(above) Michigan players practicing in "The Big House" this weekThe Wall Street Journal has an interesting article about college hockey. One of the extremely interesting quotes in the article is, "Michigan expects to generate $1 million more in ice hockey ticket revenue this season than from its basketball ticket revenue."
Check out the article.
Check out the article.
14 comments:
DU & the Avs need to host a weekend in Invesco Field. DU should try and bring in Michigan and the Avs should play the Red Wings.
One of the key points in the article is that Ice Hockey ticket revenue may have better growth potential than basketball ticket revenue at many colleges and universities.
We all know that DU is trying desperately to make a splash in Hoops and lets be honest, its off to a very rocky start. Giving away hoops tickets to school children who leave the games at halftime because its "bedtime" doesn't exactly inspire confidence.
DU is going to suffer its second consecutive year of declining hockey revenue this season. Some of the recent crowds against Bimidji and Mankato have been pathetic. The Gold Cub seats that cost $3000 per pair really seem to have taken a hit in the economy.
To make matters worse, Minnesota & Wisconsin's impending departure from the WCHA could really spell trouble in a market like Denver, where big-name opponents are part of the draw of DU hockey games.
DU needs to buck up, raise $25 million and get a plan together.
1). Redo the coaches contract. DU needs Gwozdecky long term.
2). Renovate Magness Arena. New high-def Video screen & score board are needed ASAP.
3). 2,000 prime seats behind the Crimson Club are needed.
4). Remove 1,000 seats in the student section side of the arena and create standing room only sections for students and alumni. Replace the seats with 4' high bar tables that people can set drinks on.
5). Bring back the freakin' mascot officially.
6). More tradition, more history, more atmosphere at the games.
Thats all for now. :-)
Dg, they're called fans. You kind of need them before you start spending alot of cash.
I actually feel sorry for yourself and the other six regulars that attend du home games.
CC stinks and they sellout regularly.
Gwoz has built a terrific program, but it must get real tiring playing in front of nobody.
It is quite humorous how you bash the opposition who is actually keeping the Du hockey program afloat.
Facts are facts....
Goodbye, Gwoz.
Spare me.
When was the last time CC had a sellout? It sure hasn't been against DU lately. Plenty of empty seats.
Quick question: How do they choose who hosts the Forzen Four regionals? It seems like its always in Minneapolis, Ann Arbor, Manchester NH, and Bridgeport Conn.
Hosting that sort of event is sure to make some money in Denver where there are plenty of UND, UMN, DU, and CC fans
DU sells an average of 5,800 tickets for each game at 6,000 seat Magness Arena. Whether those people show up or not is up to them. DU is doing ok on sales, but lousy on no-shows, where 1,000-1,500 paid fans choose not to show up, especially for lower division opponents. The arena fills quite nicely for name brand opponents and regional rivals.
Gold Club seats always are empty, because the people who bought them are usually either standing in the club itself behind the seating area, or not at the game (many are corporate ticket holders who re often no-shows and think nothing of it.
The NCAA selects the sites years in advance. These days the city and school that sponsors the bid, must have an NHL type arena and guarantee that certain conditions and financial obligations are met.
The cities and schools don't make any money off the event, except tourist dollars and ticket taxes.
2011: Minneapolis
2012: St. Petersburg, FL
2013: Pittsburgh
2014: Philadelphia
Denver last hosted the Frozen Four in 2008.
DU just hosted a regional in 2007, I believe.
DU sells out the arena against the big name schools and conference rivals, almost sells out to contending conference teams and most out of conference schools but against the no name schools... ya those are your empty seat games. Alaska Anchorage or Tech for example.
And sorry 1:12:00 but CC doesn't sell out. They can't even sell out the games against DU.
As for the outdoor game, the only way that will happen is if the winter classic comes to town and until the Avs get their shit together I don't see that happening anytime soon. Also and truth be told if the outdoor game ever happened in Colorado, I think it would be cool to have it at Coors Field. Yes Mile Hi is legendary but Coors Field has the feel of what it means to be in Colorado.
One other thing DU should invest in is a better game staff. Instead of taking Boone signs and being real dicks to students, they should embrace and bring in some excitement. It's sad that LetsGoDU does all the work. They might as well hire us and let us have fun with the games. Ya it will never happen since we are the sworn enemy to Canceler "Palpatine," but I bet we could renovate way more money then this group.
The UAA Blog has some interesting thoughts on the weekend... something about the pios being overrated. can't wait to sweep!
http://uaafan.blogspot.com/2010/12/du-smoke-and-mirrors.html
Back in the olden days, DU hockey games were the "place to be," and featured a real carriage trade crowd, only some of whom were actually "fans." Mayors, governors, senators, congressmen and other community leaders showed up. In part because there was no competition for their business and because the Pioneers were very nearly unbeatable at home.
That hasn't been the case for many years. Sadly, one of the holdovers from the "olden days" is the anti-fun, anti-student attitude. Over the years DU has seemed to look for people with the attitudes of TSA dropouts to work the crowd--especially the students. It seems they just can't seem to get the message that students aren't the enemy and are less rather than more likely to give donations if they're hassled at the university's premier activity. And may even decide to stay home.
DG's suggestions are worth serious consideration. The expansion of Magness may be beyong the realm of the possible now. But upgrading the electronics (lighting, scoreboards, message boards, etc) certainly isn't. As Swami said, we'd need a generous financial angel to make significant changes to Magness. That doesn't mean we shouldn't be able to find one, since I doubt he'll just show up one day with a check in his hands.
We've already found ourselves tagging along behind recruits forlornly pointing to our (then) five national championships and suggesting they come play for us in that outhouse we called the DU Arena. It didn't work then and it won't work now or in the future, if we're tagging along behind recruits pointing to our seven national titles to come play in a barn that doesn't have the sizzle or major conference affiliation of others. We've got to keep up with the Jones. And it's much easier and cheaper to stay in the game rather than trying to catch up.
DU has already suffered the death of a thousand cuts once in my lifetime and I don't want it to happen again.
I wish the student section was up above the glass like at Alfond Arena or Matthews Arena. It would be so much more awesome than the current state of affairs with our voices blocked by the glass...
I hate watching telivised games from Magness arena it is possibly the worst arena ever.
An outdoor DU-CC game at Coors Field would be sweet.
As for Anonymous talking about the location of the student section, if you want to yell loud so people can hear you on the ice and elsewhere, sit about 10-15 rows up from the ice. They'll hear you, trust me.
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