LTL-Nation,
I hope the summer months have found you in a restful, energized place. I know the time off has allowed me to be less sour on the prospects of this team, and its activity (or lack thereof). OK, maybe I needed to take more time away, but I digress.
I heard this news item on XM's NHL Home Ice - Around the Rinks in 90 Seconds - a recap of the news in the NHL, and I decided to research this, further.
Here is the article, from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette:
http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/10244/1084197-100.stm
In short, the Penguins are going to give away 8,000 tickets to youths from the ages between 4-24 for their game against the Blue Jackets, on September 24th, at the Consol Energy Center, their brand new arena. Bravo, Penguin ownership and management! You guys "Get It".
This prompted me to share this with our own LTL, who has been on the forefront of urging the CBJ organization to search for more creative methods of drawing fans, to include new fans, for their pre-season games - and specifically, to reward those faithful season-ticket, PSL and partial-season ticket (Full Season Equivalents - FSEs - to use the organization's terminology) for their years of loyalty, most of which has been quite unrewarded.
Here's my insight (AKA two-cents worth):
Free duckets? Are you kidding me? Wow, what a novel concept! This really is rocket science. This is better than splitting the atom.
(Note: This is all sarcasm, pure sarcasm)
As LTL so eloquently stated (via text - apologies to LTL, doing this verbatum): The Pens are using some creativity, something the penny-pinching types in our organization fail to grasp.
Here are some suggestions, that, if I were afforded the luxury of my opinion - knowing full well that it would be met with the same "responsiveness" that 'game ops gate' and any suggestions to its off-ice folks (i.e. having a penalty and game clock on the TVs in the concession areas, less lame music, especially our rink entrance songs - see 8 God forsaken years of "Machine Head". Hey, 1997 called, and that song is PLAY-ED. In short, no response, or a BS response):
- Give out free duckets for pre-season games, to students and particularly to HS and Jr.-level hockey players. If anything, build a relationship that may result in a lifelong fan. As you know, once you attend your first hockey game, in person, you're hooked for life. Goodwill here, people, goodwill.
- In addition to that, offer all pre-season game tickets for $5 dollars, to those non-season tickets holders Think of this as similar to those $5 seats for the OSU spring football games. This allows fans who normally can't afford to attend games an opportunity to be a part of the Horseshoe experience. And, you never know, if the experience is positive, you may have found a new, lifelong fan, that you wouldn't have obtained, otherwise.
- Above all, rather than "award" the season-ticket holders with 4-6 pre-season games that are irrelevant - pre-season NHL games are similar to MLB pre-season games in that they utilize a split-squad concept - basically, an "A" squad and a "B" squad, with the primary intent to determine who might make the NHL roster from training camp - charge those faithful fans NOTHING - NADA - for these games. Thus, take that overall charge to the FSEs - their slick way of computing a "discount"/game for these plans, and actually applying the discount towards the regular season games. In can be done, it can be done.
This all comes down to a concept my very wise - all the stuff that got lost on myself (sigh) - father once told me:
"Some beats the living (you-know-what) out of nothing"
To translate (just in case): Wouldn't it be great to see, rather than the tens and hundreds of friends and family attend the pre-season games, to see thousands - actually, tens of thousands - attend the pre-season games? And - get this - actually drum up interest and create a new fanbase?
THIS is "outside the box" thinking, THIS is creativity, THIS is the way to drum up a groundswell that this team so desparately needs.
C'mon, CBJ management, take this and make it happen!
Carry The Flag! Happy 10th Anniversary!
-Mase1
