NHL OPENING WEEKEND: NORTH OF THE BORDER DISORDER?
A look at the NHL's opening weekend finds that, at least
initially, the league's U.S. cities are outdrawing their Canadian
counterparts. Of the 12 teams that had their home openers over
the weekend, eight sold out -- all of them American. Three of
the four cities short of sell-outs are Canadian, but Tampa Bay --
at 94% on Friday and 82% on Sunday -- drew over 20,000 for each
of its games. The ThunderDome holds 28,000. Toronto and
Montreal are yet to open their home schedules. Listed below are
attendance and percent capacity for each game (USA TODAY, 1/23;
THE DAILY).
|
FRIDAY
|
| BUF
at NYR |
18,200
|
100%
|
| CHI
at DET |
19,875
|
100%
|
| STL
at SJ |
17,190
|
100%
|
| TOR
at LA |
16,005
|
100%
|
| PIT
at TAM |
26,387
|
94%
|
| CAL
at WIN |
13,382
|
87%
|
| ANA
at EDM |
14,967
|
86%
|
| DAL
at VAN |
12,038
|
74%
|
| |
|
|
|
SATURDAY
|
| MON
at NYR |
18,200
|
100%
|
| QUE
at PHI |
17,380
|
100%
|
| TOR
at SJ |
17,190
|
100%
|
| WAS
at HAR |
15,635
|
100%
|
| FLA
at NYI |
14,106
|
87%
|
| STL
at VAN |
12,558
|
78%
|
| ANA
at WIN |
9,725
|
63%
|
| |
|
|
|
SUNDAY
|
| PHI
at BOS |
14,448
|
100%
|
| CAL
at DET |
19,683
|
100%
|
| BUF
at TAM |
22,952
|
82%
|
| EDM
at LA |
13,160
|
82%
|
| NJD
at HAR |
12,054
|
77%
|
| OTT
at NYI |
10,311
|
63%
|
NOTES: "In the United States the 3 1/2-month lockout is
already a distant memory to hockey hungry-spectators. But in
Canada, cradle of the game, healing will apparently not be so
speedy" (Neil Campbell, Toronto GLOBE & MAIL, 1/23)....The
smallest crowd the Canucks had last season was 12,479; they drew
12,038 on Friday (VANCOUVER SUN, 1/21).... Noting the small
crowds in Winnipeg, Dave Roberts writes, "There was a feeling
Winnipeggers had crossed the Rubicon: They've grown accustomed
to the absence of hockey during the labour hiatus and may be able
to live without it in the future." With public funds necessary
for a new arena, "such indifference" rekindles the possibility
that the Jets will play elsewhere next year" (Toronto GLOBE &
MAIL, 1/23).
GAME ON! Spotted during ESPN's Friday night NHL broadcast
were lockout-related spots by Starter and Bud Ice. The Starter
spot had scenes of last year's playoffs with an announcer calling
the game as if it were a negotiation. Excerpt: "The lockout is
over! The lockout is over! Holy cow, they've reached a
collective bargaining agreement!" Bud Ice featured two spots,
both with action highlights. The tag-line for one of the Bud
ads: "You miss it? -- This is the ice." The NHL also ran its
"Game On!" spot with a scene from "Wayne's World" (ESPN, 1/20).
The NHL is spending $10M on the "Game On!" campaign. While the
league managed to keep sponsors Anheuser-Busch, Nike, Molson and
Ford on board, NHL Enterprises COO Rick Dudley admits the lockout
slowed momentum in adding new sponsors. The NHL and NHLPA are
discussing a promotion with McDonald's, possibly with trading
cards (Gayle MacDonald, FINANCIAL POST, 1/21).
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