Islanders attendance abysmal

[yave1964]

Abysmal. That is the only way to describe the attendance at Islanders games for yet another season.

 

  Dont blame the loss of John Tavares because even for the past several years the Islanders who have been playing in one of the smallest barns in the game have been averaging the following at home:

 

2016-17 82.9 percent seats filled 28th of all teams 

2017-18 75.9 percent seats filled 31st and dead last

 

That was WITH Tavares lighting the lamp and showing the way. Yeah I know it  was a poor decision to put it mildly to move them off the island and into Brooklyn, sharing an arena with the Nets that has no business being used for Hockey, many fans have been turned off by poor access, lousy views due to too many polls and obstructions. Yeah I know a new arena is on its way and they are hoping to be in by 2021-22 but this year, it has gotten even worse:

 

2018-19 67.7 percent seats filled, dead last in attendance with an average of only 10,701 per game many of whom are coming disguised as empty seats purchased by corporations who cannot give them away, the poor attendance of a bit over ten thousand isthe second lowest of any team in the league over the past twenty years. 

  Teams like Carolina, Florida and Arizona have struggled with attendance over the years as well and the move to Brooklyn in truth was brought on by poor attendance forcing the issue but for a New York team to have such little interest is appalling and should be a worry for the sport.

  They will be splitting their games over the next several years between Brooklyn and the Island as the new arena is being built, hoping someone shows up. It reminds me of the old skit, a fan calls and asks the lady who answers the phone for the team what time the game starts, she sighs and asks, "what time can you get here?"

 

 Pity too, the Isles are far from a talentless team even without Tavares, they are playing sound hard hockey with a bit of a chip on their shoulder, the duo of Lehner/Greiss are giving the team league average goaltending which is a huge improvement, the defense has cut down on shots against, and guys like Barzal, Lee, Nelson and Bailey are worth the price of admission. After sweeping an home and home from the Pens and beating the Devils in a nice 3-0 shutout the Islanders are in the midst of a five game winning streak that has vaulted them to first in the Metro. During the streak they have outscored their opponents which included last years playoff teams, the Flyers, the Devils and the Penguins (twice) by a whopping total of 20-7.

 

  Not that anyone is noticing.

[flyerrod]

7 minutes ago, yave1964 said:

Abysmal. That is the only way to describe the attendance at Islanders games for yet another season.

 

  Dont blame the loss of John Tavares because even for the past several years the Islanders who have been playing in one of the smallest barns in the game have been averaging the following at home:

 

2016-17 82.9 percent seats filled 28th of all teams 

2017-18 75.9 percent seats filled 31st and dead last

 

That was WITH Tavares lighting the lamp and showing the way. Yeah I know it  was a poor decision to put it mildly to move them off the island and into Brooklyn, sharing an arena with the Nets that has no business being used for Hockey, many fans have been turned off by poor access, lousy views due to too many polls and obstructions. Yeah I know a new arena is on its way and they are hoping to be in by 2021-22 but this year, it has gotten even worse:

 

2018-19 67.7 percent seats filled, dead last in attendance with an average of only 10,701 per game many of whom are coming disguised as empty seats purchased by corporations who cannot give them away, the poor attendance of a bit over ten thousand isthe second lowest of any team in the league over the past twenty years. 

  Teams like Carolina, Florida and Arizona have struggled with attendance over the years as well and the move to Brooklyn in truth was brought on by poor attendance forcing the issue but for a New York team to have such little interest is appalling and should be a worry for the sport.

  They will be splitting their games over the next several years between Brooklyn and the Island as the new arena is being built, hoping someone shows up. It reminds me of the old skit, a fan calls and asks the lady who answers the phone for the team what time the game starts, she sighs and asks, "what time can you get here?"

 

 Pity too, the Isles are far from a talentless team even without Tavares, they are playing sound hard hockey with a bit of a chip on their shoulder, the duo of Lehner/Greiss are giving the team league average goaltending which is a huge improvement, the defense has cut down on shots against, and guys like Barzal, Lee, Nelson and Bailey are worth the price of admission. After sweeping an home and home from the Pens and beating the Devils in a nice 3-0 shutout the Islanders are in the midst of a five game winning streak that has vaulted them to first in the Metro. During the streak they have outscored their opponents which included last years playoff teams, the Flyers, the Devils and the Penguins (twice) by a whopping total of 20-7.

 

  Not that anyone is noticing.

After watching the Isles dismantle the Flyers, I watched the 2 games they played against Pittsburgh to see how they would fare against a good team. They play a very aggressive game and it was highly entertaining watching them outplay the Pens in back to back games. If the Isles can keep getting serviceable goaltending from their tandem, they are going to certainly be in the thick of things for the playoffs. I figured it would take longer than it has for Trotz to start making an impact. It is a damn shame they are not getting more attendance while icing a very entertaining and competitive team.

