Comments on: Wild’s Sellout Streak A Pathetic Farce

By: Andrew Knoll

Andrew Knoll — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 07:00:12 +0000

How does this compare with other franchises?

I lived in Philadelphia at a time when it was difficult to get tickets, they mostly sold out and even scalpers charged over face, yet there were still comps to be had.

The Sacramento Kings were well-known for doing the same thing to keep their streak alive.

My Godfather was a Bears season ticket holder for many years and they gave out seats for blizzard games that they couldn’t fill.

And in any case, what’s the big deal? Do they give out hardware for sellout streaks now? Either the team is making money or it’s not, either the fans are there in big numbers and rowdy as hell or they are not. If they were not prospering financially that would be common knowledge and if the building was half full it would be visible.

By: Mike

Mike — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 13:37:00 +0000

I think there are actually two concerns here with the supposedly “juiced” numbers. First, how many times do we hear discussions over the economic viability of a franchise revolve around “attendance” – whether it be rising, falling, static, or nonexistent. I think it’s a safe assumption that franchises take very different approaches when it comes to boosting numbers. But while it looks good on paper, the real dollars and cents don’t lie (much like the real economy).

“Or, more to the point, as it would need to be for Minnesotans to justify spending those increasingly scarcer dollars on tickets right now. They froze ticket prices from last season. Why not cut them now?”

I think this is another interesting thought. As a season ticket holder of a franchise that’s seen extreme high’s and extreme low’s within just the last decade, management’s justification to me for raising or lowering ticket prices has always been based on the prior season’s success and the change in attendance. If tickets were up 20%, prices went up. If there was no mention of tickets going up, you knew prices were going to fall.

The “sellout” is essentially just another marketing nugget, but the owners know how much is really ending up in their pocket at the end of the day.

By: Chris

Chris — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 13:55:41 +0000

This argument is weak. Every team distributes tickets for employees, and their families and friends, not to mention promotional deals, etc. No evidence is given by Mr. Nick in New York for his claim that the Wild have given out tickets solely in order to keep the streak going. What we would need to know in order to warrant Nick’s vitriolic language (which is all this article seems to contain by way of argumentation in favor of it’s thesis that the Wild’s record is a pathetic farce) is that the Wild distributes significantly more tickets than other franchises. Finally, with regard to changing the use of the term ’sellout’ to mean only tickets sold, a franchise is discouraged to distribute promotional tickets and those in bonus to employees if the sellout record is important to them and such distribution under the new definition threatens that record.

By: Canuck

Canuck — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 15:52:53 +0000

Can’t say for sure if this story has merit, but I just went on ticketmaster and could get 8 tickets together in the lower bowl of Xcel for tomorrow’s game against Detroit (one of the biggest draws in hockey!). Also could get 4 front row seats together…… Try getting even a single ticket (can’t get even a single on ticketmaster) for a Canucks game without paying a re-seller over $100.

Now, does it really matter?…. Not really, but I think the story likely has truth…..

By: Derek K. Larsen

Derek K. Larsen — Sun, 03 Jan 2010 23:21:19 +0000

Did I miss something in the article? Is there any evidence that this is happening? It sounds like he just found out that this is how the NHL counts sellouts and assumes that the Wild are giving out tickets because they are an average team right now. However, as someone who lives in Minnesota, I take issue with such an assumption.
First, people breathe hockey hear like Texans breathe football. It’s ridiculous. If the Wild went 0-82, people would still be going to hockey at the X. We still sell Minnesota North Stars gear like it’s nobody’s business.
I’m not saying they aren’t giving out tickets, or that they are. With this economy, who knows. I just don’t find any evidence of it in the article, which is what I thought journalism…even sports journalism…even internet sports journalism should still strive for.

By: GmanMNinNM

GmanMNinNM — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 03:03:09 +0000

If this guy writes about hockey, yet doesn’t know how things are counted, is it a Pathetic Farce that he is a writer for a hockey publication? Perhaps he should try volleyball or badminton, it may be a little easier for him to follow. I’m sure he would have a heck of a time convincing the folks in Colorado the the Av’s don’t really have the longest sellout streak just as much as he would the folks of Minnesota or any other NHL team or any other sport. Sounds like someone who is bored, nothing to do and hey, let’s make something out of nothing. Sounds like he’s someone who should be working at ESPN, Yahoo Sports or FOX.