For the past decade plus, the New Jersey Devils have had a great team, but lousy attendance. Hell, the club even held a Stanley Cup 'parade' in a frickin' parking lot.
The excuse we were given for their low attendance was that the arena was out in the middle of nowhere/swampland and was hard to get to. I was willing to accept that reasoning, since I figured the fans I did see in attendance looked rather hardcore, and a large majority of them seem to be wearing Devils sweaters. I've never been to New Jersey, so I won't go all Barry Melrose and claim New Jersey to be some barren wasteland of factories and crime.
The cure to these attendance woes was supposed to be the minty-fresh Prudential Center, the fancy new arena with the custom-made urinals. (oooohhh!) Hockey pundits were eager to see if a shiny new house would finally get the Devils fans packing the arena.
So far? Nicht so gut!
The Devils fans have been slow to embrace the new building. The announced average attendance in the first 20 home games has been 15,447, more than 2,000 less than the 17,625-seat capacity. If there was a true head count, the attendance figures would be far less on a nightly basis, however
Yes, I realize that attendance is up over 1,000/game compared to the previous two seasons, but that could easily be a temporary spike due to curious fans who went to see the new digs once or twice.
So, I ask the Devils fans around here, is New Jersey just a softer market that is pretty much peaked at 15,000/game? The Devils have a new building and a competitive team, so what's the deal?
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Reader Comments ( Page 1 of 1)
1. This is the deal with it. It doesn't necessarily excuse the attendence woes, but it still certainly explains it.
The new arena, although infinitly easier to get to then the old Byrne is still a bit of a trek to get to, especially for those of us who live in parts of NJ which aren't New York burbs. It's not like a downtown arena in a major city where public transportation frequantly comes and goes around the arena, or you could even walk a few blocks, get a train at a different station, and still be fine. Mass transit to the Prudential Center is all out of Penn Station. NJ Transit trains run on a normal schedule. So essentially, after the game you have to get on the next train or you're stranded in Newark for another hour. Also, try and grab a southbound train on the same night a Rangers game is at MSG and the train ride can be downright unbearable.
Additionally, part of the problem with being a "state" team is that they have more territory to cover, and thus, a more spread out fan base. The fan base is also divided, with the Rangers, Flyers and even the Islanders having planted their flags long before the Scouts moved to Colorado, let alone the Rockies becomming the Devils. This team has only been around for 25 years. Only now are the first generation Devils' fans starting to have children to mold.
Finally, the game is just too damn expensive for a boring team. Sure they consistantly win, which is great, but who would pay $70+ for a team that puts you to sleep? That's exactly why every Devils fan appears very hardcore about them. You have to be.
Am I making a case for the Devils to relocate? Possibly. I sure hope not, because I love them, but you have to objectivly look a the team. I'm not going to say Newark is the problem, because the town will be built around the arena, not the other way around. I just think that the Devils need to lower their prices overall to really cement their status as "New Jersey's team"
Posted at 4:18PM on Jan 28th 2008 by Adam Jones
2. Listen, the Devils outdrew the beloved Edmonton Oilers in the mid-90's. They need more Saturday night dates. Yet, the Devils have held their own against football on Sundays...drawing 16,000 during a Giants game, and 15,000 during the NFC Title Game.
The attendance will go up as more people discover A. How great the place is, and B. How easy it is to get to through public transportation.
Posted at 4:27PM on Jan 28th 2008 by Steve
3. Jesus, Jez.
I don't know where to start.
Eh, it's easier to just call you stupid (Family Guy reference).
Posted at 4:35PM on Jan 28th 2008 by Steve
4. Sure, Jes, why bother to put in the effort to do your own research when you have Devils fans to do it for you?
At least you already acknowledge that the Devils’ attendance has increased. Phew. Good thing we don’t have to go over THAT point (the increase is the highest in the league too, according to our owner). Of course, then you pointed out that it could be temporary, which is interesting considering that Devils’ attendance, like that of most NHL teams, improves in the second half when they’re not competing with football. And how can we refute your "point" when the second half hasn’t happened yet?
We’re also outdrawing the Nets (according to ESPN’s numbers), who have had one more home game, literally give their tickets away for free, and who are supposed to be more popular in the area in an arena all their own.
Not to mention that attendance was supposed to decrease once they moved to the Rock. Contrary to the previous poster, I find the Rock rather accessible. Newark’s reputation might still be keeping people away though, even though it’s not so different from any other city and the downtown area is fine.
As for other reasons:
1. As others have mentioned, the prices. In case you haven’t noticed, the economy is shat to hell, and particularly in NJ, where it is pretty darn expensive to live. Unless you think it’s a good deal to sit in mezzanine seats for $100 when the seats 15 feet behind you are $35. Our fanbase is also a lot younger than most other teams in the area, so we’re just starting to get our own disposable income to spend on Devils tickets and to raise our offspring as children of Satan.
