I read somewhere that the rough estimate is that it takes 70% of ticket sales in the NHL to compensate for salaries. The next closest sport is football which uses around 15-18% roughly. Also the difference in salaries between baseball/football and hockey has quite a bit to do with how many people can see the games. For instance here in Atlanta you can seat 60k people in turner field for a baseball game. My number could be a little off here for total attendance of these venues, but it still shows a point. At a NFL falcons game you can seat 80k. At a NHL Thrashers game you can seat 18.5k. I think this is where quite a bit of the problems lie, not enough seats in the venues to compensate for the salaries. I sit up in section 318. It's got a great view, on the end, and I can still call penalties with my own eyes up at that height, so it's not all that bad. Seats are normally $24 for there, but as a season ticket holder I get them for $12 a piece. Basically this is a 2 for 1 scenario on seats. This really isn't enough money when it boils down to these salaries against the amount of tickets a venue can sell. Until these salaries come down/cap, or the venues are bigger , I really don't see how the owners can make much, if any, money while trying to keep ticket prices in a reasonable range. My season ticket package went down in price after season 2 from around $750 a seat to $550 a seat and hasn't been raised. One thing I do know though is the salaries have been raised since season 2.
On another note, have you seen some of the bonuses these players get for accomplishments? I saw that Kovalchuk made 12 mil last year because he hit all of his accomplishment bonuses. I think the salaries should be a tad bit smaller, more accomplishment bonuses, a cap, bigger venues, and a determined amount of the percentage of the gate. The diver who is a NYR fan will appreciate the accomplishments bonus. Wait till the washed up super-star performs again before paying him big money, heh. This in the longer run could make players more money while having to take a small pay cut initially. These owners just aren't making money, and the whole orginization as it stands is likely to fold. I hate to side with the owners here, but something does apparently have to give. I have heard that it is in the owner's contacts that they can close down the league and open under a new entity after a certain amount of time of not being able to meet an agreement with the NHLPA. Might be looking at a new league.
All this lockout is going to do is damage hockey. Viewing had already began to decline in the states, and most of the lower southern states had finally just developed a following. I could see where many of the smaller franchises that were just beginning to blossom could end up folding in the long run. What brought baseball fans back after a long hiatus after it's lockout was the home run race. I don't see hockey having a home run race to bring casual fans back to the game. I for one am a diehard fan that grew up in Chicago and now live outside of Atlanta. I will still go to the games, but I assume the stadium will be really empty. Canada and Northern US states won't have problems getting the fans back into place, but down in the south here it might another uphill struggle where franchies fold in the longer run due to the lockout.
Sadly enough I have turned my attention back to football now.
I miss hockey, but could live without it if I had to.
Matt
