Fans at Rogers

[iinatcc]

My answer would probably be I live thousands of miles away from Vancouver 

[spur1]

There is another factor in play that isn’t often talked about. Registration for minor hockey is dropping off the map pretty much across Canada. 

Bettman has been very successful. 

[Great Granny]

A related question to all this is: Does this shorten Bennings leash as GM?

 

Is he fired if they miss the playoffs? Is he fired if they're underperforming at the midway mark? Ownership won't go along with another tank based on the new lottery system. The two players we got from the tanks are likely still two years away from playing an NHL game.

 

Apologies for stirring the $#!t pot.

[DSVII]

13 minutes ago, Great Granny said:

A related question to all this is: Does this shorten Bennings leash as GM?

 

Is he fired if they miss the playoffs? Is he fired if they're underperforming at the midway mark? Ownership won't go along with another tank based on the new lottery system. The two players we got from the tanks are likely still two years away from playing an NHL game.

 

Apologies for stirring the $#!t pot.

I don't think so, because Benning can realistically point to everything pre-2017 Trade deadline and say 'ownership mandated it'. I think he's given a year extension to prove what he can do without interference.

 

It's Linden that needs to go IMO. And i hate to say it because he was part of my favourite team, but he's been more of a yes man than doing his part to shape a coherent strategy or message for the team and acting as a gatekeeper between Ownership and the Front Office..

[GB5]

I would add another category which is that many fans just can't get to the games.

 

I try to go when I am in the city but that means only a handful of games a year. Mayne the Canucks can try to market reasonable packages for those of us outside of the lower mainland.

[captainhorvat]

I much rather watch at the comfort of my own home. A giant hd tv, a flat of icecold beers and some good munchies with a few buds over on a sat night is more satisfying. Rather thn dealing with traffic getting to and back home or being cramped on the skytrain. $20 parking, overpriced foamy beer, long washroom lineups. Just not worth going for me.

[fanfor42]

26 minutes ago, captainhorvat said:

I much rather watch at the comfort of my own home. A giant hd tv, a flat of icecold beers and some good munchies with a few buds over on a sat night is more satisfying. Rather thn dealing with traffic getting to and back home or being cramped on the skytrain. $20 parking, overpriced foamy beer, long washroom lineups. Just not worth going for me.

I think this comment hits the nail on the head. Look I'm a long time season ticket holder. Was at the game last night and ya there are a lot of empty seats. 

I ask people to go if I have an extra ticket or if I'm giving them both away.  More and more people (who are hockey fans) would rather stay home and watch the game than go through the bother of travelling to the game. IMO the issue is convenience of staying home and the quality of everyone's tv and NOT ticket prices. People say no thanks to free tix.

If the nux are going to fill the seats they have to be a top team otherwise the interest in going to the games will remain low.

[captainhorvat]

I agree, convenience is the issue. I had to call family and friends to see if anyone wanted a pair of tickets to the ottawa game(burrows return) and still had ZERO takers! I didnt even want money for them, i just didnt want them to go to waste. Unless the product is close to the 2011 team because i dont think mediocre will get people to come back or we get a generational player, attendance will remain low. People will not leave the convenience of thr own home unless its actually worth it.

[cantor2537]

I usually go to a game or two a year. This year I am going to the Vegas game for the novelty of seeing a new team. But I just really don’t care as much about hockey as I used to. I have a young kid now and we would rather spend our money going to the aquarium, Stanley Park, swimming etc. Whether the Canucks win or lose really has no impact on my life. And yeah, it’s entertainment. It’s much easier to just watch at home rather than taking the train down,dealing with the crowds, and then fighting the crowds to get on the train back home. Oh, and I can just change the channel if the game is boring. I just don’t care as much for sports now compared to when I was younger. 

[VIC_CITY]

For me, it's ticket prices and atmosphere (or lack there of) that keeps me away from the arena and IMO they go hand in hand.

 

I lived in Victoria until about 3 years ago and I would always plan a trip over to the mainland each year to see a game but since I moved over here, I've only been to one game.

 

The atmosphere sucks. Plain and simple. The product does not match the price. I just can't justify dropping $100+ to see a game (in it's current state) when I can watch it for free in the comfort of my own home. But the price wouldn't be as much of an issue if the product was better and in our situation, that's a tough problem to solve.

 

I see other arenas on TV and how the atmosphere differs city to city. Their product is night and day to ours. So how do we get that? Winning is a good start. A winning franchise is much easier to market and will surely sell more tickets. But how do we get the right people to buy those tickets? That's our biggest problem. 

