Just figured I'd research and post how much it takes to see an NHL game around the league. Minimum prices or best deals quoted. Season tickets are quoted at price plus the cost per game. When only one price is quoted this indicates the cost for a cheap ticket for any individual game i.e. 10 bucks gets you in.
Edmonton Season tickets 980bucks 24/game 36bucks individual
FTR I lobbied the Oil extensively to see some cheap tickets that are family affordable. Anybody that wants to buy me a beer at one of these games i'm more than willing to partake This is FANtastic!!!!
Anaheim 10bucks
Dallas 10bucks
Devils 10% off season tickets, free replica jersey name and # or $20 ind. game
Rangers 1st 1000 fans that show up at Msg get 2 free tickets to select games.
Buffalo 17bucks
Pittsburgh 15bucks To see CRosby!!!
Columbus 10bucks
Detroit 22bucks
Phoenix buy one season ticket get one free plus free parking for the entire year.
Tampa Bay- Seasons tickets for $699 -17bucks/game for Stanley Cup champs!
Boston 10 bucks
Atlanta Season ticket is $616 or 14/game
Carolina Season ticket $748 or 21/game
Florida $430 season ticket or 10bucks/game
Washington - 10 bucks
Ottawa - $893 seasons tickets 20/game
Philly - 20bucks/game
Calgary $606 season tickets 13.50bucks /game
Chicago $ 607 season tickets 14bucks/game
San Jose $ 660 season tickets 15 bucks/game or $17 for individual
Well thats it for now, i'm tired, but you get the idea. We're getting ripped off. (even considering dollar exchange rates) Rexall is about the most expensive rink to get in that I've seen. Probably only a few teams have worse cheap seats options.
Last edited by Replacement: 08-25-2005 at 11:18 PM.
no offence (l still love your avatar) but if you think your getting ripped off, then dont go..... the fact of the matter is that they could prolly raise ticket prices 10% and rexall would still be at 95% capacity the entire year..... each market will charge the maximum amount it thinks it can and still fill the seats.... do you think toronto or montreal are going to lower their ticket prices?
yeah, alot of those $10/game tickets are cause those cities can't attract people if they charge any more, and the seats are crap.
I went to a game in phoenix a few years ago wtih my dad and brother and we got in for $15. Decent seats, except for the parts of the ice you couldn't see, like the one net...
Yes, I noted in brackets that IMO we're getting ripped even considering exchange rates. 20bucks USD is still less than we pay here.
Quote:
Plus, your forgetting that places like New York have $20 US parking.
If I lived in NY I'd expect to pay more for everything. NY is one of the most expensive cities in the world to live in. I don't expect to be gouged like this in Edmonton.
As two of the ~13,500 seasons ticket holders in Edmonton, I was asked in a survey if I would prefer a drop in ticket prices, or additional money spent in the current hockey operations budget.
yeah, alot of those $10/game tickets are cause those cities can't attract people if they charge any more, and the seats are crap.
I went to a game in phoenix a few years ago wtih my dad and brother and we got in for $15. Decent seats, except for the parts of the ice you couldn't see, like the one net...
Thanks for the response.
Maybe I should clarify a bit. I've been advocating for a little fan militancy and revolt the past couple of years. Just saying no to high ticket prices has the general effect of reducing those prices. Its because people don't mind paying 150bucks here and have clearly stated to the oiler management "that they have no problem with that" or "you can raise tickets if you need to to get a competitve team" results in them having to pay that or more. To each his own eh, BUT the person who gladly forks over 150/ticket influences the market to such a degree that
it precludes people with less disposable income from going. In effect it defines what that market is, who it is, and who it isn't.
A related point, and why I specifically focused on cheapo tickets is that it precludes average families with kids from going. I rail against any pricing that influences whether kids can go. That truly sucks and think back to when you were a kid what it meant to be able to go to a game. Most kids these days don't get that exerience because the local prices are decidedly blue blood. For kids, and even for me theres really no such thing as a bad ticket. Just being there is an experience and a treat. I attended many a game at the ol Edmonton Gardens and sometimes directly behind a pillar. You tried to memorize where all those were but...
