in a 22,000-seat arena it looks not full." Smith added, "These are large venues, but they are also the best available in these two host cities, and we want to deliver a best-in-class experience for teams and fans alike" (MONTREAL GAZETTE, 1/5).
