The ECHL’s recent press release about the league’s attendance for 2009-10 holds nothing but good news for the NHL and hockey as a whole. From the release:
ECHL’s Success In New Markets Good For Hockey
↵↵On the final day of the 2009-10 regular season, three ECHL teams welcomed sellout crowds to push the total number of sellouts in the league to 51. ...Overall, the ECHL saw nearly 3.3 million supporters attend 720 games during the season with an average of 4,485 fans per game, an increase of 10.7 percent from the previous season.
↵↵Cincinnati and Utah led the way in attendance increase, pushing professional hockey into un-served markets. Judging by the attendance numbers, things are going well. The ECHL has also pushed into Northern California, with the Stockton Thunder drawing 6,031 fans per game, third overall in the league. The Florida Everblades have also drawn well, as their 5,463 average is fifth in the league.
↵All of this is good for the NHL. The debate on success and failure in new markets inevitably moves towards the lack of a hockey base in new markets, and the lack of an “organic” hockey market. If those are indeed necessary for the success of hockey in the United States, College Hockey, Inc. is going to start the build and the ECHL is already farming new markets. All that’s left for the NHL to do is tap into that success.
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