When it comes to the Western Hockey League, the bottom line isn‘t how many NHL players it produces each season. Rather, it‘s how many bottoms are sitting in seats.
With that, attendance has to be a chief concern at a two-day league meeting that concludes today in Kelowna. Each team‘s general manager and/or governor is here to, among other things, discuss a wide-ranging agenda - of which falling attendance is likely to top the list.
Take, for example, the Chilliwack Bruins.
Last season, according to a website that tracks hockey attendance (Google: mib lennier hockey), the Bruins averaged 4,072.8 fans per game, down 451.4 fans from 2007-08. In fact, Chilliwack‘s attendance has been dwindling since the franchise opened its doors in 2006-07.
In their inaugural season, the Bruins drew 22,739 fans during their first five games for an average of 4,547, according to the WHL. The next season, 2007-08, that average fell to 4,260 (21,303 total fans), then dropped to 3,833 (19,168) in 2008-09. This season, Chilliwack‘s average through five games is 3,146 (15,730) - a drop of 1,400 fans since 2006-07. Yet the Bruins aren‘t the only team in the attendance-dropping boat. So is Seattle.
Having relocated from KeyArena in downtown Seattle, the Thunderbirds are struggling at the ShoWare Center in Kent. Through five games, the T-Birds have drawn 14,790 fans, which averages out to 2,958 fans per game. At KeyArena, the T-Birds averaged 3,889 fans (19,477) last season and 3,889 (19,477) in 2007-08.
"There‘s a lot of things in play," said Bruins governor Darryl Porter. "If you look around every level of hockey, and most minor sports, everyone‘s running 10 to 20 per cent down. It‘s certainly something that‘s happening in our league, but I think everyone knows there‘s multiple facets to that."
Not only do the Bruins have to deal with the uncertain economy, as every other team has to, but Chilliwack is in a saturated hockey market. The AHL‘s Abbotsford Heat are just 20 minutes away, while the BCHL‘s Langley Chiefs, one of three junior-A teams in the Lower Mainland, are 30 minutes down the road. There are also three junior-B teams in the immediate vicinity and, of course, there‘s the Vancouver Canucks.
"We‘re down considerably, but, at the end of the day, you have to look at everything, and it seems everything‘s happening at once," said Porter.
"There‘s the new AHL team down the road that‘s launching, the Olympics are coming in February, and that‘s on the minds of everybody in B.C., we have the Canucks at one of their high points, and there are seven junior (A and B) teams in the area.
"Those are all challenges, for sure, but I view this as the most challenging time there‘ll ever be, and it‘ll only get better from here."
Not all is doom and gloom.
In Kelowna, it‘s been a case of same-old, same-old sellout at Prospera Place, which seats 6,007 fans.
Through five games, the Rockets are averaging 6,112 fans (30,614), up slightly from last season‘s five-game average of 6,107 (30,537). In 2007-08, it was 6,127 (30,639), and 6,124 (30,624) in 2006-07.
"Our projections showed us that September was nice month, weather-wise, so there were a few things that contributed to the start," said league commissioner Ron Robison, whose league-wide average attendance last season was 4,637.
"It was a little slower than we anticipated, but, having said that, looking at the parity in the league this season, the quality of teams and how competitively balanced we are, we‘re going to see some great races that will really catch people‘s attention." Top of Page