[radoran]

49 minutes ago, yave1964 said:

Yeah I know it  was a poor decision to put it mildly to move them off the island and into Brooklyn, sharing an arena with the Nets that has no business being used for Hockey, many fans have been turned off by poor access, lousy views due to too many polls and obstructions.

 

Fun fact - Brooklyn is on Long Island...

 

But, yeah, by all accounts the venue just sucks.

 

Barclays is an hour by car away from Nassau Coliseum and, despite being on top of a major transit hub that includes the LIRR and many subway lines, isn't that much more convenient for many fans.

 

The problem from where I sit, though, isn't the venue or losing Tavares - it's the nine rounds of playoffs since 1993.

 

I don't see them ever really competing for "City" fans (what with the Rangers and all) and they haven't done anything to win over "Brooklyn".

 

It'll be interesting to see if the "split" home games in Uniondale get any better attendance before they move to Belmont. Or Quebec. Or Seattle...

[yave1964]

54 minutes ago, radoran said:

 

Fun fact - Brooklyn is on Long Island...

 

But, yeah, by all accounts the venue just sucks.

 

Barclays is an hour by car away from Nassau Coliseum and, despite being on top of a major transit hub that includes the LIRR and many subway lines, isn't that much more convenient for many fans.

 

The problem from where I sit, though, isn't the venue or losing Tavares - it's the nine rounds of playoffs since 1993.

 

I don't see them ever really competing for "City" fans (what with the Rangers and all) and they haven't done anything to win over "Brooklyn".

 

Yeah I knew that and meant to correct myself ooops lol.  Figured nobody would catch it so I didn't edit it.  There is always one lol

[flyerrod]

3 hours ago, yave1964 said:

Hockey, many fans have been turned off by poor access, lousy views due to too many polls and obstructions

I was wondering what they were being asked that was distracting them so........

[yave1964]

38 minutes ago, flyerrod said:

I was wondering what they were being asked that was distracting them so........

lolololol. Fine. Poles. I am taking my keyboard and going home, lol

[TropicalFruitGirl26]

2 hours ago, yave1964 said:

lolololol. Fine. Poles. I am taking my keyboard and going home, lol

 

Gack...don't you just HATE nitpickers?

Oh, and Yave…. if you are typing from home, then you don't need to take your keyboard and go home...you are already there.....cmon, get with it... 

[TropicalFruitGirl26]

In all seriousness, I don't understand the Islanders attendance issues either.

I mean, New York IS big enough to support two hockey teams...especially since the NJ Devils are a bit further away in Newark as opposed to a stone's throw away across the Geo Washington Bridge like they were before. So the Big Apple is now more a two team market (even though the Devils are still covered by the NY media...I understand that), AND because I do have family members in NYC and I KNOW how much they like to take sides, argue, and mudsling from one team to another (Yankees vs Mets, Giants vs Jets, Knicks vs Nets), I see no reason why fans on either side of the NYR vs NYI fence WOULDN'T show up to games if only to belittle and berate the other... I mean, c'mon....that is a NYC pastime for cryin out loud!

Yet here are the Isles, with precious little people showing up to the games.
It was said the Nassau Colosseum was a dump...ok, well, the Barclay Center is supposed to be nicer.
It was said Nassau was harder to get to because it was in a more rural area....well, Brooklyn is right in the city surrounded by other things to do and various ways to get to games.
Oh, but the team was a "loser"....well, they were doing fine the last several seasons and are doing pretty well again.

So really, I just don't get it.
Now, I've never visited Barclay's, and like Yave mentioned, it was built primarily for basketball, so perhaps there are things that annoy hockey fans in the building.

But even accounting for that, I don't see why attendance has to be just over what the Florida Panthers are doing....and in some cases, worse.

 

The easy answer would be, "Well, get the Isles their own new building back where they were originally loved, and that is out of the city limits and back to The Island.
Ok, sounds good on paper...… but what if, and this is a very real possibility based on the fan apathy in recent years, they build it....and no one comes? 

 

Isles could find themselves like the Miami Marlins of the MLB.... a brand spankin new stadium.....THAT NOBODY GOES TO SEE GAMES IN!!

 

Just nuts.

 

And note to the NHL:

If sharing an arena with an NBA team is really what is detrimental here, then beware the new Seattle franchise that is supposed to be sharing the renovated Key Arena with what will be the return of the NBA to Seattle as well..... so problems like this in NYC could happen to the NHL's newest darling in 2020....

