I don’t disagree with the goals of the new owners, however we need to stick with the facts.

The average attendance this year of 2755 fans for seven games is correct, but keep in mind that the opening game with free tickets, all the attendant hype, etc; had 5659 fans. We know from past experience that the first game of the season and the Teddy Bear Toss always have high attendance numbers.

If we do the average using the next six games, we get an average attendance of 2271 fans per game. A significant difference than 2755. So although the attendance is up, it still (as mentioned above) has a long way to go.

The other number missing from these stats are the actual attendance versus the number of tickets sold. We know from past experience that a large number of season ticket holders do not attend games on a regular basis. So season tickets are good for generating revenue, but not necessarily good for filling the seats, and in my opinion the more empty seats the more difficult it is for players to play at the top of their game.

Average means average palapu.
Why do you want to chisel down the number?
If you give it 20 home games the big opening night won’t push the number up much.
As for counting empty seasons tickets, that is the norm. It is paid attendance figures. Pretty standard practice.
Maybe go to a game? You might have fun?

My god are you an expert on sports as well as how your City operates.
Cheers

Should read: My god Pal

Do the #’s really affect your view of the team? I have gone to a few games this year and the whole thing is 110% better than the last few years combined.

The atmosphere is incredible, fans stomping and cheering even when their team is down. Better play by the team and noticeable changes made by the coaching staff when things are not going right. The buzz in the arena is that of 20 years ago. The entertainment before, during and after the game is top notch. Even the parking is better controlled when coming and leaving the game.

Are we going to the finals this year, no probably not. It’s going to take a couple years to rebuild what had been torn down to nothing. When you buy a team they don’t just give you 10 free first line players. But you can see both the team and the management are making a real effort to bring in serious talent and pushing the players they have to all new levels. Heck one of our players is tied for 1st in the scoring race!

Don’t wait till they are a top team in the league, get on board and be part of the support and building the team needs. Time for a little “what can we do for the team” instead of “What has the team done for me lately?”

You all have to understand, Palopu doesn’t care about hockey, but that doesn’t stop him from trying to turn a any good news story about the Cougars into a negative.

We really need a Like button to click. If we did I would click on PGMAKESMECRAZY comments.
Well said!

As usual the keyboard kops are shooting from the finger tips before they read and absorb.

My opening statement was that I don’t disagree with the goals of the new owners. That should hardly be considered a negative statement.

Furthermore when you do averaging if you want an accurate number you throw out any anomalies. So in my opinion the first game of the year, and the Teddy Bear toss skew the numbers. Over 36 home games it wouldn’t make a big difference, however in a seven game average it makes a huge difference, and is misleading. A six game average is more reflective of what is taking place.

My feelings about hockey have nothing to do with the discussion. My two concerns are that the Cougars get sufficient attendance to ensure that the City is not subsidizing the franchise.

The other side of my argument, that I have stuck to since the Cougars came to Prince George is that there are not sufficient hockey fans in Prince George to support this franchise. Am I wrong?? According to all the Hockey fans, I am. However according to the numbers in the last 10 years, I am right,. So we blame the previous owners for the numbers, and there might be some truth in that.

The next few years will determine if we have sufficient fans or not. My point is that if the break even point is 3000 fans. Then all these fans better get off their butts and attend games, because they have a long way to go and a short time to get there.

I think we should sell pine valley and give the money to the Cougars. ;)

this early it is kinda dirty pool to count the first game to skew the numbers. if tuesday and weds night games were getting 35-4500 attendance would be legit to include. bigger story is that with all the good news of the brodsky clan packing up it seems only + / – 400 extra season tix got sold.

Last year the City made approx. $825.00 per game. With an average of 1693 fans per game this works out to approx. 49 Cents per fan, per game.

Not much revenue when you think about it. Obviously we need to increase the fan base, and perhaps reduce the cost of the operation.

