Why an NHL Ticket Price Freeze Is a Bad Idea

It isn’t exactly news to anybody that the global economy is enduring the start of what looks to be a very rough patch. From Michigan auto workers who are wondering whether or not they’re going to have jobs in six months to some of America’s wealthiest families who have seen their life’s savings destroyed in what has to be considered the world’s greatest Ponzi scheme, there’s nothing but uncertainty on the horizon.↵↵Count NHL owners among those who are worried. Last week they heard first hand from a pair of economists who addressed the Board of Governors, and the news wasn’t exactly cheery for a league that relies so heavily on revenues from the nightly gate.↵

↵↵So what should the league do? If you’re New York Post hockey writer Larry Brooks, the answer is simple: institute a league-wide price freeze on tickets: ↵

↵

↵↵⇥[T]he NHL not only would reap incalculable positive publicity as the first pro sports league to ever initiate such a program, it would create enormous and real good will among its consumers who are the lifeblood of the sport.↵⇥↵⇥Beyond that, announcing a price freeze will be good for a business that relies disproportionately on ticket revenue. A price freeze will stimulate ticket sales. Ticket sales stimulate additional ancillary game-day revenue. It always is better to maximize actual attendance than average ticket price.↵⇥

↵⇥↵⇥The salary cap was supposed to make the game more affordable for NHL fans. It hasn’t. Prices have increased. Playoff prices have escalated with one team after another gouging customers because, well, that’s what teams do when they make the postseason.↵⇥

↵⇥↵⇥That has to stop. Price gouging is a thing of the past. People won’t stand for it. People can’t afford it. Teams that attempt to dramatically increase their prices for this year’s tournament -- and round by round, no less -- will be viewed as pigs at the trough.↵⇥

↵↵↵There’s one area where I’m 100% in agreement with Brooks: like him, I’m worried for what the future might hold for the NHL. There are a number of teams -- Florida and Phoenix in particular -- that appear to be hanging on by a thread, and it isn’t hard to see that an extended economic downturn could very well drive away what few fans those teams have left.↵

↵↵But freezing prices across the board for the rest of the season isn’t the solution. For starters, we need to recognize that the NHL has 30 teams in 30 different markets. Imposing a one-size fits all solution across the entire league is a bad idea. And while it might seem that certain markets have resorted to gimmicks and other extreme discounts to get fans through the door, teams need that sort of creative freedom to experiment with what works and what doesn’t.↵

↵↵As for price gouging for playoff tickets, there’s a good reason why playoff tickets are more expensive. Last I looked, it’s because a playoff game between the Rangers and Devils in April at Madison Square Garden is a more meaningful and exciting affair than watching the Rangers host the Panthers on an idle Sunday afternoon in February. If you take away the ability to increase ticket prices for these games, it could very well mean the difference for some teams between posting a profit or a loss.↵

↵↵Take the Florida Panthers as one example, a team that has given all sorts of indications that it is in financial distress. After missing the playoffs the last seven seasons, the Panthers are only two points out of a playoff spot going into tonight’s action. If the Panthers somehow find a way to qualify for the tournament this year, it would represent a great opportunity to get fans back into the building and actually make some money after posting years of losses. Can anyone give one good reason why the Panthers -- a team that actually laid off front office personnel earlier this season -- should be forced to forgo that extra revenue?↵

↵↵I’m sure that on some level, the words “price freeze” sound appealing. Unfortunately, in practice, it would be nothing but a bad idea.↵

↵