Blues hurting rams?
Posted 7:45 AM ET | Comments 15
On my way in to work this morning, I heard a very interesting story. The Blues have a 33% increase of season ticket sales this year (compared to last) giving them 8500 sold so far. The rams, however, are currently looking at more than half of their regular season games not sold out. This is a first since the team moved here in the mid 90's. The radio personality asked the callers if they thought this may be caused by the buzz the Blues are generating this year. I started thinking that not only might this be true, but this is a great opportunity for them. The problem a lot of people have with the rams right now is the high ticket prices ($44 for the cheapest seat). In fact they raised prices last year after an 8-8 season, further annoying many people. Also, the NFL has an asinine rule (that some NHL clubs follow, i.e. Chicago) that if a game is not sold out, it will be blacked out of the local market. Right now, a handful of football games will be blacked out, and I think the Blues can really benefit from this situation. When you combine an angered fan base with cheap tickets and an exciting product, you can bring in new fans. I think if the players play exciting hockey and the Blues get off to a fast start, there can be an even larger increase in attendance and possibly get us back to the point we were before the lockout attendancewise when we were consistantly in the top 6 in the NHL.
Welcome to Buffalo. The Sabres are doin the same thing to the Bills , and I get PISSED when i cant see home games
As of last week the Preds had 8,764 sold...and people say our franchise is trouble? Anyone calling for the Blues to be moved to Canada? Any Chicken Little's out there claiming that the sky is falling in St. Louis? This is not a slam against the Blues but a slam for the narrow minded people who were laughing at our numbers last week.
predjoe: Did the blues have to hold a rally to get the number of tickets sold up to a similar number as nashville? No, they just look like they are going to be a more successful team this year thus the increase in tickets sold. Nashville was a good team last year and had dismal tickets sales. Your not exactly comparing apples to oranges.
errr apples to apples
no...but my point is that no one takes a close look at other teams and their failing numbers. Nashville has become the 'dead horse' for everyone to beat and I'm tired of it. That is my point. Being an Oiler fan you should at least be sympathetic to our cause...it took what 30 investors to save your team a while back?
I gotta agree with predjoe, it gets annoying to constantly be told you aren't worthy of a team when there are 14 teams lowering on attendance (14 for CAR, 7 for NAS) BUT as for THIS POST, good for the Blues, they really need it. And I think they've got some exciting players to watch now and in the future.
I also agree, god for the blues...But Buffalo would sure love to have hometown boy Lee Stempniak back. He could have helped our powerplay in the playoffs.
Well, when the Blues were tops in the league, season ticket numbers were much higher than 8500, so it' good to see them rising again before the team even has a winning record. As a fan who bought tickets during the last place season, it's good to finally see other people in St. Louis talking about hockey again.I have to say for the Preds and Canes, that I was not a fan of either city getting a team, but there was also a time when the Blues, the Flyers and other teams in the Class of 67 weren't considered "real" hockey towns either, and they've done good business over the years since then. (And yes, there was even talk of the Blues moving to Canada in the 80s!) So, as much as I would l like to see more teams in Canada, I can understand the Preds fans' situation, but really, this local ownership is your last chance to show that Nashville can be a profitable market.
To Predjoe: Don't forget before the Blues were in the same boat you were in right after the lockout. The Lauries were trying to sell the team, and there was talk of a possible move. I had to endure many people from other cities saying that they should move our team, but we lucked out with a great new owner. I have sympathy for you guys now just as I had sympathy for Penguins fans last year. A good thing to keep in mind is that a minority of hockey fans actually want to see a team move (I know it seems like a lot here, but we are but a small sample of actual hockey fans.) A lot of those same people would be acting very differently if it were their team. The important thing is to ignore the trolls and the flame war starters on message boards, and remain excited about the new direction your team will take once your team gets a new ownership group. P.S. I have seen plenty of people saying to move the Blues due to attendance. An important thing to keep in mind is St. Louis was top 5 for years in attendance before the lockout, but after a lockout, ownership having a fire sale, and a very bad season, it is easy to see how attendance can drop. I fully expect a resurgence this year and we should be middle of the pack at the very least. If we happen to make the playoffs this year, I expect next year's attendance to be in the upper 8 as this city will fully support a hard working team.
Just a note to predjoe, there were any number of posters who were criticizing the Blues and their attendance the last 2 seasons. They were the "dead horse" that everyone was beating. I completely sympathize with your frustration because, as a fan of the Blues, I have been there (as a matter of fact there still are people dissing the Blues). I have a question for anyone who may know about Rams' tickets. Do they still use PSLs? If so, that could be a factor in the lower sales.
Unfortunately for the Preds. They look ridiculous taking Forsberg
Bleedin Blue: Yes you still need a PSL, but its a one time cost for season ticket holders. In other words, you pay it once and thats it. Also note, I hate the concept of the PSL because you basically have to pay for the right to pay for season tickets. If anything you would think they would want to encourage people to buy season tickets by making it cheaper to do so.
Docwhiskey, thanks for your reply. I understand the concept of the PSL - I just didn't know if they were still using them for new season tickets. I'm just saying that shelling out additional money for PSLs (even if it is only a one time deal) could be part of the reason for the decline in sales (especially with the way the Rams played the last few seasons).
predjoe: My point was that most teams (even in other sports) when they start to suck the number of tickets sold will go down and go back up again once the team in successful. Nashville has good tickets sales now after a rally to increase support, and in most markets that wouldn't have been necessary, as tickets would increase on there own. The biggest question going forward will be if Nashville sucks for a couple years and then becomes a good team again, will the support be good enough to keep the team going, or will they need another rally to drum up support? In my opinion if you need a rally to get tickets sales up when a team is successul your team is not well off.
predjoe you had one the best, the most exciting teams in the league last year. if say there wasn't a lockout, your team didn't trade away their good players, the cheap owners sell out and leave the team in crap shape after years of having your heart broken, when even the great one in double over time shanked a shot of the post after deeking the goalie out of the net only to have the play come the other way and your team lose...then you'd understand under sold tickets. they even raised the prices the year after the lockout for a second anyway. i wasn't here otherwise i would have gone. (i was overseas at the time). but when our team was exciting and full of talent and first overall, we were sold out. the fact is there's at least two places in canada and at least one team in alaska that'd do better even with a crap team. but saying that i still root for a team in nashville to make my favorite sport to grow. but your city council and your corporate leaders need to step up and buy something other than a titan's ticket. maybe people just miss that feeling you got in the barn with the hardworkers and the impossible almost always seeming to happen. i know i do. besides who wants to watch a game where a clock ticks for a minute and half before anything happens? it was only fun to watch when there was a team who could score with the same quickness you get in hockey.