Palpou, we did not give away free tickets to opening night or any other night. The billet parents get a pair of tickets each, and some other volunteers get a ticket for their spouses, but the numbers we announce every night don’t even include those. We announce the number of sold tickets only. We were essentially sold out opening night, and our ‘regular’ games have seen a steady increase so far this season even though the majority of them have been weekday games. We have a long way to go but we will not waiver in our commitment to be the #1 team in the WHL, and that’s hardly just a hope and a prayer comment!! As for your years of speculation on what it costs the city to have the Cougars, you are wrong and always have been wrong. The net $ to the City has always been a positive even during the very worst years. You simply don’t have all of the facts.

I’d encourage skeptics to come out to our upcoming Sunday November 2nd matinee game and judge for yourself what the future holds for the PG Cougars.

Thanks for the clarification, Andy.

Here’s the stats:

2013-2014 season:

Game 1: 2,966
Game 2: 1,688
Game 3: 1,335
Game 4: 1,401
Game 5: 1,610
Game 6: 1,488
Game 7: 1,588

Average: 1,725
Average (not including home opener): 1,518

2014-2015 season:

Game 1: 5,659
Game 2: 2,581
Game 3: 1,955
Game 4: 1,960
Game 5: 2,401
Game 6: 2,469
Game 7: 2,260

Average: 2,755
Average (not including home opener): 2,271

Increase in average attendance through seven games: 59.7%
Increase in average attendance through seven games (not including home opener): 49.6%

I think a 50% bump in support almost immediately after the ownership change speaks volumes.

Palopu, you have showed your ignorance about the WHL with stating the more people in the stands the better they will play. If the players held the same attitude as you did they wouldn’t be playing in the WHL. They have the skill and drive to make it this far and possibly to the NHL. They play their best because that’s what they need to do to succeed. Not pander to the spectators.

I can see it now.. So Palopu, you got cut from the Cougars, why is that? Your answer.. No one in the stands to watch me.. I can’t play well unless at least 3641 people in the stands. 8)

The idea that it is harder for players to play in front of empty seats doesn’t come from me. It comes for hockey fans on this site over the years. I believe that it is. In fact it is depressing to be constantly playing in front of empty seats. Full seats and raging fans, is basically what the game is all about.

Andy>>>>>>>. The net to the City may have always been positive, however it could have been more positive if the City had not changed the original contract from 12% of the gross to $150,000.00 and 15% thereafter, to some sort of a sliding scale depending on attendance.

I guess the question should be how much money does the City make on renting these facilities in comparison to other similar size cities and franchises, with a higher fan base??

Furthermore. In regards to free tickets on opening night. The CN Centre itself or the Cougars may not have given out free tickets, however there were people going around town, through to malls etc, with hands full of free tickets trying to give them away. (With little success I might add), so someone was buying tickets and handing them out.

One of our owners PURCHASED 200 tickets for seniors as a lovely goodwill gesture. . Those tickets were in fact handed out to various people, and about 190 of them were used. That’s that fact. No other bulk purchases were made.

Thanks Andy. That explains the free tickets. Now that you mention is they were targeting the older generation.

If anyone is concerned about attendance, go to ticketmaster.ca and checkout the seat map for next weekend.

I think that this new ownership group and staff are doing a great job creating an atmosphere that this city should be proud of. The group is keeping to their word about the commitment to the team and the city about trying to build a winning team for the city to enjoy. The fans need to support this group by buying a ticket to watch some great hockey and come out and enjoy the night. Without the support of community this team will not be able to recruit elite players that the fans want to see play here. A hockey player does not want to play In front of an empty arena. I have been to just about every game and have seen the great effort that the boys are giving the fans. The players are working hard and deserve to be playing in front of screaming fans!!!!!! It will take a supportive community to build a winning tradition in Prince George, just look at The Kelowna Rockets organization, sold out just about every game! This group of owners have put a lot of money out of their pockets to keep the team in Prince George, let’s show them that they made the right choice in buying this team and let’s pack the CN Centre like the good old days!!!!!