Last month, Jes Golbez lit a powder keg on FanHouse with a post about the eroding attendance numbers for the once-infallible Colorado Avalanche, covering everything from the argument that the team has too few stars to the debate about the effect the League's national TV ratings have on Denver. After Jibblescribbits fired off a furious rebuttal, one thing was clear: This was a sensitive, multi-faceted issue that could say something greater about the current course of the franchise, rather than simply counting how many fannies are filling the seats.This afternoon, Adrien Dater of the Denver Post reports the latest symptom of the Avs' decline: Upper bowl tickets for Wednesday's game against the Chicago Blackhawks have been reduced to $20. Not exactly the 2-for-1 deals or bottom-dollar ticket schemes we saw after the lockout from some teams, but Dater sees this price reduction as significant:
What does this say? It says that the Avs, once the toughest ticket in this town, are getting desperate to fill the building again, by any means necessary. We're almost into February, and the Avs are having to off-load tickets at bargain rates against an Original Six team. The Avs are not alone in their troubles, of course. I've been shocked at how poorly the Nuggets have drawn, a first-place team with two of the biggest stars in the league.
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.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
1-28-2008 @ 5:39PM
Tapeleg said...
Desperate: blogger talk for any reason something has changed.
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1-28-2008 @ 6:11PM
The Falconer said...
The Fan Cost Index is nearly useless when it cost to Denver because it doesn't count the Club seats and guess what? Denver classifies almost their entire lower bowl as "club" seating. In reality if you compare the price charged in Denver is nearly is 50% higher than in seats in comparable locations in other markets.
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1-29-2008 @ 3:31PM
Bob in Boulder said...
The ticket price index the NHL uses is an absolute joke. According to the index, the "average" ticket price in the Pepsi Center last season was around $38. I have the second cheapest seats in the Can, there aren't that many of them, and they were $34 each last year. There are even way fewer cheaper seats. My guess is the real average ticket price in the Pepsi Center is around $100. And I have heard that it is probably the second most expensive real average in the NHL. So of course a struggling economy is going to hurt the Avs more than most markets.
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1-29-2008 @ 8:50PM
Tapeleg said...
And now you have a rebuttal from me.
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