Two consecutive sparse crowds at PNC Arena over the weekend has reopened the debate over the Carolina Hurricanes' declining attendance.
The 'Canes managed to draw only 10,870 fans for a Saturday night game against Arizona, then an even smaller 10,519 for Sunday evening's contest against Los Angeles, the defending Stanley Cup champions. The host's first two wins of the 2014-15 season—improving their record to a still-woeful 2-8—earned fewer than 22,000 ticket sales.
Eye-opening images of the swaths of empty red seats patched across the 100 level sparked intrigue and humiliation on Twitter, with proponents of NHL relocation to Hartford, Quebec City and other cities voicing their disgust.
Management, however, may not have been nearly so surprised.
New team president Don Waddell, hired over the summer to focus on what he told Luke DeCock of the News & Observer would be the "revenue-generating departments," foreshadowed the rough upcoming year at the box office before the autumn even began.
Wrote DeCock back in early October:
The Hurricanes are paying the pri ...
Read Full Article at Bleacher Report - NHL
Article written by Mark Jones
Carolina Hurricanes’ Attendance Analysis and Projections for Remaining Games
November 4th, 2014 by Mark Jones Leave a reply »
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