2009-10 NHL Fan Cost Index
Team Marketing Report
Jon Greenberg
10/06/2009 3:38 PM

Hockey fans won’t be shelling out more money for National Hockey League games this season. Which is good, considering DirecTV customers in the United States can’t get the league’s national cable station, Versus.

Prices remained relatively flat in the annual NHL Fan Cost Index, with the average general ticket just 0.3 percent higher this season at $51.41.

After retroactively adjusting Canadian prices to current exchange rates, and making a few other retroactive changes, TMR determined that the average NHL ticket is just 14 cents more than last season. The average FCI _ the cost of a family of four to attend a game _ rose 1.7 percent to $301. (SEE THE FULL FCI AT THE BOTTOM OF THIS ENTRY. THE FCI WAS EDITED SLIGHTLY TO CORRECT SOME 2008 NUMBERS FOR THE DALLAS STARS, WHICH CHANGED THE OVERALL PERCENTAGE CHANGE THIS SEASON.)

The exclusive, trademarked FCI gives a representative look at the cost of taking a family of four to a hockey game. It comprises the price of four tickets, two small draft beers, four small soft drinks, four regular-sized hot dogs, parking for one car, two game programs and two adult-sized caps. General seats are used, and premium tickets (club seats or tickets with extra amenities as determined by the individual teams) are listed in a separate category.

Thirteen teams kept prices the same as last year — 14 if you count the Chicago Blackhawks, who only adjusted seat scaling, but kept prices constant. Twelve teams (including Chicago’s 2.2 percent increase) had percentage increases and five dropped averages.

The average premium ticket is $118.63. The average percentage of season-ticket-eligible seating classified as premium is 19.9 percent, according to TMR research. Two teams, Detroit (71.4 percent) and Colorado (52.4), have more than half of their season seating classified as premium. Detroit’s premium average is $60.89, while Colorado’s is $119.33.

The poor economy has forced professional sports team to re-think major price increases, and the NHL is no different. This year saw a dramatic turn from recent NHL FCI surveys. In the three seasons since the league’s return from a locked-out season, average tickets rose 3.7 percent (2006-07), 7.7 percent (2007-08) and 5.1 percent (2008-09). In the 2005-06 season, the league dropped prices by 7.5 percent, with 22 teams decreasing prices.

This information, and more, can be found in the TMR archives on teammarketing.com. The TMR archives are a subscription service and can be accessed for only $9.95 per month.

The highest average ticket price belongs to the Toronto Maple Leafs at $117.49, a 10.2 percent increase from last year. In the 2008-09 FCI, and in previous FCIs, the Leafs’ average was calculated incorrectly, resulting in smaller averages.

The Maple Leafs’ FCI is also the highest in the NHL at $585.87. The Montreal Canadiens, who do not participate in the survey, appear to have the second-highest averages at $72.18 and $412.12. All prices are in American dollars.

Last year’s Stanley Cup champion, the Pittsburgh Penguins, raised ticket prices 8 percent, on average, to $55.55. The average family of four will spend $292.71 to see Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin defend their title at Mellon Arena, still under the league average.

Five of the Original Six teams have FCIs above the league average, with only Detroit ($279.40) below the $301 mark.

The New York Rangers have the highest American average at $364.49. The Phoenix Coyotes, who saw their 2008 FCI figures used in its recent bankruptcy case, according to news reports, did not change prices as they try to find new ownership that is acceptable to the NHL, and are next-to-last in the FCI rankings at $221.80.

The Tampa Bay Lightning, which reported a 16.5 percent ticket cut ($35.76, down from $42.84), has the lowest FCI at $221.04.

2009-10 NHL FCI