Finally, regarding your brief reference to can't attract people please consider how the same ownership group charged more for cheap seats for the roadrunners than the vast majority of NHL teams charge. What am I missing? Other than the 6,000 Oiler season ticket fans that committed to the Roadrunners they were a very hard sell and virtually nobody attended at those prices.
I know tons of people that would've brought their families if the tickets were more reasonably priced. Last year would've been a fine time to pay back to the community at large and offer semi pro hockey to the PUBLIC at market reasonable prices and have a full building of happy people.
Instead they leveraged for maximum revenue like shylocks and got half full buildings and nobodies happy. I don't personally see that as good community relations and I'm not saying your mileage varies either but I'm on another rant...
Please also realise that I don't just sit here *****ing and moaning to no effect. Some of the same info here in the thread will be emailed to the Oil directly. I also emailed the roadrunners regularly as I suspect many others did and like to think that it influenced some of the eventual promotions they put on.
Finally, EIG seems to have regularly misrepresented where they were revenue wise, have done this EVERY time they jacked prices, and have consistently indicated that "sorry, we just have to have these prices to stem the bleeding"
Now it turns out that Oil revenue is widely reported as top ten in the league.....
My point here being that many people dug deeper in their pockets primarily because they *bought* that the team absolutely needed them to do that to remain an NHL entity. That's misrepresentation! Looks like it was a scam. I'm amazed how few comments there are here on this. If people thought they were paying 150bucks so EIG could stuff their pockets would they? I think its time to ask some serious questions of the org and I fully intend to. I encourge others to do the same and if I get one person to have concern and do the same its worth my time.
As two of the ~13,500 seasons ticket holders in Edmonton, I was asked in a survey if I would prefer a drop in ticket prices, or additional money spent in the current hockey operations budget.
I'll let you guess which side I picked.
Do you go to a movie theatre and ask them to please raise ticket prices so that maybe they could eventually put a better product on the screen? Do you really believe that one really ever leads to another?
I understand fully what you are saying and as a fan of the Oilers would love them to ice a better team but I don't share your belief that this ownership group that have significantly misrepresented their relative revenue picture for years has credibility.
I simply don't at this point automatically trust that extra revenues will be put into the team. Having said that, they had better! and a good healthy dose of scepticism and email squawking is sometimes needed. We both probably want the same thing. A good team. Where we differ is that after ongoing exposure to Pocklington my patience for owner crowbaring is nil.
Neither Vancouver nor Chicago will being do anything
as a matter of fact
the moment the CBA got ratified
many of my buddies in Chicago got phone calls
saying more or less
'Full money now or you lose your season tix'
Bill Wirtz in action hey? After the debacle that Chicago fans went through the last season its amazing they come back but come back they do. I do know some that went away. Many disgruntled fans from Chicago that I've talked to.
I really think its time for the fans say no to the crap like this. Some actions are just begging for a resistant fan response.
Just figured I'd research and post how much it takes to see an NHL game around the league. Minimum prices or best deals quoted. Season tickets are quoted at price plus the cost per game. When only one price is quoted this indicates the cost for a cheap ticket for any individual game i.e. 10 bucks gets you in.
Edmonton Season tickets 980bucks 24/game 36bucks individual
Anaheim 10bucks
Dallas 10bucks
Devils 10% off season tickets, free replica jersey name and # or $20 ind. game
Rangers 1st 1000 fans that show up at Msg get 2 free tickets to select games.
Buffalo 17bucks
Pittsburgh 15bucks To see CRosby!!!
Columbus 10bucks
Detroit 22bucks
Phoenix buy one season ticket get one free plus free parking for the entire year.
Tampa Bay- Seasons tickets for $699 -17bucks/game for Stanley Cup champs!
Boston 10 bucks
Atlanta Season ticket is $616 or 14/game
Carolina Season ticket $748 or 21/game
Florida $430 season ticket or 10bucks/game
Washington - 10 bucks
Ottawa - $893 seasons tickets 20/game
Philly - 20bucks/game
Calgary $606 season tickets 13.50bucks /game
Chicago $ 607 season tickets 14bucks/game
San Jose $ 660 season tickets 15 bucks/game or $17 for individual
Well thats it for now, i'm tired, but you get the idea. We're getting ripped off. (even considering dollar exchange rates) Rexall is about the most expensive rink to get in that I've seen. Probably only a few teams have worse cheap seats options.