Oh, but wait.. the Pepsi Center in Colorado, Madison Square Garden in NYC, and TD Garden in Boston (just to name a few off the top of my head) ALL share with the NBA and NHL franchises....with NO attendance issues!
Hmmm....ok, Isles, then back to the drawing board.....

[Buffalo Rick]

Are the Islanders not sharing two venues this year and waiting for new arena?  Leaving Long Island has to be a big deal.  They are really starting to play well the past few games so I would expect improvement if that lasts.

[yave1964]

28 minutes ago, Hockey Junkie said:

Are the Islanders not sharing two venues this year and waiting for new arena?  Leaving Long Island has to be a big deal.  They are really starting to play well the past few games so I would expect improvement if that lasts.

Yeah they are splitting the next few seasons between two venues until 2021-22 but they dont draw anywhere. 

[TropicalFruitGirl26]

3 minutes ago, yave1964 said:

Yeah they are splitting the next few seasons between two venues until 2021-22 but they dont draw anywhere. 

 

Maybe THESE will help them draw.... 
I dunno...I'm out of ideas for these guys...

  

[TropicalFruitGirl26]

As I read through posts here today, I also have the Montreal - NY Islanders game in the background.
Game is in Brooklyn, and during the 1st intermission, they showed what looks like a lively shot of the outside of the building..... bright lights, people back n forth (LOTS of them too!), busy traffic, etc....

The trick for Isles management:
How to get those people IN the building and not just walk or drive past it! 

[yave1964]

@TropicalFruitGirl26

 

Here is one for ya, top five and bottom five with road attendance:

 

1) Oilers  mind blowing, 112 percent of stadium capacity when McDavid comes to town.

2) Blues. Really. The blues for reasons unknown are the leagues second best road draw.

3)Leafs. Makes sense.

4)Jets. Kind of a surprise here but they are a fun team to watch.

5) Ducks. Again, like the Blues not sure why they are on this list.

 

bottom five:

27) Bruins. Complete stunner, talented team annoying but fun to watch should be a good draw.

28) Stars. No natural rival, usually a bad draw.

29) Canucks. I mean, who would want to see them play unless you had too?

30)Sharks This makes no sense, I would pay to see half a dozen guys on their team.

31) Avalanche. Seriously, they are the worst draw in the game with arguably the best line.

 

 Last year on the road the Isles were 15th, this year so far 18th so middle of the pack on the road.

 

  Now this is a rather small sample size being only a month in so a lot can change.  Last year, full season Edmonton, St. Louis and Toronto were all near the top Dallas seems to always be among the worst road draws every year but a lot of the others kind of bounce around. The Isles though always finish bottom two fighting with Carolina for the worst home attendance but middle of the pack on the road. I just figured I would circle back to them because this is in the Isles forum.

 

  BTW ready for this? Last year the Capitals and Lightning were probably the two best teams in Hockey and were both near rock bottom for road attendance. No idea how to explain that one unless you could only get to one game that year and didn't want to see your home team lose, lol.

 

[TropicalFruitGirl26]

Interesting post, @yave1964

 

Jets and Ducks being at the top to me, means the teams, even with flaws, are fun to watch teams. I have found myself strangely drawn to watching Ducks games over the last two or three seasons especially. 

Jets? Well, their fan passion is quite infectious, they travel well (ask Wild fans who are annoyed at the TRUE NORTH scream during the Canadian national anthem AT Xcel Energy in St. Paul!), and again, are just a fun to watch team.

As for the worst ones, some fun teams to watch in there as well....Dallas, San Jose, and Colorado....although remember the Stars and Avs were downright horrible for a few years, while San Jose isn't that highly regarded outside of insiders, fans in Cali, those who follow the sport very closely, AND one particular fan in Halifax! 

Dallas comes to town in ST. Paul Minnesota though, and there is a special kind of hate for them waiting at that building....along with some North Stars holdovers who refuse to root for the Wild....so attendance for those games is usually good....and best watch the drunks who don't like what jersey you are wearing... lol

As for Washington and Tampa Bay, I think those teams, like San Jose, simply aren't taken as seriously outside of their own markets, across the country and into Canada.
I mean, take away Ovechkin, and would anyone really pay ANY attention to the Caps, even if they DO have other fantastic players on the team?

The Lightning.... people keep waiting for the wheels to fall off... "oh, but they are in Florida....that won't last"...despite them icing good teams and trips to Conference series....

Fun fact.... While attending home Minnesota games when the Bolts are in town and wearing my #4 Vinny Lecavalier white road jersey...the ONLY time I root against the Wild...when the Bolts are in town..

