Canucks Sports & Entertainment: 10 keys to reaching 400 home game sellouts

After using late December to pass the Buffalo Sabres at 279 and the Los Angeles Kings' record of 282, the Vancouver Canucks reached their 300th consecutive home game sellout on Easter Sunday at General Motors Place, posting a 4-3 overtime win against the Minnesota Wild, the only National Hockey League team with a longer active streak (381 regular season and playoff games at the Xcel Energy Center).

A long playoff run could see the Canucks overtake the National Football League's Denver Broncos (309) this spring or early next season. Next up would be the Pittsburgh Steelers (317 as they head into the 2010 NFL season) and the NHL's Philadelphia Flyers (who sold out 319 straight at the old Spectrum between 1973 and 1981).

The Canucks could reach the even more exclusive 400 Club in 2012 by continuing to build on what they're already doing and consider these as the 10 key ingredients to potential box office supremacy in the NHL:

#10 - Acknowledge season ticket holders this spring with a tangible show of their appreciation for helping drive the remarkable streak of sellouts from November 14th, 2002 to April 4th, 2010. Selling out 300 games -- selling out more than a handful of games in a row for that matter -- is impossible without a large season ticket base. There is no more important factor in the Canucks' ability to navigate around the NHL lockout of 2004-'05, the recession of 2008-'09 and the Olympic year of Vancouver 2010 than a season ticket base capped at 17,000 in a building seating 18,810;

#9 - Push the envelope on season ticket holder benefits and continue to emphasize the preferential pricing advantage offered through subscribed tickets (full season, half-season and quarter-season Ice Paks);

#8 - Make the most of their 40th anniversary season in 2010-'11 with special events, promotions and incentives to consolidate their season ticket base, expand their priority waiting list of 4,000 and increase their already massive database to support group sales. Pump up the wait list! Think Green Bay Packers and their Lambeau Field-size season ticket waiting list of more than 70,000. A General Motors Place-size waiting list of 9,000 accounts representing another 18,810 season tickets would be the equivalent target;

#7  - Continue the two-pronged approach to regular and premium clients: Deployment of a team dedicated to suites and club seat holders not only helps retain those premium clients, it allows for optimal customer service for both segments. And on that note and of immediate priority, focus on contract renewals for luxury suites; a group of which come due after the current season...and develop contingencies (including suite-sharing packages) to replace those companies which cannot continue or otherwise choose not to renew.

#6 - Keep the product accessible: Ensure the vast majority of Canucks games continue to be available on Rogers Sportsnet at the regional level and TSN and CBC at the national level and resist the temptation to expand pay-per-view much beyond where it is at the start of the decade (and with some bias, continue to leverage the unrivalled power of all-sports radio and keep pushing the boundaries of http://www.canucks.com/ and social media to provide the widest possible access to all things Canuck);

#5 - Build on the power and clout of the Canucks for Kids Fund, making sure season ticket holders and the larger ticket-buying public fully understand the scope of its community philanthropy;

#4 - Ensure that We are all Canucks: The team's brand management and advertising are second to none in the marketplace (despite the team's identity crisis over which of its three logos should prevail as the primary mark). Maintain the advantage for the blue-and-green, especially with the arrival of Major League Soccer in 2011 and the leverage the BC Lions will have in hosting the 99th Grey Cup at a newly-renovated BC Place;

#3 - Exercise extreme prudence on ticket price increases, avoiding the mistakes made by the Detroit Red Wings in 2007 (when steep playoff ticket premiums offended many season ticket holders and left thousands of seats unsold during the team's playoff run). The Red Wings streak of 452 ended that spring;

#2 - Provide strong value through game presentation and amenities, an entertaining on-ice product and by pushing the NHL to repatriate a more balanced schedule in which all 29 other teams visit Vancouver at least once per regular season. Seeing Sidney Crosby, Alex Ovechkin and emerging young stars such as Steven Stamkos once each season adds significant value to every season ticket package;

#1 - Win....win the Stanley Cup.

