Hurricanes 2009-10 Attendance, A Closer Look

After making it to the Eastern Conference Finals in 2008-09, most thought the Carolina Hurricanes would make it to the playoffs again this season.  But the team ended up falling short of expectations in the win column and not surprisingly, their poor performance on the ice transcended to the box office.   

The team averaged 16,572 fans per game the previous season, (which placed them at 20th in the league), but attendance dropped to an average of 15,240 this past year, (23rd in the league). 

Several factors adversely affected attendance, including:  a 14 game losing streak near the beginning of the season, a team which was in last place in the league and was performing in last place in several categories including scoring for the first part of the season, a poor economy, a local higher than national average unemployment rate of over 10%, and injuries to key players including Eric Staal and Cam Ward, faces of the franchise.  

Believe it or not, even bad weather affected the gate.  Let's take a closer look after the jump.

Here is a month by month outline of official attendance numbers for the 2009-10 season as presented by "The Whaler" from The Hurricanes Hockey Report.

Scheduled ----        5            9            7            7            3            8            2
                   October     November      December     January     February       March        April


                   18,680       15,089       14,990       14,071       18,393       17,048       16,073
                   16,186       14,164       13,954       16,892       15,527       16,426       18,680
                   13,597       13,510       12,758       14,812       16,466       17,690             
                   14,053       14,163       16,514       16,031                    15,832             
                   15,549       12,194       14,820       13,512                    18,144             
                                13,502       16,288       15,473                    15,311             
                                13,224       16,947        6,896                    18,046             
                                14,463                                              16,108             
                                12,797                                                                 


TOTALS             78,065      123,106      106,271       97,687       50,386      134,605       34,753


Gms played              5            9            7            7            3            8            2


Gms remain              0            0            0            0            0            0            0


Average            15,613       13,678       15,181       13,955       16,795       16,825       17,376


Highest            18,680       15,089       16,947       16,892       18,393       18,144       18,680


Lowest             13,597       12,194       12,758        6,896       15,527       15,311       16,073


Pc of Cap            83.6         73.2         81.3         74.7         89.9         90.1         93.0


Sellouts                1            0            0            0            0            0            1

The number that really sticks out is the 6,896 in late January.  The Blackhawks were in town for that game and there was supposed to be a near sell out crowd, but the area was hit with ice and snow that day and people were told to stay off the roads.  That type of luck is what the franchise had to deal with all season long. 

As indicated by the chart, attendance picked up in the latter part of the season, which is not unusual for this area.  Coincidentally, the team also started playing better hockey and was winning games.

Some fans got upset yesterday when Forbes writer, Michael Ozanian issued a short blurb on his blog mentioning the news that Peter Karmanos was selling a portion of the Carolina franchise.  In it, he criticized the area by making the statement, "The folks in North Carolina really don't care about hockey".   He used recent attendance results as the basis for his remark.  

But if one were to compare attendance with other franchises in a fair and objective way, they should not be selective with their criticism.  For instance, what about Colorado?  Here is a franchise that has had a lot of success and even made a surprising run this year.  How can their season average of 13,947 and 27th place finish be overlooked? 

In many cases attendance cycles go up and down in relation to how a team is doing.  It's no surprise that Carolina's dipped this year, just looking at that factor alone.  In year's past, the same thing has happened to other franchises. 

Chicago, which is selling out every game and looking great at number one in attendance right now, finished at 29th in the league with an average gate of 12,727 as recently as in 2007. 

Washington was 24th in 2008, 27th in 2007, and 28th in 2006.  Now it's hard to get a ticket. 

The Hurricanes almost always finish higher than the Islanders and the Devils, two teams in huge metropolitan markets.

Even the Boston Bruins finished below the Hurricanes at 26th in the league in 2008.  Should one make the assumption that folks in Massachusetts don't care about hockey? 

The Hurricanes should do better at the gate this season and have several positive factors working for them.  The All Star game should garner significant support and will help build season ticket sales.  Having the farm team in Charlotte will create more interest region wide, especially as favorite players in Charlotte are recalled to fill in for the injured in Raleigh.  The team should be younger, more energetic, and hopefully more fun to watch.

The franchise is still young when compared to most others and the fanbase is still growing.  The market will expand as the population continues to increase.  While this season was disappointing, there are better times ahead for the Carolina Hurricanes.