Isles Marketing: Desperate or Genius?
December 8th, 2006 by murph
It’s no secret the Islanders attendance is bad, and I don’t mean in a LL Cool J bad=good kind of way. They are second to last in the NHL averaging 11,116 fans after 15 home games. This puts them just barely ahead of St. Louis who’s 7-16-4 this season. The good news is the Blues are a bad hockey team and have a virtual lock on the cellar this year. A few weeks ago vs the Nashville Predators, the official announced attendance was only 5,410 in St. Louis.
Thanks to the Islanders’ accounting department, things shouldn’t get that bad here on Long Island. The Islanders report “tickets sold” not “fans in attendance” even though there is a noticeable difference between the two numbers each game. But the problem of poor attendance remains and it apparently isn’t solved by having a good record and being in first place, as many people assumed. The Islanders are down 1,500 fans a game from last year’s average.
The Islanders marketing department keeps on trying though, here’s the latest offer on their website.
FANS: VISIT TED NOLAN IN HIS OFFICE!
Islanders Select-A-Seast Event: Dec. 12-13, 5 – 8 pm, Nassau ColiseumMeet Mike Bossy, Chat with Garth Snow, Tour the NYI Locker Room
Islanders fans looking to purchase a ticket plan for the holidays will have a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for a unique all-access look at their favorite team.
The Islanders are hosting a Select-A-Seat Event on Tuesday, Dec. 12 and Wednesday, Dec. 13 from 5 – 8 pm at Nassau Coliseum. Fans coming to purchase a 23- or 6-Game Plan will not just have the best available seats shown to them by an Islanders ticket representative, but also enjoy the following:
- Tour the Islanders’ locker room at Nassau Coliseum with current Islanders players. Captain Alexei Yashin will be available for photo ops on Tuesday, Dec. 12 and other Islanders players will host the tour on Wednesday.
- A private visit with Islanders head coach Ted Nolan in the coaches’ office at Nassau Coliseum
- Your chance to talk about the present and future of Islanders hockey with general manager Garth Snow in the Islanders’ newly-refurbished Coliseum offices
- Meet Islanders Hall of Famer Mike Bossy and get his autograph
While you’re there, purchase an Islanders Ticket Plan. The 23-Game Plan includes all four home games this season against the New York Rangers, substantial savings off box office prices, Stanley Cup Playoff privileges, VIP parking options and pre-sale access to major Coliseum concerts!
The 6-Game Plan includes four Saturday night games, 5 promotional dates and an option for the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
For more information, call 1.800.882.ISLES.
Well they are going to get at least one new sale, I was on the fence about the 6 game plan but now I’m sold. 6 games for $300 in the end mezzanine sections or $400 in the center mezzanine sections seemed like a pretty good deal to me. It’s an awesome deal if I can meet some players, meet Mike Bossy, and go “behind-the-scenes” at the Coliseum. The 6 game plan is also available in the 100/200 sections for about $500. Tickets are discounted $4 off the regular price across the board, so the biggest discount to be had is actually up in the cheap seats (7%).
In typical Islander fashion, Wang’s left foot doesn’t know what his right foot is doing sometimes. The website is NOT updated, this is NOT the package. I had to call to find out which games were in the package.
Date Day Time Opponent Promotion 01/13 Sat 7:00pm New Jersey Puck Bank 01/30 Tue 7:30pm Detroit 02/24 Sat 1:00pm Montreal Mini Replica Banners 03/10 Sat 7:00pm Washington Mini Radio 03/31 Sat 7:00pm Ottawa Windmill Fan 04/05 Thurs 7:30pm Toronto Team Poster/ Last Home Game
Detroit, Ovechkin, and the hated Leafs to finish out the season are the highlight games for me. It would have certainly been nice to get a Ranger game in there somewhere, but I guess they know me too well and know that I will buy tickets to at least one Ranger game anyways. The giveaways suck, and most are 14 and under anyways. The package offers you an option to purchase a complete set of Stanley Cup Playoff tickets should the Islanders qualify. No appointments are necessary on Tuesday and Wednesday, just show up with your money and walk out a season ticket holder. Now I’ve just got to figure out what I want Bossy to sign.
The Islanders attendance numbers are going to go up. Historically they do every season and they’ll see more of a jump if they can keep winning. Also a lot of the Islanders’ partial ticket plans this season were back-loaded with games in the 2nd half of the season (like the new 6 game plan). What remains to be seen is if that results in bigger crowds at the Coliseum or a bigger difference in reported and actual attendance.
NHL Attendance Report (Top 5/Bottom 5)
RNK TEAM GMS TOTAL AVG PCT 1 Montreal 14 297,822 21,273 100 2 Detroit 13 260,858 20,066 100 3 Tampa Bay 16 316,636 19,789 100.2 4 Toronto 15 291,217 19,414 103.3 5 Calgary 13 250,757 19,289 112.4 26 Washington 14 180,748 12,910 69.1 27 Chicago 12 152,883 12,740 62.1 28 New Jersey 12 151,037 12,586 66.1 29 NY Islanders 15 166,742 11,116 68.2 30 St. Louis 14 155,312 11,093 58.3
Tom Says
THIS JUST IN, fans purchasing a 1-game plan to attend a pre-game skate-around can buy Mikko Makela a pretzel.
Dec 8th, 2006 at 6:47 pm