Losing Their Edge: Capitals Struggling To Draw Fans At Home
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Capitals’ Home Attendance Ranks 28th
In NHL Through First 21 Games
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The Capitals are averaging 13,103 tickets distributed through the their first 21 home games, just 70% of capacity at the Verizon Center and the 28th lowest mark in the NHL, according to Heath & El-Bashir of the WASHINGTON POST. While the team said that the figure is “up slightly from the same period a year ago, it is still about 800 fewer fans per game than last season’s average.” The team has sold around 8,500 season tickets this year, but its season-ticket renewal rate of 81% is below the 85% average in most pro sports. Season-ticket sales peaked at 11,000-12,000 during the ’01-02 season. The attendance problems “are noteworthy given all the attention” around LW Alex Ovechkin — the team ranks fifth in the NHL in average road attendance. Owner Ted Leonsis indicated that he “needs to increase sales by 3,000 fans per game to break even.” Heath & El-Bashir note the Capitals received “several million dollars” from the league’s revenue-sharing program, but it still lost near $5M in ’06, which is “far less than the $30[M] in annual losses the team was running four years ago.” The club will now “solicit fans who have been to any Capitals game over the last five years” and is using its Web site to identify prospective fans and selling them a five-game ticket “sampler” package. Leonsis has also “diverted resources from mass advertising,” as the team is not buying full-page newspaper ads or radio and TV spots, instead focusing on “highly specific targeting.” Capitals Senior VP & Chief Sales Officer Mike Humes: “We are talking to individuals one by one, trying to recruit new customers and hold on to the ones we have” (WASHINGTON POST, 1/4).
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