Dan Spiegel: Attendance Is Soaring, As Expected

Define "Paid"

2 Tickets, 2 Beer, 2 Hotdogs, Free Parking and a T shirt for $20 bucks isn't "paying" much....

EDIT

It's 4 tickets, 4 Hotdogs, 4 Sodas and Free Parking for $79

http://panthers.nhl.com/club/page.htm?id=101430



or the "Value Package"

2 tickets to 3 GAMES 2 T-Shirts, an Autographed puck a Photo on the ice, and 2 tickets to some sort of adventure park.....FOR $99 Bucks





Personally, I think selling tickets for $10 worth of used LOSING scratch and win lottery tickets was the real deal.... You've come a long way

http://sports.yahoo.com/b...ckets-201633720--nhl.html

In Chicago, the 4 hot dogs and 4 sodas alone will cost you $79.

You'd have to think that a big part of the spike in attendance would have to do with the amount of people who travel to Florida for the holidays. I'd be pleasantly surprised if that trend continued in for the next month.

I was there for the 12/27 game vs the Blue Jackets and the crowd was great, I hope it does continue, that's a great arena.

Only drawback I would say is that the place is a little bit in the middle of nowhere, but that is an underrated arena overall.

Lol...why would fans from other cities take note of the Panthers having a hot run of attendance? It's the league standard nearly everywhere.
And what a joke, giving the tickets away for the price of a cheap lunch. You'll pay 79 for a single seat in the nosebleeds just about everywhere else. Florida hockey has taken a baby step forward. They are still the charity case of the east and are not in the conversation of paid attendance

After 11/12, my aunt and uncle were upset that their season tickets to CLUB BOX SUITES went from $250 each to $500 each. For their combined price, I could go, individually, to about 8 Flyers games if I sat in the top row.

True, the ticket costs are insanely low, but it's not like they are the only team who does it. I went up to a Hurricanes game (When the Panthers were there, in December) and paid $18 for a lower level ticket. There are a fair number of markets that charge pennies for a ticket.

However, it should be considered that this is far better than the free tickets that used to get handed out like candy. A person who would gladly accept a free ticket and go to the game may never consider spending a dime to go to a game, even for this low cost package. So, it may be a low cost, but it is at least a culture change. Maybe it is a starting point and this will trend upwards. It will just take time.

For instance, a few years ago, when the Carolina Panthers were a 1-15 team, I got a ticket from my school campus, with a bus ride to and from the arena, for $5 for a game. Now, it will cost you about 250$ to get a ticket to a home game in the nose bleeds from Stubhub. Give Florida a few years of sustained success and then we can reevaluate how the 'paid' tickets are working out.

You'd have to think that a big part of the spike in attendance would have to do with the amount of people who travel to Florida for the holidays. I'd be pleasantly surprised if that trend continued in for the next month.
- Coleman

If you're stating that the place was full of Canadian fans and Ranger fans because of those recent home games, that used to be the case and could still be argued, but not strongly. Sundays game vs. Minnesota drew 19k with virtually not a Wild jersey in the house.

Dan Spiegel: Attendance Is Soaring, As Expected
- spiegs13

Well no poop. Winter vacation and dirt cheap tickets, a few wins, no wonder. Talk to me In February.

I'm happy for the Panthers. It's cool to see their progress over the past few years. You could see them starting to put the pieces together towards a legit club, especially over the past two-three years.

True Panther fans are reaping the rewards of true fandom, watching a team build and succeed is the greatest feeling a sports fan can genuinely have. That being said, there is a lot of hockey left this year and by no means am I saying the Panthers are "GREAT"... BUT... they have proven that they are not pretenders and this season is only the beginning of something "GREAT"!

The remaining home games this season will all already have a minimum of 13,000 people paid to be there. I mean those are numbers given to me directly by Doug Cifu, the owner of the team. Prices down here are notoriously cheaper than in other markets... is that our fault? No, it isn't.

I was there for the 12/27 game vs the Blue Jackets and the crowd was great, I hope it does continue, that's a great arena.

Only drawback I would say is that the place is a little bit in the middle of nowhere, but that is an underrated arena overall.
- jimbro83

The arena location really hurt attendance. I often wonder what it would be like if the team stayed in the Miami area or moved a bit North to Palm Beach County. Sunrise is still being developed. Another issue is traffic. You have most fans coming from cities like Boca Raton (like me) and the traffic alone makes me stay home. If I leave my office at 5:00 on the dot I'm home at 5:30- I live maybe 3 miles from my office. To get to the arena would take almost 3 hours. I can't do that.

Glad to see them having some success there. You have to love the moves they made to bring in Luongo and Jagr. Ekblad will be one of the top D in the league for the next 15 years and Barkov is a stud as well.

Dale Tallon is the man. I'm still salty about losing him in Chicago. Yes, these past few years worked out insanely well for us but that is largely in part of the groundwork that Uncle Dale laid here before he got the boot. He is an incredible GM and it's awesome to see him build another monster in South Florida.

Side note, Jagr . That guy is a monster and he should get another contract extension. Maybe two more years down there? Regardless, I've found my way onto the Panthers bandwagon these past few years. Here's to hoping the success on and off the ice continues. #JaromirForPresident #Jagr2016

Chicago had the same deals in 2006. $10 seats at game time, special Christmas pricing, etc. That was the rookie year for Kane and Toews. So please stop the hating. Florida management has done a great job trying to get the fans to come back. If it takes special pricing to get people to come back and see how much fun it is, then so be it. That special pricing is for nose bleeds, not for good seats. And as I watch every game, the fans are coming back and making noise.

I hope Florida management does something nice for the tickets holders that had tickets when the team sucked. Like freezing their prices for 3-4 years while increasing the price on new season ticket holders. It's a business, I get that, but hopefully Florida doesn't screw their loyal season ticket holders the way Chicago did.

Define "Paid"

2 Tickets, 2 Beer, 2 Hotdogs, Free Parking and a T shirt for $20 bucks isn't "paying" much....

EDIT

It's 4 tickets, 4 Hotdogs, 4 Sodas and Free Parking for $79

http://panthers.nhl.com/club/page.htm?id=101430



or the "Value Package"

2 tickets to 3 GAMES 2 T-Shirts, an Autographed puck a Photo on the ice, and 2 tickets to some sort of adventure park.....FOR $99 Bucks





Personally, I think selling tickets for $10 worth of used LOSING scratch and win lottery tickets was the real deal.... You've come a long way

http://sports.yahoo.com/b...ckets-201633720--nhl.html


- TheGame316

Holy hell.

Even the Canes best deal over the holidays was $33 per ticket per game for your choice of 3 games in the nosebleeds.

http://sports.yahoo.com/b...d--for-now-144956974.html

Enjoy it while it lasts

The Sabres have been awful, and losing on purpose and my season ticket price still went up this year to $4250 PER SEAT!

Nose Bleeds are $1700 per seat.

Enjoy it while it lasts
- Santo_44

Not as much as watching the Leafs lose every year with no end in sight.

http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nhl-puck-daddy/what-we-learned--why-florida-panthers-are-a-fraud--for-now-144956974.html
- harveykline

This article made me dumber!

Enjoy it while it lasts
- Santo_44

When do you think you'll enjoy a hockey season!

http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nhl-puck-daddy/what-we-learned--why-florida-panthers-are-a-fraud--for-now-144956974.html
- harveykline

If I ever meet you in person it's going to be a swift kick in the groin. Nothing else.