Saturday, March 9, 2013

Sea Dogs Attendance Slips

Along with their win total, the Saint John Sea Dogs’ attendance numbers also took a hit this season.

Coming off the high of three straight 50-win seasons, it comes as no surprise to see Saint John’s attendance slip in the first year of a rebuild. After playing all 34 home games, the Sea Dogs attracted 135,732 fans for a per game average of 3,992. Their per game average is currently the fourth best in the league behind Quebec, Halifax, and Moncton.

The Sea Dogs averaged 4,561 fans per game last season, a franchise high. That’s 569 more fans per contest than this year.

This seasons’ average of 3,992 is still better than the 2006-07, 2007-08, and 2008-09 seasons. Here’s a year-by-year look at the numbers:

TotalAverage
2005-06156,6944,477 (4th)
2006-07134,3543,839 (6th)
2007-08139,2143,978 (5th)
2008-09133,6133,930 (5th)
2009-10140,7794,141 (4th)
2010-11152,2374,478 (4th)
2011-12155,0604,561 (3rd)
2012-13135,7323,992 (4th)

The Sea Dogs had three crowds over 5,000 this season and one sell out. But they also had three crowds under 3,000 which is never fun in a building that can fit almost 6,500 people.

Hopefully the Sea Dogs can get their attendance back over the 4,000 average mark next season. Even if the hockey is good, the game experience is much more enjoyable with lots of fans in the stands to provide a good atmosphere.

*Attendance numbers taken from league website

4 comments:

  1. Bunch of bandwagon jumpers

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  2. So much for those who said it was boring when the team was winning every night!

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  3. That is excellent numbers when you consider Moncton and Halifax lose close to half their crowd when rebuilding. Losing only 500 a game is great by the fans IMO

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  4. Im Still Surprised Home Opener After Mem Cup Championship Didnt Sell Out Last Year lol Sad

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