This Black Friday, I was graced with the opportunity to attend a Carolina Hurricanes game at PNC Arena. The opponent was the Toronto Maple Leafs and, while the initial onslaught from the Leafs put the Canes in a hole, the game ultimately turned into a barn burner, with the men in red losing 5-4 in heartbreaking fashion.
I wanted to take this chance to delve into some of the things that make up an experience at a Hurricanes game, including some components that may explain the franchise’s declining revenue, attendance, and amount of wins.
Tickets
Student tickets for lower-level seats only cost $35, so the night as a whole was pretty cheap. The attendance showed that as most of the arena was filled out, a sight that I don’t often see at PNC.
For the Black Friday deal, regular upper-level seats were only $20 while regular lower-level seats were $40.
Regular tickets for upper-level are usually between $20-$40 with lower-level going anywhere from $50 to $300.
Student tickets are $15 for upper-level tickets while lower-level are $35. These are the student and military prices for every home game.
Even though it was a special deal that night, if tickets were priced this low more often, I think a lot more fans that aren’t college or military would show out to the games. The big one that these lowered prices attract is families.
The Food
Ah yes, how one can convince themselves to spend almost seven dollars on a hot dog.
Fortunately for myself, part of Carolina’s Black Friday deal was dollar hot dogs, so our night out was fairly affordable.
Aside from the dollar dogs, the food prices were your regular rip-offs, with most items being at $5 or more, with water at $5.50. It was not surprising, but as a fan, you always wish the prices were more reasonable. The upcharge was incredibly apparent, and the owner is in the middle of deciding to sell or keep the franchise. With no money coming in, the food prices make sense.
When attendance is down, I understand the organization needs to make up for it elsewhere, but it’s distasteful to fans. It shows where the priorities are and hurts the connection the fan has to the team even more.
The Actual Game
Per usual, the Hurricanes lost in late fashion. I have been to seven games at PNC Arena and the Hurricanes have lost all seven of them, with four coming in overtime. The organization has caught flack for its prices, but the actual hockey product will always be the defining factor, and frankly, the Hurricanes suck.
An eight-year playoff drought explains the weak fan culture and certainly prescribes a reason for such low attendance at a consistent rate. The team needs to be winning in order to put butts in seats. No amount of price changes, special events, or promotions will make up for a bad hockey team.
Events & Promotions
The Hurricanes front office has become increasingly aware that the community needs reasons outside of the game itself in order to attract a wide variety of fans to the game. These incentives include specialty food and drink, special art, events, and special merchandise.
Currently, the Hurricanes’ biggest promotion is the Homegrown Series, a seven-game series where local food, beer, music, and art is featured at a home game. I have been to one myself and they are a lot of fun. The local art is always really cool and it encourages you to try some new food, although it is all very southern inspired.
On this particular night, nothing was special besides the prices. A lot of promotions can come off as very tacky and superficial (Star Wars Night), so it is not a requirement, but they can be helpful to bring in families and more specialized demographics.
At a Glance
All in all, the Hurricanes are in a bit of a mess. Their owner, Peter Karmanos, is in the middle of a lawsuit with his sons over using their trust fund money to cover expenses for the team. Yikes.
Per a 2016 Forbes report, the Hurricanes had an operating income of -$15 million with a total revenue of $99 million. They were 30th on Forbes Business of Hockey list.
They ranked last in attendance in 2016 and were valued at $226 million as a whole (SurePayroll Inc.), which was 28th in the league in 2016.
The team is in a long playoff drought and fans are losing interest. The experience provided at the arena is only really as fun as a fan can make it, as the team loses a majority of games at home. It is up to this franchise and its owners to figure out how to capture a thriving audience located in the Raleigh area and outward.
The fruit is ripe for the picking, it is up to the management to capitalize on a truly metropolitan demographic, and more importantly, for the Hurricanes to start winning some damn games.