Contending might be enough to get the Canucks to 400 if all other things remain strong, including the economy. But none of the box office champions and sellout record-holders in North American professional sport (the NHL's Avalanche, the Portland Trailblazers of the NBA, the Boston Red Sox in Major League Baseball and the Green Bay Packers of the NFL) got there without winning the Stanley Cup or its equivalent at some point during their streak.

Winning in 2010 or 2011 would not only clinch 400 in 2012, it would go a long way to making 500 in 2014 an entirely achievable target for Canucks Sports & Entertainment.

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Vancouver Canucks' home sellout streak reaches 300 plateau and makes its mark on NHL

The Vancouver Canucks of the National Hockey League can clinch their third Northwest Division title in four years with a win tonight over the Minnesota Wild.

They can also clinch a sport business milestone that only 16 other franchises in the history of North American professional sport have to their official credit: 300 consecutive home game sellouts.

http://www.teamradio.ca/news/story/?id=2917

The streak at General Motors Place dates back to November 14th, 2002 and has straddled the NHL lockout of 2004-'05, survived the worst economic recession in a half-century and navigated around the complexities of hosting the Vancouver 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games. It has also stayed intact at an expanded capacity this year created by the launch of 180 premium seats in the Best Buy Club at Level 500.

http://www.vancouversun.com/sports/2010wintergames/Playbook+sellout/2760496/story.html

Reaching the 300-plateau consolidates the Canucks' place as one of the box office juggernauts of the NHL, behind only tonight's visitors among active sellout streaks in the 30-team league. The Wild have sold out every one of their games played at the XCel Energy Center (381 regular season and playoffs and another 27 pre-season contests). It puts the Canucks in elite company and within striking distance of venerable streaks by iconic sport brands such as the Denver Broncos and Pittsburgh Steelers of the NFL.

http://www.vancouversun.com/sports/Stoking+coals+hockey+hotbed/2760498/story.html

Canucks fans would gladly trade in those status symbols of sport business success for one thing: the club's first Stanley Cup in its 40-year history. Yet the sellout streak still matters as more than a ticket marketing statistic.

First and most simply, it makes it more fun for fans to go to games when they're sold out. There's a certain civic pride and sense of community that accompanies full houses at sport events.

Second, the sellouts and per game pops of $1.2 million and more underlines the solid financial position of the franchise. Even in the salary cap era of the NHL, strong revenues increase the chances for long-term on-ice success through investment in athlete services and amenities. There are limits to what the Canucks can spend on player contracts, but no limits to what they can pour into player development and resources.

Third, it strengthens the capacity for the market to host other sport events and potentially even new professional franchises when promoters and investors see the 18,810 box office score each and every night at General Motors Place.

Most impressive about the home game sellout streak is that it happens under NHL reporting protocols that are as stringent as any in North America. Unlike the NFL, the sport marketing Goliath which requires only non-premium seats to be sold out to lift its local television blackouts, the Canucks and the NHL include all seats: luxury suites, club seats, restaurant seating and regular seats.

If the Canucks were an NFL club, for example, about 14,300 would constitute a sellout at General Motors Place.

Now there are skeptics -- including my good friend and respected colleague Bob Mackin of Business in Vancouver and 24 Hours Vancouver -- who question the integrity of the Canucks' sellout streak: http://thesportmarketguest1.blogspot.com/2010/04/canucks-tri-centennial-not-legit.html

To those of you in that camp, I say good on the Canucks for having us question the odd empty seat rather than criticizing them for sluggish ticket sales (witness the half-empty buildings that greet a half dozen teams in both the NHL and NBA and describe many of the ballparks in Major League Baseball).

Remember this is not about actual attendance or tickets scanned at the gates. It's about tickets sold.

Empty seats are not necessarily unsold seats. Mostly they are either season tickets not used that night or scalper tickets not resold. They can be un-used tickets from large group sales. They can be "corporate holds" held for NHL sponsors or "player holds" held for the visiting team in compliance with the league's collective bargaining agreement. The latter two categories typically account for about 200 seats and when they're released on game day, all but the odd single are gobbled up quickly.

