Fans at their home arenas have experienced the number of Chicago Blackhawks fans attending games, especially during the 2010s when the Hawks captured three Stanley Cup titles. That diminished slightly in the 2020s as COVID-19 and the team’s decline diminished those numbers. However, with the selection of Connor Bedard, the interest in Blackhawks games has started to peak in not only the places he visits, but also in Blackhawks fans who are willing to make the trip to another city to see the young phenom and the team.
This very thing happened to me recently. When I discovered that the Blackhawks would be facing the Tampa Bay Lightning on Jan. 28, 2025, I immediately planned to head to Florida earlier than usual to spend the winter so we could attend this game. Knowing there would be strong interest in the game, I planned to use my “Lightning Insider” access to purchase tickets when my time slot opened in mid-August.
Unfortunately, I was in a golf tournament and was not available for the start of my purchasing window. When I arrived home in the late afternoon, I was disappointed that limited tickets were available for this game. Eventually, I was able to get the six seats needed for family and friends but had to piece together a ticket package through the Lightning’s ticket site and the secondary market. Later, I discovered that another THW writer had also secured their tickets for the game that day, and realized that while many Lightning fans are interested in the game, so are the well-traveled members of the Blackhawks fan base who want to see Bedard and the Blackhawks attempt to build a Stanley-Cup-contending team.
Chicago fans have always attended games in strong numbers through the major sports. Besides a strong fan base, there are a few other reasons why Blackhawks fans show up in numbers at away games.
Secondary Ticket Market
Gone are the days when someone had to go to the arena and look for a guy selling tickets outside the venue. These people and the ticket brokers that some of them worked for have almost gone out of existence, replaced by the ease of computers and smartphones that allow tickets to be purchased on places such as StubHub and SeatGeek. Reports have stated that the global secondary tickets market size was valued at USD $2.85 billion in 2023. It is projected to reach USD $6.56 billion by 2032, growing at a rate of 9.7% during the forecast period (2024-2032).
This means that fans have an easier time getting tickets for events they would have a great deal of difficulty attending just 25 years ago. That has also made it difficult for teams to prevent a large influx of the opposing team’s fans from attending, such as what the Nashville Predators and Tampa Bay Lightning tried to do in the 2010s as the Hawks were heading toward the three Stanley Cups.
This has allowed other teams and their fanbase to travel well. The New York Rangers, with their proximity to other NHL cities in the Northeast, travel well, as do the Toronto Maple Leafs. In the second round of the 2023 playoffs, the Florida Panthers tried to limit who could purchase tickets by restricting sales to U.S. residents only. However, the secondary market had no such restrictions, and there was a fair representation of Leafs fans at the games.
Midwesterners Living Elsewhere
Many Chicago area residents seek other places to escape the cold, Midwestern winters, whether it is a permanent or temporary move. While they may not be in Chicago, their love for Chicago sports continues, and the Blackhawks are no exception. So, one can see why a January game in Tampa might be a great destination for a trip or for people who spend parts of the winter in Florida.
Blackhawk fans also like to travel to more local games to support their teams against division rivals, much like Chicago Cubs fans who invade Milwaukee to watch games against the Brewers at “Wrigley North.” St. Louis is a popular destination, as is Nashville. Nashville has a fantastic facility for the Predators and it is located at a place with a lot to offer before and after games. Detroit was another favorite destination with its “Original Six” rivalry, but since the Red Wings changed conferences, the teams only see each other a couple of times each season.
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For years, Chicago Blackhawks fans have traveled well. With the drafting of Bedard and growing expectations that the team will be trending upward from here, expect the competition for tickets and the number of Blackhawks fans at arenas around the NHL to increase in the coming seasons.