2. Lack of Saturday home dates. For comparison, the Devils have something like 5 or 6 Saturday home games. Montreal has 17. GM Lou mentioned that they tried to get more but were basically stuck for this year with what the NHL gave them because the arena hadn’t been completed yet, resulting in more Friday night games. Which is great, except that it takes twice as long to get anywhere on Friday nights. Even so, those crowds haven’t been terrible. Meanwhile, our Saturday games are against opponents like the Coyotes and LA Kings…real crowd draws there.
The other thing I thought I’d mention is that the media likes to throw in little jabs at our attendance…like saying that it would be much lower if they counted only the actual number of people in the seats. Silly, considering that it is that way for every team, not just the NJD. Moreover, people like to walk around the concourse, or eat in the lounges and restaurant, so the place usually doesn’t fill up until the middle of the second period. The earlier start time also affects this. However, I guess this just means that their attendance doesn’t count if they’re not in their seats at the exact moment when a certain person looks around the arena and thinks, "Hm, I wonder how many people are here tonight?" And yet, even those people have said that, all things considered, the Devils' attendance is quite good.
So contrary to what you seem to think, the Devils’ attendance is doing just fine, and it’ll continue to get better.
Posted at 5:40PM on Jan 28th 2008 by haru
5. Haru,
It's a bit hard for me to do my own research, considering I love on the opposite side of the continent. That is why I am asking the children of Satan ;)
1. Football - The NFL teams have, what, eight home games a year? Games once a week? The NHL might have trouble competing on Sundays, but the rest of the week?
2. We'll see if the spike is temporary or permanent. New arenas only have that new car smell for so long.
3. Yes, I agree that the media often puts in the throwaway lines about 'empty seats and attendance figures'. That was the author's writing, not mine.
A good example is the Toronto Maple Leafs. For half of each period, the place looks half-empty as fans are late for the game, drinking cocktails in the concourse, etc ... That, and they have a lot of businesses owning the seats and they don't always get used. I quote the actual numbers reported by ESPN
3. "the increase is the highest in the league too, according to our owner" Umm, do you trust an owner to tell the truth? :) The Hawks have a much higher attendance increase than the Devils
Look, this isn't a hate-on post, but a valid question about why the Devils' attendance is still fairly weak compared to the rest of the NHL.
For years, we were told 'Wait until we get a new arena'. Now? The Devils have a new arena, a great team, and yet attendance isn't looking tremendous. Us Canadians and other pundits just want some reasons, is all.
Posted at 5:47PM on Jan 28th 2008 by Jes Golbez
6. Easiest answer:
http://www.teammarketing.com/fci.cfm?page=fci_nhl_06-07.cfm
Those were last years stats. They are even higher this year. Teams set ticket prices at levels that will draw the most revenue via season tickets, which is the most consistent non-contractual revenue source. Prices will always be set at the absolute maximum the market will allow with a number in mind to offset operating costs.
If the Devils cared more about selling out their building every game than they did about drawing the highest possible revenue per season then they could lower ticket prices to a point where they would sell out every game (it's a heavily populated area and there are far more fans than you think). For example, the upper, uppers that range from $35 to $10 are sold out every single game.
But at those prices, you couldn't even pay for half the teams' payroll.
Posted at 5:47PM on Jan 28th 2008 by Brodie30
7. Brodie makes a good point.
In Phoenix, from what I saw when I went to a game there, they do the same revenue-maximizing scheme.
The place really is half-empty, but the ticket prices were much more expensive than they are in Vancouver. (This was pre-lockout). Phoenix seems to know that they can't fill the place, so they'll charge the rich folks from Scottsdale big prices to attend a game.
Now, I wonder if that is really the best strategy to go with. Butts in seats = concession revenues = satisfied fans. If I were an owner, I'd forego a bit of gate revenue to get fans the live experience and sell more beer.
Posted at 5:50PM on Jan 28th 2008 by Jes Golbez
8. Jes,
It seems to me that people are giving you answers, and that they just don’t seem good enough for you "Canadians and other pundits." I don’t know what to tell you other than that these are valid reasons. If you don't think so then, oh well.
"Tremendous" is rather relative, isn’t it? ;-)As I stated before, there’s already an increase over what we were drawing at CAA.
Granted you’re not pulling a Barry Melrose, and I’m not hating on you. ;-) But you are talking to a fanbase that has been shat on quite a lot in terms of attendance, so your question isn’t exactly a novel one, and we are doing what we can. There’s always going to be some sensitivity to this topic, so you should expect more.
Posted at 6:19PM on Jan 28th 2008 by haru
9. Jes, that is always an interesting consideration, especially considering how good the concessions at the new building are. But who knows better about the bottom line than the team itself? The owner was EVP at Lehman Bros.
