The Incredible Disappearing Avalanche
by Joe Dunman on Jan 29, 2008 11:41 AM MST
in NHL News
Email
Print |
Fast-forward to early 2008 and the magic is all but gone. You'd be hard-pressed to find even a brief mention of the Avalanche in the mainstream hockey press or on the TV. Even with big free agent signings and the emergence of a young superstar-to-be in Paul Stastny, Colorado seems like an afterthought to all those obsessed with Pittsburgh, Detroit, Ottawa, Kovalchuk, Lecavalier and Ovechkin. There wasn't a single Avalanche player at the all star game, and while that was due to injuries, it further worsened the team's image across the league.
Now comes the news that Kroenke Sports (the owners of the Avalanche) will be dishing out tickets at $20 a pop to help stem the tide of collapsing attendance numbers. While Dater accurately points out that the economy in Denver is tanking (not to mention everywhere else) and fans' budgets aren't flexible enough to include frequent hockey games, there's also the pesky problem of three huge injuries and a lousy coach, all contributing to the weakening of the "on-ice product."
It being a slow news day, and the Avalanche being everyone's new favorite punching bag, a big name in the hockey blogosphere has already pounced:
Dater writes that Denver's economic downturn is a primary factor, but it's not like the Avalanche were fleecing fans to begin with. The last Fan Cost Index from Team Marketing Report had Colorado below the League average and even the Islanders and Blue Jackets. The Avs are currently in the eight hole in the West; that, and their slew of injuries clearly have fans feeling pessimistic.
Regardless of the fact that the inaccuracy of the Fan Cost Index has already been pointed out in the comments section of the post, the idea is clear: the fans in Denver (and the hockey world at large) are done with the Avalanche. The honeymoon is over.
Is this true? We all know and have already discussed the reasons for the decline in ticket sales. It's not tough to figure out that the reason fewer people are going to Avalanche games is a combination of the following factors (in no particular order):
- High cost of tickets
- Decline in personal spending
- Lack of "big names" on Avalanche lineup
- High rate of injuries
- No playoffs last season
- Weak regular season performance so far
And there are probably more reasons that I've left out. It's not just one thing, though, and there isn't one simple fix, despite various bloggers' insistence on trying to find one---or at least to point the blame at just one thing.
What do you think? What does the Avalanche organization need to do to regain their once-stellar attendance numbers? Is it even possible in today's economic climate and with the salary cap looming over any dynastic aspirations? Is there a simple fix?
35 comments
|
0 recs |
Do you like this story?
Comments
no
There is no simple fix. Making the playoffs would sure do a lot though.
Btw, Richardson got called up, for like the 3rd time this year. I wonder if he stays up?
by Mike the Avs Fan on Jan 29, 2008 12:30 PM MST reply actions
also
Theodore to start tomorrow vs. the Blackhawks. From the Avs main page.
by Mike the Avs Fan on Jan 29, 2008 1:18 PM MST up reply actions
Or...
...or that JoeTed has simply shown that he's the Avs' #1.
To his credit, Idiot has finally decided to stick with someone after a loss.
by Thomas @ Mile High Hockey on Jan 29, 2008 1:26 PM MST up reply actions
lol
Most likely. I think Theodore better get the start vs. the Wings, no matter what. He owns the Wings, his two best games as an Av have come against the Wings. But I must say, I'll be VERY pissed if Boods doesn't play vs. the Blues. Someone please explain to Q that you can't play the same goalie in back to back games!
by Mike the Avs Fan on Jan 29, 2008 1:32 PM MST up reply actions
Re: Boots
Taking the daughter to a Budaj Public Appearance (nothing says hockey like a Conoco Mini Mart) this afternoon. Budaj is her 12 yr old (peewee goalie) "boyfriend's" hero so she's giving him a signed puck for his birthday. Do I know how to raise 'em or what?!
Any messages for Boots?
Re: Boots
Don't tell me Denver's not a hockey town. The amount of people who came out to stand in the 10 degree n' windy weather for 1.5 hrs (what moron made the brilliant decision to wrap the line outside around the SHADY side of the building, next to the freakin CARWASH?), have aproximately 4 nano seconds with a goalie that they never see play... was pretty impressive. Hypothermia n' all.
I wimped out on the "sleeping w/Q's wife" comment (sorry Joe) but did tell him we missed seeing him on the ice... blah blah. He was all business, "Well, it's all part of the game. Thanks for your support." I suppose he wasn't really in the position to say, "It all started when I slept with Q's wife, now he hates me!"