Sorry this is not an accurate gage of ticket prices. Also of course in most of your examples these are American dollars. This is important, as we still have to pay our salaries to the players in American dollars. So when Florida takes in their 10 bucks they can use that same 10 bucks to pay a player.
When we take in our 24.00 tickets it is actually 19.56. Unless you can convince the players to take CDN fund this is VERY important.
As most teams are going to discount the cheapest tickets under the gage of "see we have lowered are ticket prices" My next question is of course how many season ticket holders are really going to sit in those seats?? And what would it cost to sit in an average seat? (mid range). Also is there any small print that you are not going to find out until you phone in? For example does this include taxes, arena charges, etc.
A better representation of ticket prices is this. What is the average ticket price? What would a season ticket holder seating in a mid range seat pay. Because as I said marketers will discount the lower tickets and usually charge more for the premium tickets because Corporations buy them. If you are Joe fan you are most likely to sit in a mid-range seat.
Last edited by hockeyaddict101: 07-24-2005 at 02:04 PM.
Replacement - if you don't like the prices, don't go.
Here's a newsflash: most Oiler games are on TV & Rod/Morley call every game on the radio. There are lots of cheaper hockey alternatives in and around Edmonton to take the family to... Guy & Stauffer will probably name the Golden Bears as tops on that list, but there are others.
Some other points I'd like to make:
- The Oiler payroll has grown dramatically over the years, and the rate of which is consistent with any assistance or revenue growth in the business.
- Just because the team is at or near top-10 in revenue, does not make them anywhere close to the top earner (what I'm saying is, take a look at what the top teams on the list make, and there is a big drop-off to where the Oilers sit).
- Other teams have incured MASSIVE losses to sustain high payrolls. Edmonton has claimed to break-even or make a small ($1-3M) profit every year - not really a big deal.
- Oiler ticket prices, on average, are extremely affordable compared to those across the league.
- As pointed out, almost every other team in the league needs some "loss-leaders" to get fans to call the ticket office. Most teams have an extremely limited number of seats at that price point.
- I believe the Oilers should follow a model of fiscal responsibility... no massive outflows of cash, but avoid cash calls from the owners. After that, spend money in a way that puts the best team on ice and gives the fans the best entertainment value for their dollar. Also, follow laws of supply and demand - charge as much as fans willing to pay, thereby increasing the opportunity to put a winner on the ice.
- The team does quite a bit to bring sick kids and underprivilaged to games, and I believe there are great minor hockey team deals as well. I do think that there's room to do more in this respect.
If you'd prefer to have rock-bottom prices so that any family can bring their kids, then I hope that you're expectations are drastically lower (i.e. a payroll closer to Nashville's).
no offence (l still love your avatar) but if you think your getting ripped off, then dont go..... the fact of the matter is that they could prolly raise ticket prices 10% and rexall would still be at 95% capacity the entire year..... each market will charge the maximum amount it thinks it can and still fill the seats.... do you think toronto or montreal are going to lower their ticket prices?
FTR I don't go anymore. Financially I actually could but they've price pointed far beyond wht I think is reasonable for the relative entertainment provided. I do attend many sports here especially the ESKS!!! but the Oil, and the NHL, have become a fat bloated product thats been of poor quality.
The thing I don't get about your comparsion to Montreal or Toronto is that those are way different markets.
Toronto arguably has the best revenue streams in the whole league. They also have easily the best demand. its been estimated that 100,000 people in the market region would buy seasons tickets if given a chance. Thats an astounding hockey market THAT kind of demand is what raises prices and anybody thats saying that an excess in demand exists here would do well to explain why the Oil never even sell out on seasons tickets.
You've bought the eroneous excess demand is raising ticket prices here. Show me the people lined up that can't get in that want to pay more. They don't exist here in this present market. They used to in the 80's! Everybody wnated a piece of that team.
Did you take into account the exchange rate? If not your data is invalid.