But your base will always be your season ticket holders and then you enjoy the extra concessions when the Rangers/Flyers/non-Southeast team is in town. My hope was that since they finally had Suites, that the richies and new corporate presence would take on more of the cost and they could lower prices everywhere else (which they did in the uppers to a point).
But it is safe to say that the team will not have to reach the second round of the playoffs to be in the black this year, so hopefully the team will try keep attendance up with continued promotions and deals even when it doesn't always benefit them financially. The new arena is pretty special, they should do more to expose people to it.
Posted at 6:31PM on Jan 28th 2008 by Brodie30
10. Haru,
I acknowledge that there have been some good answers to my query. I'm just not buying some of them (football season). However, if someone can show me that the Devils have had a noticable post-NHL spike in attendance in the last decade, I'll gladly eat some roast crow.
The Saturday games reason is certainly valid and something I wouldn't have known about. Saturdays are supposed to be hockey's big night, at least in Canada, so I can see that a lack of good weekend dates is not going to help matters.
One of these years, I'll have a post on why I have been posting on attendance so often during recent months.
Posted at 6:31PM on Jan 28th 2008 by Jes Golbez
11. Jes,
I think you are greatly underestimating the pull that football has in NJ and in most US areas, and I don’t mean only the NFL, but also college and high school football, too. If you look at most NJ newspapers, the sports sections are dominated by football articles. Currently it’s the Giants, but before then it was Rutgers. And this also ties into the economy, because most families aren’t going to have the money to go to both a football and hockey game every night. So if you have a choice between football, which has a shorter season as you rightly pointed out, and hockey, most people would go to see football, because they can always see hockey “later.” And for a lot of families, it has to be a weekend game, for obvious reasons.
As I mentioned, Newark’s reputation is another thing that the Devils are going to have to work through. Since the Rock is part of Newark’s revitalization, I am sure that they can do it. But, like most changes, it’s going to take time. That’s why I felt that this post and the many other arguments about attendance that have been bandied about are preemptive.
The bit about having an increase in attendance in the second half has been mentioned several times by our beat writers in their articles this year and last. I’ll look around to see if I can find the hard numbers for you. I know for sure that Rich Chere mentioned that our attendance through December was up 22-25% over the past two years. However, I do know that the Devils are not unique in this.
As Brodie30 pointed out, the new arena is absolutely wonderful. But selling out every night doesn’t necessarily equate to fiscal fitness for the organization. In the 1990s, the Devils had strong average attendance, but were arguably worse off financially because the lease they had with the NJSEA put them at a disadvantage. Having their own arena, not only has attendance increased, but they also get more revenue.
Posted at 8:32PM on Jan 28th 2008 by haru
12. "Why does no one ever take this dig at the Ducks?"
http://jesgolbez.blogspot.com/2007/06/no-stanley-cup-parade-for-anaheim.html
Posted at 9:13PM on Jan 28th 2008 by Earl Sleek
13. I think that all the points made here in defense of NJ are all completely fair and having answered your questions in full, Jes. However, I have one question for you:
Hell, the club even held a Stanley Cup 'parade' in a frickin' parking lot.
Why does no one ever take this dig at the Ducks? Moreover, the Devils didn't hold a Stanley Cup parade in a parking lot, they held three, thank you very much. As a fan who was lucky enough to be in the building when my team won the Cup, I could have cared less where the celebration took place! Honestly, whoever tries to take this swipe at NJ should have enough rings to back it up.
Posted at 9:17PM on Jan 28th 2008 by Pookie
14. Meanwhile, our Saturday games are against opponents like the Coyotes and LA Kings…real crowd draws there.
Is it worth pointing out that last year the Ducks had exactly one home game that fell on a Saturday? And that this year they will have exactly one as well?
Perspectives, I guess.
Posted at 9:18PM on Jan 28th 2008 by Earl Sleek
15. "Is it worth pointing out that last year the Ducks had exactly one home game that fell on a Saturday? And that this year they will have exactly one as well?"
__
Earl,
I think this comment would have more weight if the Ducks had fewer Sunday games. The Ducks may only have one Saturday game, but last year they had 13 Sunday games, and this year they have 12. This year, the Devils have 5 Saturday games and 4 Sunday games.
Besides the lack of weekend home games, my point was that the Coyotes and LA Kings are not teams of interest to the casual Devils fans. It's not that they're not fun teams to watch, but because we don't have any rivalries with them (despite Wayne's Mickey Mouse comment).
Posted at 10:28PM on Jan 28th 2008 by haru
16. Simple. Ticket prices are rediculous. We have club seats and are not complaining about those prices even though they are steep. The corners and behind the net are rediculously priced as well as some sections of the 100's
Posted at 10:39AM on Jan 29th 2008 by The Good Reverend HH