The Canucks' sell-out streak measures up to what I'd consider to be best practices in the industry. And the bottom line to it all is that it's made possible by a season ticket base capped at 17,000. As long as that base and a waiting list of another 4,000 stay in place, the sellout streak has some real staying power to hit 400 straight by 2012. Last month's renewal pace of more than 95% is a big step in the right direction as the club prepares for its 40th anniversary season.

Reaching 400 would put the Canucks into an even more exclusive group of North American major pro teams. Currently, it's a club of one: the Boston Red Sox of Major League Baseball (550 going into tonight's 2010 home opener against the New York Yankees at Fenway Park). All-time the club of 400 or more includes the BoSox and Cleveland Indians, the NBA's Portland Trailblazers, Boston Celtics, Chicago Bulls and New York Knicks and the NHL's Colorado Avalanche and Detroit Red Wings.

The Wild are already at 400 including pre-season games. Depending on their own season ticket renewals after missing the playoffs again this season, they should get to 400 officially by the 2011 NHL All-Star break. The NBA's Dallas Mavericks are also closing in on 400.

By 2012, there could be a roster of 10 or so on the all-time list of franchises at 400 or more. For the Wild and the Canucks, it's not the big prize -- the Stanley Cup -- but it's still worth celebrating, appreciating and shooting for.

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NHL Attendance: A Solid Bull Market

For all of the criticism directed at the National Hockey League on several fronts, we need to give it credit where credit is due: its performance in arena attendance.

Sure it still has its desert dogs and other problem childs, but the fact is, next to the NFL, the NHL has more franchises playing to full or near capacity than any other major league in North American sport.

Only two of Major League Baseball's 30 clubs sold out their games in 2009 (the Boston Red Sox of the American League and the Philadelphia Phillies of the National League). That's seven per cent. Sellouts are the norm at only two of Major League Soccer's 16 franchises (Toronto FC and Seattle Sounders FC) or 12.5%. In the NBA, it's 15% (five of 30 teams).

The NFL had 28 of 32 clubs -- or 87.5% -- selling enough tickets to avoid television blackouts throughout 2009.

In the NHL, a third of its teams (10 of 30) are selling out every night. It's over half (17 of 30) when you include those virtually selling out (98% capacity or more).

There are five-year plus consecutive home game sellout streaks at five of six franchises in Canada and multiple-year streaks in northern U.S. markets such as Minneapolis, Chicago, Pittsburgh, Philadelphia and Washington. Throw in near capacity sales at Boston, downtown New York (where the Rangers ended a 187-game sellout streak in February), Ottawa, Buffalo, Detroit, St. Louis and San Jose (where the Sharks have been virtually sold out all year).

Almost two-thirds of the league plays before sellouts or crowds of more than 18,000 fans. Less than half of its direct competitors in NBA arenas can say the same.

The NHL has more teams among the top-20 North American active home game sellout streaks (seven) than any league except the NFL (11). The NBA and Major League Baseball have only one team each in that top-20 club (the Dallas Mavericks and the Red Sox).

http://www.teamradio.ca/news/story/?id=2917

The NHL also has seven of the top-20 all-time sellout record holders, more than the NBA (six), NFL (five) and MLB (two).

http://www.vancouversun.com/sports/Stoking+coals+hockey+hotbed/2760498/story.html

What's more, the NHL can boast those sellout streaks despite the most stringent sellout standards in the industry. Top-selling NFL teams benefit from the league's rather liberal definition of a sellout: it does not require that all luxury suites or club seats in its respective stadiums are sold out. Selling out the non-premium tickets does the trick and lifts the NFL television blackout.

Heading into the last week of the regular season, average attendance of 17,475 is good news for the NHL (and outshines the NBA by about 500 tickets per game or 600,000 fans per season league-wide). Imagine the brand equity the league would carry, on both sides of the border, if only it could find solutions for the weak links it has in some of the NHL's southern markets.

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