The AHL, considered the triple-A level of North American hockey, saw its teams average 5,638 fans per game during the '11-12 regular season, up nearly 5% from last season. The Hershey Bears led all teams at the gate for the sixth straight season. The club saw attendance rise slightly this season, marking the seventh straight season of gains at Giant Center. Eleven clubs saw double-digit percentage gains at the gate, led by the Rochester Americans, who saw a 44.5% jump. The Milwaukee Admirals saw attendance rise 7.4% at Bradley Center for their best average since the '01-02 season. The Bridgeport Sound Tigers had the club's second-best attendance mark since it was founded in '01, with average gate up 17.7%. Only seven of the 30 clubs saw attendance decline this season. The Connecticut Whale saw the sharpest drop, down 19.7% at XL Center in Hartford. After moving from Winnipeg following last season, the St. John's IceCaps ranked ninth in league attendance during the team's first season in Newfoundland. Listed below is team-by-team attendance for the '11-12 AHL regular season, with comparisons to last year (THE DAILY).
|
'11-12 AHL REGULAR-SEASON ATTENDANCE
|
| TEAM |
GMS
|
TOTAL
|
AVG.
|
PREV.
|
% +/-
|
GMS ('10-11)
|
| Hershey Bears |
38
|
375,146
|
9,872
|
9,800
|
0.7%
|
40
|
| Chicago Wolves |
38
|
300,550
|
7,909
|
7,453
|
6.1%
|
40
|
| Lake Erie Monsters |
38
|
298,096
|
7,845
|
6,568
|
19.4%
|
40
|
| Providence Bruins |
38
|
297,037
|
7,817
|
7,324
|
6.7%
|
40
|
| Houston Aeros |
38
|
278,299
|
7,324
|
6,326
|
15.8%
|
40
|
| Grand Rapids Griffins |
38
|
275,632
|
7,253
|
7,241
|
0.2%
|
40
|
| San Antonio Rampage |
38
|
271,083
|
7,134
|
6,411
|
11.3%
|
40
|
| Charlotte Checkers |
38
|
257,189
|
6,768
|
6,312
|
7.2%
|
40
|
| St. John's IceCaps* |
38
|
239,299
|
6,297
|
n/a
|
n/a
|
n/a
|
| Milwaukee Admirals |
38
|
236,579
|
6,226
|
5,796
|
7.4%
|
40
|
| W-B/Scranton Penguins |
38
|
229,053
|
6,028
|
6,360
|
-5.2%
|
40
|
| Manchester Monarchs |
38
|
216,622
|
5,701
|
5,461
|
4.4%
|
40
|
| Rochester Americans |
38
|
212,605
|
5,595
|
3,872
|
44.5%
|
40
|
| Toronto Marlies |
38
|
208,223
|
5,480
|
4,694
|
16.7%
|
40
|
| Texas Stars |
38
|
207,855
|
5,470
|
5,340
|
2.4%
|
40
|
| Peoria Rivermen |
38
|
205,726
|
5,414
|
5,196
|
4.2%
|
40
|
| Syracuse Crunch |
38
|
199,354
|
5,246
|
5,154
|
1.8%
|
40
|
| Portland Pirates |
38
|
195,997
|
5,158
|
4,655
|
10.8%
|
40
|
| Norfolk Admirals |
38
|
194,521
|
5,119
|
4,490
|
14.0%
|
40
|
| Bridgeport Sound Tigers |
38
|
185,236
|
4,875
|
4,140
|
17.7%
|
40
|
| Hamilton Bulldogs |
38
|
184,232
|
4,848
|
4,257
|
13.9%
|
40
|
| Adirondack Phantoms |
38
|
175,982
|
4,631
|
3,575
|
29.5%
|
40
|
| Connecticut Whale |
38
|
173,788
|
4,573
|
5,695
|
-19.7%
|
40
|
| Worcester Sharks |
38
|
167,292
|
4,402
|
4,068
|
8.2%
|
40
|
| Rockford IceHogs |
38
|
161,286
|
4,244
|
4,360
|
-2.7%
|
40
|
| Oklahoma City Barons |
38
|
140,008
|
3,684
|
4,155
|
-11.3%
|
40
|
| Springfield Falcons |
38
|
139,050
|
3,659
|
3,717
|
-1.6%
|
40
|
| Binghamton Senators |
38
|
135,950
|
3,578
|
3,652
|
-2.0%
|
40
|
| Abbotsford Heat |
38
|
134,715
|
3,545
|
3,807
|
-6.9%
|
40
|
| Albany Devils |
38
|
130,529
|
3,435
|
3,114
|
10.3%
|
40
|
| AHL TOTALS |
1,140
|
6,426,934
|
5,638
|
5,380
|
4.8%
|
1,200
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
NOTES: * = Franchise relocated to St. John's, Newfoundland, following last season after the move of the Thrashers to Winnipeg. The Manitoba Moose last season averaged 8,404 fans per game, which is factored into the league's '10-11 average.
