The dwindling attendance at SAP Center "is concerning" to Sharks Majority Owner Hasso Plattner, and the organization "is trying to find the correct strategy to entice more fans to return to what used to be one of the most intimidating arenas in the league," according to Kevin Kurz of CSNBAYAREA.com. Plattner said, “I'm really concerned about the situation. If you don't have enough demand, the season ticket holders can't sell the tickets if they are not available to go. So that has a double-negative effect. And obviously for everybody to be in an arena that shows a surplus of empty seats is not very encouraging, even for the playoffs. So this is not good, but there's only so much you can do." He added, “We have several programs in order to improve attendance. I have asked and we will discuss this in the next weeks, probably to increase our focus on young fans. We probably have grown in these 25 years all a little bit older. The Sharks were the new kid on the block 25 years ago. I remember days when I couldn't get a scalped ticket because we were more than sold out." Plattner said fans "want to be pampered." Plattner: "I brought to the table we should have a band playing. It took me one-and-a-half years to get this done. Everything, this is a little bit slow. We'll probably get our organ back. Whether that will raise the attendance, I don't know." When asked how important it is to return to the playoffs, he responded, "For sure this is the goal for the season and then the real season starts. Everybody knows that, that these are only the preliminaries, like the selections for the candidates in the presidential race, the caucuses. The real race then starts in September, and that is our playoffs" (CSNBAYAREA.com, 1/19).
TIME FLIES WHEN YOU'RE HAVING FUN: In San Jose, Curtis Pashelka notes the Sharks last night at SAP Center "celebrated their 25th anniversary" in an event that includes Plattner, NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman, other team execs, local officials, current and former players and "a few thousand fans." Players were "introduced one by one as they walked down the arena stairs towards the floor." Speakers included San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo, former mayor Tom McEnery, San Jose Mercury News writer Mark Purdy and Sharks Sports & Entertainment advisory board member Scott McNealy (SAN JOSE MERCURY NEWS, 1/20). Bettman said, “We believed that this would be a great hockey market. It’s a great sports market, people in Northern California love sports. ... This was a franchise that came in to innovate and create and developed an incredible bond with the fans here in San Jose.” He added, "This is a franchise that has innovated from the outset, whether or not it was putting teal on the uniforms, or having the players skate out through the shark head, or the ‘chomp’ for the power play. ... This is a franchise that over 25 years has built a tradition, has built history, and has generationally passed the rooting interest within families that have transcended the generations” ("Sports Talk Live," CSN Bay Area, 1/19).