Yes. I stated "We're getting ripped off. (even considering dollar exchange rates)"
Its not complicated we're paying more here for cheapo tickets than most Americans are. $20USD or much less, often $10 can get a single game ticket in almost any US rink. Thats about 24cdn right now.
your right, the toronto market really is "out of this world" in its market demand
but such a thing (albeit much smaller) obviously exists in edmonton as well.... they operated at 98% capacity last season, and i would be shocked if they were under 90% this year.... thats dam good, and all the while the ticket prices were either stagnant or raising..... say i make gidgets, and sell them for $1/gidget.... each month i sell 100 gidgets.... the wood that i use to make these gidgets goes up, so i start selling them for $1.25/gidget.... if im still selling 100 (or even prolly 90) a month, im gonna keep that new price, whether the price of wood goes back down or not... i might even raise it a bit more just to see if my sales stay the same, its what any business man would do
Link?
You don't want to waste a perfectly good rant, by not having back up.
Time slipping away... theres been links posted here, can't remember the thread, I'll find it sometime....off to work I go
Glad you thought the rant was OK What i'm not sure gets conveyed despite how hard I try is that healthy scepticism and a critical eye and making some noise from fans is actually an essential requisite to the team and org being required to improve. I sometimes just sense too much acceptance and everythings good response getting conveyed to the team. Then again, maybe its just me
Quote:
As to your first post...
Supply and demand.
I responded to this in my response to jaded. Only EXCESS demand typically increases prices in a true market competitive system. Don't confuse this with unilateral gouging that come in the form of ONE pro team self price pointing. Pro competition would change this picture dramatically. There is a select demand of approximately 12,000 seasons ticket holders that are probably still willing but no EXCESS demand. So i don't buy that supply and demand is solely fueling this.
Last edited by IceDragoon: 07-24-2005 at 02:26 PM.
Yes. I stated "We're getting ripped off. (even considering dollar exchange rates)"
Its not complicated we're paying more here for cheapo tickets than most Americans are. $20USD or much less, often $10 can get a single game ticket in almost any US rink. Thats about 24cdn right now.
As you did I decided to look at the Chicago Blackhawks, and I wanted to compare apple to apples. So I looked at what I would pay in Chicago for a very similar seat to what I pay now.
And it is WAY higher. Not even using conversion, the seats were 3450. I paid 2100 for my seats?
So tell me how I am being ripped off again? As I said your stats were selective.
Later I will do this for every NHL city and see where the Oilers fit in for a similar seat to my own and I think the real answer will become quite obvious!!
Last edited by hockeyaddict101: 07-24-2005 at 02:18 PM.
beyond the cheapest ticket price point, isnt the more accurate stat to look at the average ticket price? and didnt the oilers have the cheapest average ticket price in that ESPN thing a couple years ago?
edit : yeah i just looked it up.... in 2004, we had the 7th lowest average ticket price in the league, and three of those teams who had lower tickets than us were within a dollar.... overall we were $7 cheaper than the average across the league..... i just dont see how this equates into gouging
Glad you thought the rant was OK What i'm not sure gets conveyed despite how hard I try is that healthy scepticism and a critical eye and making some noise from fans is actually an essential requisite to the teamand orgbeing required to improve. I sometimes just sense too much acceptance and everythings good response getting conveyed to the team. Then again, maybe its just me .
I understood where you were going. You certainly took 'the scenic route', tho.
Hey, I can understand some skepticism and a critical eye... these are traits that are sorely lacking around here at times. But its statements like these that diverge dramatically from what you're suggesting to ID:
Quote:
Originally Posted by Replacement
I've been advocating for a little fan militancy and revolt the past couple of years.
I'm all for knowing where the money goes when I buy a ticket; joint PA/NHL audits; and making the game affordable to the common fan... but you've suggested a lot more in your posts.
From my understanding, it appears that you feel the Oilers' management is scamming the ticket-buying public. However, you haven't put any proof forward to that effect.
As you did I decided to look at the Chicago Blackhawks, and I wanted to compare apple to apples. So I looked at what I would pay in Chicago for a very similar seat to what I pay now.
