As noted in a couple of previous articles, I am no longer a serious NHL fan for reasons explained in writing. However, my friend Chucky won two free Canucks tickets and so I went with another friend to the game on Sunday which saw the Vancouver Canucks defeat the Minnesota Wild 4-3 (3-2 shootout). The game was as interesting as the games I viewed in the 1990s and 1980s. However, the overall night was overpriced.
The tickets were free, but the listed price was almost $70 each.
The parking ranged from a ridiculous $20 to $25 in price.
So, around $160 in cost for the evening, if we would have had to buy the tickets for 3 hours of entertainment, not including the price of food and gasoline. A similarly priced Rush concert is every 2-5 years, while there are 40 plus Canucks home games a year. That is one reason why I think a Rush concert is a better deal for similar money. I think that a good movie for $11 is equivalent entertainment to a Canucks game, although my friend disagrees. Once I am a professor, God willing, I may occasionally be willing to pay over $100 to see a show on stage, but that would be a rare event, or possibly a once in a lifetime event and so I would likely rate that as better value than a Canucks game. Besides the fact the Canucks game is overpriced, it irritated me to hear recently on the local radio sports channel 1040 that the Canucks, Leafs, Rangers, and Red Wings and other well supported NHL teams are using their revenues to subsidize the non-hockey market teams in the USA that are losing money. Even though the Canucks game was good entertainment I would not pay to see a game because the event is overpriced and the money would partially be going to subsidize teams that I do not think belong in the League.
My friend and I did have a good night of entertainment and more importantly discussion. The theological point was made that $160 would likely be better spent by middle class persons on feeding the poor somewhere in the world as opposed to on NHL hockey tickets and parking. If someone is wealthy and they can do both perhaps that is fine, but for many persons perhaps priorities need to be reexamined. I am not making any kind of solid judgment here. I am just pondering on the issue of where money should be spent.
Russ:)
It was my first NHL game I attended since 2000 when I saw a game with the same friend in Buffalo. The last time I paid!
ReplyDeleteYes it's unfair pricing, especially considering that parents bring their kids to these games and it winds up costing a small fortune for families that are for the most part on budgets. I feel the same way about skiing rates...way too high.
ReplyDeleteThanks, I agree. Perhaps the corporations that buy blocks of tickets are keeping many of the teams in the black.
ReplyDeleteMy word! How can anyone possibly take a family or even one child to a game - and still be able to eat for the month?
ReplyDeleteThanks,
ReplyDeleteWell, for one thing, don't be a PhD student. It does not pay.;)
That's absolutely obscene! I wouldn't pay that either-- even if I was a fan, but saddly, I must admit, I've never even watched a hockey game.
ReplyDeleteThanks Christy,
ReplyDeleteI see that you are from Tennessee which is an area with a team, but without much hockey tradition. Hockey is a good game to view live but having watched sports such as soccer, football, and baseball live, I personally enjoy the outdoor viewing experience more. European soccer has been my favourite sport to view live.
With the prices of NHL tickets I can understand why you would never attend a NHL game.
Russ:)
I guess now is not the time to talk about my favorite hockey team, the Dallas Stars, ey?
ReplyDelete1. We're in Texas - not exactly hockey country.
2. We have a controversial Stanley Cup win - can anyone say skate in the crease?
3. I can't remember the last time the Stars turned a profit.
Go Stars!
Thanks Wade,
ReplyDelete1. We're in Texas - not exactly hockey country.
Agreed.
2. We have a controversial Stanley Cup win - can anyone say skate in the crease?
And of course the NHL changed the rule not too long after that event...typical.
3. I can't remember the last time the Stars turned a profit.
I attempt to be objective on my blogs and although I am for the most part philosophically opposed to sports franchises existing in markets that do not traditionally support that sport, from what I have heard through the media here in Canada, the Dallas team has done well. I accept your point that they are not making money, although I plead ignorance on the issue. Although I did not agree with the Stars leaving Minnesota, I have not had a huge issue with Dallas having a team, and I am not against Houston getting one. To me from what I have read and heard from the media, hockey would do better in Texas than the South (south east) and so perhaps Texas is a good place for the NHL to experiment, but I think that this should be done moderately!
I see from TSN that the Pittsburgh Penguins may move to Kansas City.
http://www.tsn.ca/tsn_talent/columnists/bob_mckenzie/?id=199019
Here in Canada some in the media complain that the League overlooks having more teams in Canada but where are Winnipeg and Quebec City in the discussion about getting the Penguins? The money for a team (in both cases) and new arena (in Quebec's case) needs to be provided otherwise Canada will be stuck with 6 teams for decades. I personally think Southern Ontario was screwed out of the Penguins as Jim Balsillie wanted to move them there but apparently was denied by the League. I would deduce that Hamilton would have been a profitable enough franchise to soon build a new arena. I would prefer the Penguins to stay in Pittsburgh but without a new arena I would much prefer Canada or Houston to Kansas City for relocation. Kansas City is a smaller market than Houston, although the Saint Louis Blues have done pretty well for support in the League.
Cheers Wade.
Russ;)
It's a good thing I hate hockey, Otherwise I might get mad knowing my state got beat and you took pleasure in it, LOL. Take care, Rick b
ReplyDeleteThanks Rick.
ReplyDeleteMinnesota...a true hockey market.
you're not actually comparing a Canucks game to a Rush concert, are you? ;-)
ReplyDeleteHockey Tickets: expensive
Parking: ridiculously expensive
Food at the venue: see where I'm going here?
Watching Trevor Linden skate around on ice wearing little shorts: priceless :)
Thanks Lindsay,
ReplyDeleteI have not noticed Linden the way you do.;) He did score a shootout goal though, seems to me. No question the game was entertaining and the Canucks are a good team.
Looking at your blog I have wondered if you attend many games. Do you take out a mortgage?
Russ;)