WOULD RATHER BE IN CLEARWATER
One number that caught my eye today was the number of tickets available for the Flyers game against the Islanders tomorrow night at the Wachovia Center.
Approximately 2,000 tickets remain for the 7 o'clock game, a number you would never have seen a few years ago and one that's ever higher than usual this season. Generally about a 1,000 or fewer tickets have still been available for purchase for many of the other team's dates this season.
According to ESPN, the Flyers rank fourth in attendance, averaging 19,324 through 13 home dates. That average stands only behind chicago (21,471), Montreal (21,273) and Detroit (19,704).
Evidence of these economic times? Probably, along with the fact it's a Tuesday game against an opponent that doesn't move the meter like others in the league.
Thursday's Dollar Dog Night promotion for the evening game against Carolina should help stir interest for another non-weekend date.
The Flyers finished fourth in attendance last season, averaging 19,556.
Paul Vigna still has the seat he wrestled out of the concrete at Connie Mack Stadium parked in the finished basement, a 1980 Phillies championship mirror hanging above it. Now, why he’s kept an autograph of former Flyer Bruce Gamble on a sheet of Hockey Hall of Fame paper is another story. A native of Philly who grew up in Lansdale, he’s an assistant sports editor at the Daily News in charge of special projects who has written two columns related to sports and consumers: View From the Seats and Savvy Consumer.
ABOUT THIS BLOG:
Athletic contests were, for a long time, simply fun and games. Nowadays they’re just a small part of a sports entertainment industry that puts billions of dollars into play and a number of issues into motion. Moneyball indeed. You might be closer to the action than ever before, but that privilege comes at a price - and often it’s beyond what you can afford.
With that as the backdrop we’ll use this blog to dig out stories and swap advice about how the fan experience is changing and what it’s costing you now and in the future. Some of it will educate, some will let you vent. And in a sports panel format, it should allow for a consensus of opinion that can carry some weight.