 

Ownership needs to start building the kind of culture that we see in Toronto, New York, Montreal etc and it has to start with the youth. As it stands right now, the average family can't afford to go to the games. Dropping $500 for a night out in your own city is absurd. I don't see ownership doing this but if they want things to improve then they need to drastically slash ticket prices. Once they establish a highly marketable product, they can raise ticket prices again but until then, they need to make it affordable for families to go to the games. They need to engrain their product into these kids like a McDonalds happy meal. It's a process that will take a long time but eventually the Canucks will be the hottest ticket in town. But it's such a massive overhaul, I just don't see ownership having any appetite for it. So sadly, I think what you see is what you get. Although, I do see things improving a bit once we have a good team again.

[mooby]

I'm 12,000 kilometers away.  I'd do anything to get to a home game this year....

[Team Bagues]

3 hours ago, RonMexico said:

The Marble Arch has been closed for years.

What a shame?

For the best really.

[Team Bagues]

1 hour ago, captainhorvat said:

I much rather watch at the comfort of my own home. A giant hd tv, a flat of icecold beers and some good munchies with a few buds over on a sat night is more satisfying. Rather thn dealing with traffic getting to and back home or being cramped on the skytrain. $20 parking, overpriced foamy beer, long washroom lineups. Just not worth going for me.

Good point. Why not more washrooms in a new arena? - does every hockey experience have to include almost urinating yourself as you wait around with a bunch of other dudes in a line for 1 of the 3 washrooms in the rink.

[Guest]

Canucks live have become a Mickey Mouse, Disneyworld experience.  

 

 

Fans are discouraged from being too loud.  I know of two groups of friends that were asked to leave because they were cheering too loud about four years ago and again two years ago.  

 

 

They want to cater too much to the politically correct, white collar types who will go there and be on their phone during the entire game and might have a glass of wine when they get home.  

 

This was done through raising the ticket prices, instilling non-fun policies to attract more upper-scale clients to games that can pay even higher prices....  and the cycle hasn't stopped until last year.  

[Team Bagues]

3 hours ago, NucksPatsFan said:

I was there on Tuesday. 

 

$24.75 CDN for my ticket

2 beers at $8.75 each - $17.50

Went to The Pint pre-game for their wing special and  pint - $10

 

$52.25 for a fun night out with friends, not bad. 

 

 

Disclaimer: I enjoy sitting in the upper bowl in rows 6-10, I find it's usually others like me who don't care about where they're seated and just want to have fun and watch hockey. I understand if I had a need to sit in 'better' (subjective topic) seats it would cost a lot more.

 

That's not  bad actually - reminds me of the Pacific Colliseum - those nose-bleeds were the best.

[xereau]

Ban suits.  Lower the ticket prices.  Lower the beer prices.

[fanfor42]

Suits I guess refer to business owned season tix. It's math folks. 

If a family buys 2 season tix the decent ones got about 10k for a pair. If you can't deduct that for tax it takes 20k of earnings to generate 10k after tax to buy the tix.( Assumes a high earner - fair assumption). 

 

For businesses it's different. First, 50 percent of the cost is a write off. The other 50 percent can be paid with dollars that the company has paid only 12. 5 percent tax on. So the effective cost for a business is about 10,700 of earnings. 

 

That's why there are suits at the game. It's also why there is a team in Vancouver.  

[RRypien37]

For hardcore fans I think the reason is there is still no clear direction. They finally started using the word rebuild, but then completely negate that by signing the likes of Vanek, Gagner, MDZ and ultimately committing to Erikksson for such a large contract. 

 

It's confusing, contradicting and unorganized. Real fans see that no one really knows whats going on direct wise. 

[tas]

1 minute ago, RRypien37 said:

For hardcore fans I think the reason is there is still no clear direction. They finally started using the word rebuild, but then completely negate that by signing the likes of Vanek, Gagner, MDZ and ultimately committing to Erikksson for such a large contract. 

 

It's confusing, contradicting and unorganized. Real fans see that no one really knows whats going on direct wise. 

real fans see that management has done exactly what they said they would do from day one, and the people that are confused about direction or see disorganization or contradictions have been brainwashed by the media.

 

[10pavelbure96]

23 minutes ago, RRypien37 said:

For hardcore fans I think the reason is there is still no clear direction. They finally started using the word rebuild, but then completely negate that by signing the likes of Vanek, Gagner, MDZ and ultimately committing to Erikksson for such a large contract. 

 

It's confusing, contradicting and unorganized. Real fans see that no one really knows whats going on direct wise. 

If you look at the ice time in the last few games you can see that our top  players are now Horvat Granlund Tanev Del Zotto, all under 30. Most under 25.

 

The rebuild is happening we aren't just mailing it in like some teams. It's good to have vets around for the youth. 

 

I will agree though that Eriksson was a big mistake but not every move they make is going to work out. He plays a smart defensively 200 ft game but is grossly overpaid and has been a disappointment. 

 

I think it's pretty obvious what direction we are going, especially once Petterson, Juolevi, Dahlen, Gaudette, Goldobin, Brisebois etc etc start pushing for spots (hopefully). Not every rookie makes the show.