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Post by ashfieldpanther on Apr 10, 2023 9:40:43 GMT
British ice hockey has always been 'something you do' rather than 'something you were born to do' and it will never have the continuous fan base that soccer has over here, or Hockey has in Canada. So the crowd is constantly being updated. The trick is making the experience a.affordable, b.exciting and c. comfortable. Different people will have different priorities. The family man with kids will look for a+c, the sports fan a+b, the blokes on a night out b+c. It can't be easy pitching the pricing right.
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Post by Bagheera on Apr 10, 2023 9:46:40 GMT
They really screwed up last year with the pricing and some of that effect has rolled on. Perhaps some realising they can do without it being a must in their lives. The financial state of the country is probably the biggest issue right now though. Lot's of people struggling to pay bills so they aint gonna waste 100s of pounds each on tickets, hotels and everything else that comes with a weekend away when their team doesn't make it. And some cant even afford it with their team there. I had been going to the weekend these past 5 years in one of the boxes, mainly as it was the only sort of major treat of it's kind I did every year. Last year the price was bumped up 30%, and we grudgingly paid it since we had done nothing for 2 years due to covid, this year they had bumped it up again another 30% with nothing new or extra offered. We told them where to go with that, and they replied almost right away with a "special offer" of the same price as last year. Again told them where to go, and instead we've booked a large house beachside in the south of Scotland to watch the finals on TV, with a shopping delivery booked that has our food and drink, total cost all in is £85 per head, in contrast to £360 per head just for the early bird box ticket (it was £218 in 2019), not including the travel and hotel in Nottingham. Just an absolute no brainer option, and if this works out, it'll probably be the norm for my group going forward instead. Pricing us out meant we thought up of something else to do instead, and we're clearly not alone as even regular ticket prices are a huge ask for families these days, again not helped by rising travel, accommodation and eating out costs too. I was rough pricing it this morning with a friend. I did a couple of Manchester play offs as a teenager but other than that i've only known it in Nottingham. I'd love it to go somewhere else in order to get a weekend away but priced as it is now it's become very expensive. My rough, conservstive pricing for a couple, and I could be way out. £220 weekend tickets. £150 for 2 nights in hotel. £100 on travel(big swing dependant on distance) £150 on food and soft drinks for 2 and a bit days. Thats £620 before you even buy any merch, programmes or Alcohol. If you are a drinker you are looking at £1k easy.
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Post by Bagheera on Apr 10, 2023 9:53:41 GMT
British ice hockey has always been 'something you do' rather than 'something you were born to do' and it will never have the continuous fan base that soccer has over here, or Hockey has in Canada. So the crowd is constantly being updated. The trick is making the experience a.affordable, b.exciting and c. comfortable. Different people will have different priorities. The family man with kids will look for a+c, the sports fan a+b, the blokes on a night out b+c. It can't be easy pitching the pricing right. And thats some part of why im still here. I'm relatively unique(I know there are some others) in that I've known hockey since being tiny. My step dad has been going since the restart in the 80s. Hockey has always been part of my life. I have that football type of experience that many have. Im nearly 40 now and my daughter is 3rd generation fan. There was a big core of people Ive kmown through hockey who had gone for many years, and I know there kids to. Saddly Panthers have done all they can to drive them away and the league do it to. They are playing a dangerous game. These last few seasons are proving that they need the hardcore there to keep attendance peaking, regardless of the BS they publish. The fan base has changed so much. You can see it in the hockey knowledge you see all over social media. None more so than those complaining about pulling the netminder. "Why do it, it hardly ever works" 🤣
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Discoray
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Post by Discoray on Apr 10, 2023 10:04:11 GMT
Thats £620 before you even buy and merch, programmes or Alcohol. If you are a drinker you are looking at £1k easy. Exactly, and for that kind of money, you could get 7-10 days all-inclusive in a place with a bit of sunshine on offer. It's a huge ask for even hardcore fans these days. British ice hockey has always been 'something you do' rather than 'something you were born to do' and it will never have the continuous fan base that soccer has over here, or Hockey has in Canada. So the crowd is constantly being updated. The trick is making the experience a.affordable, b.exciting and c. comfortable. Different people will have different priorities. The family man with kids will look for a+c, the sports fan a+b, the blokes on a night out b+c. It can't be easy pitching the pricing right. Get this to some degree, but I would always counter it with the fact the EIHL don't seem to do anything out the box other than simply raise ticket prices for fans to pay up when times become lean. The league should be making use of the 10 club's commercial resources to go on a drive for more sponsors to come in at the weekend to boost revenue that way, and god forbid even put a bit of entertainment, games or whatnot on, even if it's all product branded stuff. There's nothing like the Finals Weekend anywhere else in the pro hockey world, it's virtually a one of a kind thing and we don't nearly do enough with it, I don't particularity like the format or anything, but I'm sure plenty of fans out the UK would tune in to watch if they heard about it just purely for the novelty factor, it's another revenue stream that hasn't ever been looked at. Turn it's uniqueness into a marketing/revenue advantage, and use part of that stream raised to keep ticket prices frozen or down a bit.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 10, 2023 10:09:31 GMT
I was about to say this, the knowledge of the modern day fanbase is utterly embarrassing these days.
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Post by awooga on Apr 10, 2023 10:29:28 GMT
“Fan base knowledge” reeks of snobbery and is probably a barrier to the game’s popularity.
I don’t confess to have any sort of knowledge other than the very basics, but it does sometimes feel a bit anoraky when this sort of thing is mentioned.