And it is WAY higher. Not even using conversion, the seats were 3450. I paid 2100 for my seats?
So tell me how I am being ripped off again? As I said your stats were selective.
Later I will do this for every NHL city and see where the Oilers fit in for a similar seat to my own and I think the real answer will become quite obvious!!
While you raise some interesting points none of them are connected at all with what I've defined in this thread which is "Ticket to ride" in effect just getting in. I haven't misrepresented as my stated premise has throughout been a focus on the cheapest tickets. Why? Because its the least expensive seats that defines exclusion or inclusion. High priced tickets don't do that, middle priced tickets don't do that. Only cheap ones let people that otherwise wouldn't be able to into the game. Thats important!
I find it quite interesting that in the US, the wellspring of free market capitalism, the teams almost universally seem to make a nice nod to providing a range of pricing that allows inclusion. Allows less wealthy people to go. Allows families, KIDS to go.
I find it interesting that the Oiler team, based In Canada, that consistently portrays itself as a community minded team has a lower pricing rung that ensures that it keeps the vast majority of the community out. Oiler pricing for years now has defined a select well heeled local market and does so at its own peril in a *small market*. Such pricing simply doesn't grow the market, doesn't extend the market, or allow a larger population of fans to experience the product. Thats a very risky business model and the consequences are potentially that sudden ticket buying dropoff can occur.
Replacement - if you don't like the prices, don't go.
- Other teams have incured MASSIVE losses to sustain high payrolls. Edmonton has claimed to break-even or make a small ($1-3M) profit every year - not really a big deal.
- As pointed out, almost every other team in the league needs some "loss-leaders" to get fans to call the ticket office. Most teams have an extremely limited number of seats at that price point.
- I believe the Oilers should follow a model of fiscal responsibility... no massive outflows of cash, but avoid cash calls from the owners. After that, spend money in a way that puts the best team on ice and gives the fans the best entertainment value for their dollar. Also, follow laws of supply and demand - charge as much as fans willing to pay, thereby increasing the opportunity to put a winner on the ice.
- The team does quite a bit to bring sick kids and underprivilaged to games, and I believe there are great minor hockey team deals as well. I do think that there's room to do more in this respect.
If you'd prefer to have rock-bottom prices so that any family can bring their kids, then I hope that you're expectations are drastically lower (i.e. a payroll closer to Nashville's).
JMO.
As I've stated I don't go anymore. On principle I'd like some fiscal sanity to return and for people like Marchant for eg. to acknowledge that 2.3M is still an awfully large amount of coin. I commit to the CFL, Golden Bears, which you mnetioned. I'm an avid fiscal supporter of those teams and the way they do business. The big sports pricing has become silly and is largely unsustainable.
Your loss leaders point is interesting but expand on this to see how it effects long term market grow. Its what prudent sports teams do. I've responded to spaz if you want more on that.
I don't think the team does very much for inclusion. I find it odd that a community oriented team that goes to schools, goes to community facilities, meets kids, goes to hospitals (all wonderful endeavors) fails to do the main thing which is allow those people some modicum of inclusion in the actual game. If I'm one of those kids at Alex Taylor School frankly I'd go: "Hey Jason Smith, what about some tickets bud" IMO some of the goodwill community gesture is lost and inconsistent if the lower rung pricepointing excludes a lot of the same people. Inclusion in one event, the Skills competions really doesn't cut it. if I'm a kid I want to see a game.
As far as minor hockey deals thats typically a very limited amount of tickets endeavor and i'm not convinced it hits any different market. Its very expensive to play minor hockey now and those kids largely come from families that can afford to bring them to a game anyways.
Far as Nashville I don't like the team, I don't like the product, but they fared better than us last year and I also had major doubts about the team the Oil put on the ice in the last season.
This is FANtastic!!!!
What am I missing? Other than the 6,000 Oiler season ticket fans that committed to the Roadrunners they were a very hard sell and virtually nobody attended at those prices. 
After the debacle that Chicago fans went through the last season its amazing they come back but come back they do. I do know some that went away. Many disgruntled fans from Chicago that I've talked to. 
theres been links posted here, can't remember the thread, I'll find it sometime....off to work I go 