950 The Fan was doing their broadcast thing from there and were going to interview him afterwards. Did anyone hear it? I'm curious what he had to say.
Interview on the Fan
I heard it. Boots did say he slept with Q's wife, right after Richardson did.
Just kidding. And I didn't really hear it.
by Bob in Boulder on Jan 29, 2008 8:45 PM MST up reply actions
No way
Richardson will be gone the second Stastny is back in the lineup---unless Richie scores 10 points in the next four or five games. Then it will be Hensick who takes the plane back to Cleveland.
Oh, and Stastny's supposed to skate today.
Hensick is still down
he's not with the Avs anymore -- sent down for the AHL all star game and he's not been recalled.
Re: Hensick
I noticed that after I posted the comment. I thought Hensick had been sent down just for the all star game (he had 2 goals and 2 assists) and then would immediately return. I was wrong, apparently.
Hey...
If Denver doesn't want them, move the team somewhere that does.
I'm against Canada having any more teams, but Hamilton would support them. So would Quebec City. So would Winnipeg.
Houston, Portland, Kansas City, Las Vegas...all are good options.
I'd love to see them in Detroit playing at the Palace.
by Thomas @ Mile High Hockey on Jan 29, 2008 1:27 PM MST reply actions
oooooooh
you'd better be joking....
by Mike the Avs Fan on Jan 29, 2008 1:29 PM MST up reply actions
Heh
Not at all.
I would absolutely LOVE for the Avs to move here. I'd love to see half of these mouth-breathers go from threatening me with knives to supporting the same team within weeks.
by Thomas @ Mile High Hockey on Jan 29, 2008 9:05 PM MST up reply actions
Detroit
because Detroit is supporting their one team oh so well these days.
by Jibblescribbits on Jan 29, 2008 1:43 PM MST up reply actions
I agree
with Jibblescribbits, Detroit is doing such a GREAT job of filling the Joe to capacity, night in, night out. You'd have to give an arm and a leg to find a seat in the Red Wings' house.
NOT!
by Mike the Avs Fan on Jan 29, 2008 2:50 PM MST up reply actions
But but but but...
...the ECOMONY in Detroit is so bad!!!
Nobody can afford to feed their families, much less the cost of a hockey ticket. The last two hundred jobs in the entire region left with the last plant closing, and now every last person within two hundred miles is unemployed!
Yeah, I hear the excuses nonstop. Only unlike you guys, I have to hear them in this disgusting Michigan accent.
They have no problem selling out the Palace for Pistons games, Tiger Stadium is packed every night, and even the freaking LIONS sell out. But the Red Wings, the team where every last player on the entire roster is better than Wayne Gretzky on his best day, can't seem to do any better than 93% of capacity.
Still, the Avs should move to Detroit. Denver is waaaay too far from their AHL team in Cleveland. The Avs need to move here for the betterment of the entire franchise.
So Denverians, pitch in and help load the trucks. Let's get this done tonight so I can go to the game tomorrow.
by Thomas @ Mile High Hockey on Jan 29, 2008 9:13 PM MST up reply actions
Denver is a hockey town
Period. Much more so than any of the US cities you mentioned above. And more economically viable than any of the Canadian cities currently without a team. This little lull in attendance is due to several factors but is in no way indicative of what type of hockey market Denver is. For us to achieve the longest sellout streak in all major professional sports speaks volumes by itself. Throw in the relatively high local TV ratings for the Avs, the success of the college programs here, the two CHL teams, and the adult rec leagues all over town, it is a slam dunk. Denver is still one of the best hockey markets in the country.
And the Avs' real ticket prices are among the highest in the league (I read somewhere that they are 2nd behind Toronto). The affordability index the NHL uses is pure garbage (as I detailed in a post on the fanhouse blog).
by Bob in Boulder on Jan 29, 2008 1:59 PM MST up reply actions
Adding
Just as an addition to your excellent points Boulder Bob:
Denver-Metro had the 4th best rating for the Winter Classic, behind the two local markets involved and another city I can't remember off the top of my head.
by Jibblescribbits on Jan 29, 2008 2:09 PM MST up reply actions
The city you can't remember is...
...Detroit.
Excuse me, "Hockeytown".