Im sure the purists would hold their hands up in horror, but the game needs more exposure. Snooker and darts are glammed up and are on the telly. Even bowls gets on the box for the coffin dodgers.
Why there isn’t a decent telly deal in place to bring money into the game is beyond me. That cash could filter down to ticket prices, or increase salary caps to allow better imports to be found.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 10, 2023 10:37:02 GMT
“Fan base knowledge” reeks of snobbery and is probably a barrier to the game’s popularity. I don’t confess to have any sort of knowledge other than the very basics, but it does sometimes feel a bit anoraky when this sort of thing is mentioned. Im sure the purists would hold their hands up in horror, but the game needs more exposure. Snooker and darts are glammed up and are on the telly. Even bowls gets on the box for the coffin dodgers. Why there isn’t a decent telly deal in place to bring money into the game is beyond me. That cash could filter down to ticket prices, or increase salary caps to allow better imports to be found. Why isn't there a decent TV deal ? Because the whole set up is a closed shop I've said this a hundred times .. there's 9 owners in it for themselves and their own greed.. there's a reason why snooker, darts and bowls have been on for years and years ...
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Post by awooga on Apr 10, 2023 11:04:11 GMT
If it were greed, they’d take the TV money and maintain ticket prices and outgoings - revenue straight to bottom line?
Feels more like incompetence than greed to me.
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Post by spik on Apr 10, 2023 21:04:28 GMT
“Fan base knowledge” reeks of snobbery and is probably a barrier to the game’s popularity. I don’t confess to have any sort of knowledge other than the very basics, but it does sometimes feel a bit anoraky when this sort of thing is mentioned. Im sure the purists would hold their hands up in horror, but the game needs more exposure. Snooker and darts are glammed up and are on the telly. Even bowls gets on the box for the coffin dodgers. Why there isn’t a decent telly deal in place to bring money into the game is beyond me. That cash could filter down to ticket prices, or increase salary caps to allow better imports to be found. Outside broadcasts like horse racing are cheap and thus have been going for ages and sports that every common man plays like Snooker and darts also will get an audience and is also easy to access for the odd camera needed I suppose.
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Post by Spooks on Apr 11, 2023 9:39:55 GMT
Well if they actually invested in cameras that could focus and has the quality set to 4k instead of 1980`s VHS quality you might get more people interested in watching it. The so called TV coverage is laughable at best.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 11, 2023 11:51:02 GMT
Well if they actually invested in cameras that could focus and has the quality set to 4k instead of 1980`s VHS quality you might get more people interested in watching it. The so called TV coverage is laughable at best. It's not that good.. it's just not attractive on TV for the occasional viewer... Bring back the old sky sports commentary team as well.
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Post by Spooks on Apr 11, 2023 12:58:12 GMT
In terms of game to game i would agree, but the big selling point for this occasional viewer are the highlight reels these have significant power of attraction and could get people to a game or more interest.
Currently it looks like they farmed it out to first year History graduates who are only doing it as they have no idea what they want from life and will end up being a maths teacher (hence our poor numeracy) as all the history posts are filled by english teachers as that was the next easiest thing to do.
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loupowell52
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Post by loupowell52 on Apr 14, 2023 15:47:39 GMT
Well, "The Grapes" predicted three out of four correct winners in the quarter finals. So, here goes for the actual Finals Weekend. Belfast v. Nottingham. Giants can roll the lines for the entire game and have better top end talent. Their track record in "The Final Four" is not great but see a "Grapes Count" of 3 to 1 in favour of Belfast. Cardiff v. Sheffield. Flip of a coin. Steelers have pace on the counter and always bring a true playoff mentality. To counter that Cardiff have some potential match winners. This really could go either way but the "Grapes Count" reads 3 to 2 in favour of the Devils with, I hope, their netminding being the deciding factor. Those predictions, if correct, would set up a Belfast versus Cardiff Final. If so, based on seasons overall form and club desire for success, the "Grapes Count" goes Giants as winners by 3 to 2. Very rarely any high scoring 'blow outs' at the Finals and I think all three games will be edgy, closely contested. To all in attendance - ENJOY.
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Post by spik on Apr 14, 2023 17:00:19 GMT
Well I posted a belief that the four included us. Can I count that? If so, hey - we're going to win it now.
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Yotes
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Post by Yotes on Apr 15, 2023 18:18:03 GMT
Dowd gives Steelers the lead with a deflection.
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Post by Yotes on Apr 15, 2023 18:25:34 GMT
2-0, the world's worst powerplay scores through Allen.
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Yotes
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Post by Yotes on Apr 15, 2023 18:26:46 GMT
Cox gets one back, 2-1
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Post by Yotes on Apr 15, 2023 18:38:26 GMT
Steelers lead after the first
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Post by Yotes on Apr 15, 2023 19:11:27 GMT
Must be approaching the world record for icing calls in a period, and still 13 minutes of it left, unfortunately. Feels like it's been going on for hours.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 15, 2023 19:17:33 GMT
Thought that first period raced by .. decent game so far
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Post by John Casey on Apr 15, 2023 19:35:03 GMT
Think the officials are having a bit of a mare, there must have been the longest hold and the dodgiest Goalie Interference
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Yotes
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Post by Yotes on Apr 15, 2023 20:10:29 GMT
Ben Davies ties it up
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Yotes
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Post by Yotes on Apr 15, 2023 20:19:39 GMT
Overtime
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Post by Yotes on Apr 15, 2023 20:24:17 GMT
Look at these Yorkie idiots 😂 Sit down.
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Post by Yotes on Apr 15, 2023 20:27:30 GMT
Devils win, Coughler
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