Led by Hurricanes, ticket prices jump in NHL

[BadCompany]

Oh, those wacky owners...

Surprised this is actually on NHL.com...

Fans have come back to the NHL. And now they're paying for it.

Led by the Stanley Cup champion Carolina Hurricanes, more than half the league's teams have raised ticket prices, including 10 of them by more than 5 percent.

The results were released Friday by Team Marketing Reports, which also found that a family of four will pay an average of $258 for a game this season.

Carolina tickets now average $38, an increase of 45 percent over last season, the first since the NHL returned from a lockout that cost the league the 2004-05 season.

Still, that makes a Hurricanes ticket a good value. The average price around the NHL rose nearly 4 percent to $43.

The Florida Panthers bumped up prices 29 percent after they were only one of six teams to raise prices last season. Stanley Cup runner-up Edmonton, Calgary, Nashville, Boston, Dallas, Montreal, Philadelphia and Ottawa also raised their prices by more than 5 percent.

The Phoenix Coyotes' average price of $25 is the league's lowest. Right behind them are the St. Louis Blues, who dropped prices by 29 percent under new ownership.

www.nhl.com/nhl/app?articleid=280655&page=NewsPage&service=page

[MC Habber]

Montreal had the highest average ticket price at $56.82. According to the report, a family of four would pay an average of $332.27 to attend a game at the Bell Centre. That figure includes the cost of four average tickets, two small draft beers, four small soft drinks, four regular-size hot dogs, parking for one car, two game programs and two adult-sized adjustable caps.

www.nhl.com/nhl/app?articleid=280664&page=NewsPage&service=page

[franko]

OK, I was wrong. Revenue will go up this year. Next year the crash!

[Disgruntled70sHab]

Even if I get a deal from the base here in Kingston, I won't buy beer in the Bell Centre any more ... well, if I meet up with Doc and BC I will I suppose ...

But, I just can't substantiate paying out that kind of coin. Even if you do a couple of pubs in the downtown you're still paying quite a bit.

This is just an aside, guys, but are the Habs still one of the biggest draws in the NHL? The last I heard they sell out more on the road than most teams.

Cheers.

[jkr]

machabby said:

Montreal had the highest average ticket price at $56.82. According to the report, a family of four would pay an average of $332.27 to attend a game at the Bell Centre. That figure includes the cost of four average tickets, two small draft beers, four small soft drinks, four regular-size hot dogs, parking for one car, two game programs and two adult-sized adjustable caps.

www.nhl.com/nhl/app?articleid=280664&page=NewsPage&service=page

I've seen these type of figures before where the cost of food etc. is factored in. I know I never buy all that stuff when I go to a game. Why can't they just give us the price of a "tickets only" outing? Two caps alone will be about 50.00 - $60.00.

[Skilly]

franko said:

OK, I was wrong. Revenue will go up this year. Next year the crash!

There is no way that league revenue will go down .... as I have been saying, once the owners know that they will get bodies in the stands the prices will go up. And you will see small increase every year now unless the owners get revenue from another source (ie a major TV deal ... which should come when the NHL can demostrate that every US market has a chance to win the Cup ... and "letting" Carolina vs Edmonton as a final was along way to justifying that small markets will thrive under the new CBA . )