Local Wild fan: "Oh, so you are from Miami, that's why you wear that jersey?"
Local Wild fan: "Aren't they moving that team to Quebec or Kansas City?"
Local Wilf fan: " Ahh, a Tampa Bay Hurricane fan"

Tellin ya Yave, no respect....and some of those comments are MORE than a little embarrassing for so-called "State of Hockey" fans....how do you NOT know who the Lightning are, where they are from, and screw up cities and names of other teams...even if you DON'T particularly care for them??  LOL....
Shame on you Wild fans....SHAME!  

Anyways, sorry...got off the rails on the Isles board...
Bottom line.....
Isles should draw better and their NY fans should travel better. Rangers fans have no problem infiltrating Boston, Philadelphia (or do they get snuffed at the door in Philly...I dunno), certainly in Southern cities like Washington and Tampa Bay.

Islanders are a great mystery right now.
Maybe Charles Wang (may he rest in peace), Garth Snow, and Rick DiPietro have turned off fans to the point where they just don't care....and it may take a couple generations of NEW fans to bring them around again.
Not re-signing Tavares, though not near the main issue, certainly didn't help either.

May take more than a new arena to get fans to care again.
Question is.....will ownership be that patient, or decide to take the team to greener pastures?

[J0e Th0rnton]

On 11/5/2018 at 8:11 PM, TropicalFruitGirl26 said:

In all seriousness, I don't understand the Islanders attendance issues either.

I mean, New York IS big enough to support two hockey teams...especially since the NJ Devils are a bit further away in Newark as opposed to a stone's throw away across the Geo Washington Bridge like they were before. So the Big Apple is now more a two team market (even though the Devils are still covered by the NY media...I understand that), AND because I do have family members in NYC and I KNOW how much they like to take sides, argue, and mudsling from one team to another (Yankees vs Mets, Giants vs Jets, Knicks vs Nets), I see no reason why fans on either side of the NYR vs NYI fence WOULDN'T show up to games if only to belittle and berate the other... I mean, c'mon....that is a NYC pastime for cryin out loud!

Yet here are the Isles, with precious little people showing up to the games.
It was said the Nassau Colosseum was a dump...ok, well, the Barclay Center is supposed to be nicer.
It was said Nassau was harder to get to because it was in a more rural area....well, Brooklyn is right in the city surrounded by other things to do and various ways to get to games.
Oh, but the team was a "loser"....well, they were doing fine the last several seasons and are doing pretty well again.

So really, I just don't get it.
Now, I've never visited Barclay's, and like Yave mentioned, it was built primarily for basketball, so perhaps there are things that annoy hockey fans in the building.

But even accounting for that, I don't see why attendance has to be just over what the Florida Panthers are doing....and in some cases, worse.

 

The easy answer would be, "Well, get the Isles their own new building back where they were originally loved, and that is out of the city limits and back to The Island.
Ok, sounds good on paper...… but what if, and this is a very real possibility based on the fan apathy in recent years, they build it....and no one comes? 

 

Isles could find themselves like the Miami Marlins of the MLB.... a brand spankin new stadium.....THAT NOBODY GOES TO SEE GAMES IN!!

 

Just nuts.

 

And note to the NHL:

If sharing an arena with an NBA team is really what is detrimental here, then beware the new Seattle franchise that is supposed to be sharing the renovated Key Arena with what will be the return of the NBA to Seattle as well..... so problems like this in NYC could happen to the NHL's newest darling in 2020....

Oh, but wait.. the Pepsi Center in Colorado, Madison Square Garden in NYC, and TD Garden in Boston (just to name a few off the top of my head) ALL share with the NBA and NHL franchises....with NO attendance issues!
Hmmm....ok, Isles, then back to the drawing board.....

The staff hate it too

 

Trust me when a Halifax hurricanes practice is scheduled to go at 8AM the next morning and the Mooseheads playoff game goes into double overtime, all the staff sit there praying for someone to score a goal and by that point we don't care who wins.

 

You can do the flip in 2-3 hours if you have 45 people. but typically you have 1 Supervisor, 2-3 staff and then 5-6 of grunt temp workers who do as little work as possible. Temps don't show up 50% of the time, so we usually order double the amount of temps we need and 2/3rd's of them we end up sending a message to the company to not send them back.

[JR Ewing]

On 11/5/2018 at 5:06 PM, yave1964 said:

@TropicalFruitGirl26

 

Here is one for ya, top five and bottom five with road attendance:

 

1) Oilers  mind blowing, 112 percent of stadium capacity when McDavid comes to town.

2) Blues. Really. The blues for reasons unknown are the leagues second best road draw.

3)Leafs. Makes sense.

4)Jets. Kind of a surprise here but they are a fun team to watch.

5) Ducks. Again, like the Blues not sure why they are on this list.

 

 

 

Maybe they're excited to see The Drake?