The ECHL, considered the Double-A level of North American hockey, saw its teams average 4,282 fans per game this season, down 1.3% from '10-11 and 4.5% from '09-10. After leading at the gate at the midpoint of the season, the Toledo Walleye were edged out by the Ontario Reign, who led all teams for the third straight season with 6,309 fans per game. However, the Reign's attendance was down 5.6% this season, which marked the club's fourth in Southern California after relocating from Texas. After moving up from the CHL, the Colorado Eagles finished fourth in ECHL attendance this season, averaging 5,289 fans per game at Budweiser Events Center in Loveland. The Trenton Titans had the biggest increase this season, up 26.1%, while the Greenville Road Warriors had the sharpest drop, down 9.7%. The Cincinnati Cyclones saw attendance up 1.1%, marking the club's fifth consecutive season of gains at the gate. During the Chicago Express' first season in the ECHL, the club finished last in attendance at Sears Centre. The club subsequently folded following the regular season. Meanwhile, the ECHL has already announced expansion teams for next season in S.F. and Orlando. The chart below lists final regular-season attendance for the '11-12 ECHL regular season, with comparisons to the '10-11 campaign (THE DAILY).
|
'11-12 ECHL REGULAR-SEASON ATTENDANCE
|
| TEAM |
GMS
|
TOTAL
|
AVG.
|
PREV.
|
% +/-
|
'10-11 GMS
|
| Ontario Reign |
36
|
227,123
|
6,309
|
6,683
|
-5.6%
|
36
|
| Toledo Walleye |
36
|
225,060
|
6,252
|
5,953
|
5.0%
|
36
|
| Stockton Thunder |
36
|
212,988
|
5,916
|
6,382
|
-7.3%
|
36
|
| Colorado Eagles* |
36
|
190,404
|
5,289
|
n/a
|
n/a
|
n/a
|
| Gwinnett Gladiators |
36
|
185,794
|
5,161
|
5,128
|
0.6%
|
36
|
| Florida Everblades |
36
|
180,139
|
5,004
|
5,209
|
-3.9%
|
36
|
| Bakersfield Condors |
36
|
178,662
|
4,963
|
5,117
|
-3.0%
|
36
|
| Alaska Aces |
36
|
160,182
|
4,450
|
4,351
|
2.3%
|
36
|
| Utah Grizzlies |
36
|
158,824
|
4,412
|
4,550
|
-3.0%
|
36
|
| Reading Royals |
36
|
157,146
|
4,365
|
4,568
|
-4.4%
|
36
|
| Las Vegas Wranglers |
36
|
156,208
|
4,339
|
3,940
|
10.1%
|
36
|
| Cincinnati Cyclones |
36
|
150,852
|
4,190
|
4,143
|
1.1%
|
36
|
| Idaho Steelheads |
36
|
140,577
|
3,905
|
4,018
|
-2.8%
|
36
|
| Elmira Jackals |
36
|
119,502
|
3,320
|
3,494
|
-5.0%
|
36
|
| Greenville Road Warriors |
36
|
118,774
|
3,299
|
3,654
|
-9.7%
|
36
|
| South Carolina Stingrays |
36
|
117,051
|
3,251
|
3,399
|
-4.3%
|
36
|
| Kalamazoo Wings |
36
|
109,501
|
3,042
|
3,275
|
-7.1%
|
36
|
| Trenton Titans |
36
|
108,470
|
3,013
|
2,390
|
26.1%
|
36
|
| Wheeling Nailers |
36
|
95,234
|
2,645
|
2,468
|
7.2%
|
36
|
| Chicago Express** |
36
|
90,273
|
2,508
|
n/a
|
n/a
|
n/a
|
| ECHL TOTALS |
720
|
3,082,764
|
4,282
|
4,339
|
-1.3%
|
684
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
NOTES: Last season's attendance includes the Victoria Salmon Kings, who folded following the '10-11 season. * = Team moved to ECHL after playing last season in the CHL. ** = Expansion club.