In all fairness, it was on at the same time as the UM-Florida game. And I know I sure as hell wasn't about to flip away from my alma mater kicking the crap out of last year's NCAA champion to watch some meaningless gimmick game between two teams I can't stand.
by Thomas @ Mile High Hockey on Jan 29, 2008 9:16 PM MST up reply actions
Wasn't a rip
It wasn't a rip on Detroit at all, just saying Denver is a hockey town as well.
by Jibblescribbits on Jan 29, 2008 9:30 PM MST up reply actions
No,
Detroit isn't a hockey town. It was a Red Wings town when the Wings were the only good team in town, and that was only when the Lions weren't playing. But the Wings are the 4th most popular team here, and that has never and will never change.
Nobody here watches any non-Wings hockey other than perhaps a few minutes of a UM or MSU game once a year.
by Thomas @ Mile High Hockey on Jan 30, 2008 10:11 AM MST up reply actions
Speaking of UM ...
Do you think that Billy Sauer could be the long-term answer as the goaltender of the future for the Avs?
The Avs have been and still are number 2 in Denver, behind the Broncos. Face it, the NFL is king everywhere in the country now, but Denver has always been Bronco country. I still believe the Avs draw much higher numbers on local TV broadcasts than the Nuggets or the Rockies.
by Bob in Boulder on Jan 30, 2008 10:17 AM MST up reply actions
Sauer...
it's impossible to say. We do seem to have a couple good prospects a few years out though in him and Cann, but you never know. Hell, Weiman (who I watched for a whole season with the CHL Eagles in Fort Collins -- he's got the quickness for sure) and Cash have looked pretty good too, and I believe they both deserve a shot next year.
Avs number 2?
I really don't think so. I'd say that the Rockies have solidified their spot as the number two team in Denver. They get loads more media attention, that's for sure.
by Rather Dashing on Jan 30, 2008 2:04 PM MST up reply actions
Re: Avs number 2?
Well, it is America and the Rockies do play baseball.
That said, the Avs are still definitely Number 2. Yeah, that number 2.
Other than their playoff run ...
I don't think anyone really gave a rat's butt about the Rocks until late September. And I do remember reading about how poorly their local TV ratings stacked up against the Avs and even the Nuggets. The local rags have always covered baseball in nauseating detail as compared to hockey, even though most people in town could care less. And I have always hammered them for it.
by Bob in Boulder on Jan 30, 2008 2:57 PM MST up reply actions
Local media
That's because the local media are Jim Armstrong, Mark Kizla, and Woody Paige who have this "baseball is the only link to the glorious past" over-romantic feeling about baseball. Baseball's fine,
The Rockies need 3 more season like last seasons, plus the Avs need about 3 seasons like last season or worse, before they permanently fall below.
by Jibblescribbits on Jan 30, 2008 4:07 PM MST up reply actions
Sauer
Sauer graduated high school early to go and play goal for UM. He wasn't expecting to, but Montoya left early and UM needed a goalie. So he was thrown into the fire very early. Had he played in the USHL his draft year, he would have been taken in the top three rounds for sure.
Sauer's going to be an NHL goaltender, without question. He's sound positionally, moves well from post to post and has a nice big frame. More than that though, he has it between the ears. That's probably the most important strength a goalie can have.
Interestingly enough, he replaced another guy who finished high school early to start in net as a freshman at UM. Montoya.
Circumstances were different in that case. UM had a really highly-touted goalie prospect who was already committed and wanted to play at UM more than anything. He would have started as a freshman, but he couldn't get a high enough score on the SAT to be admitted. He tried three times, which is the maximum allowed under NCAA rules. He was just too dumb to get into Michigan, so he ended up playing in the OHL for the Plymouth Whalers.
That goalie's name? Jason Bacashihua.
Gotta love it.
by Thomas @ Mile High Hockey on Jan 30, 2008 6:52 PM MST up reply actions
Let's put it this way
I'd pay for the airfare and hotel to go to a couple of Avs games every year, but I don't. Why? Cuz the tickets would cost almost the same as airfare and hotel combined. I'm not asking for $2 tickets, just something a tad more reasonable than $87 a pop for club level.
$20 Tix FYI
They had another (wednesday game) $20 ticket night a couple, few weeks ago too. They announced it at a game and on the Av's site a day or so before. It'd be nice if they are going to make a habit of this to offer the tix online. As it is, you have to purchase them the day of the game, at the box office.
Comments For This Post Are Closed
Secondary Sidebar
User Tools
Related FanPosts on Mile High Hockey
FanPosts
Community blog posts and discussion.
Certain photos copyright © 2012 by Associated Press or Getty Images. Any commercial use or distribution without the express written consent of Associated Press and Getty Images is strictly prohibited.
