Does anyone have an idea of how many season tickets the Revs sold last year? I'm reading a Boston Magazine article which notes a Globe report that the Bruins' season-ticket base has dropped to about 4,000, and I'm just wondering how close the Revs might be to that figure.
The one thing that would throw a kink into that comparison would be if the Bruins won the Cup. They would probably sell out all of their season tickets the next year. There is an apathetic attitude around the B's now...and it isn't unwarranted. Sure that is a hypothetical, but I think it is a fair argument when trying to establish the fan bases of the two teams. One team (Revs) have a core group of fans, but not much beyond that and they are trying to build it. The other team (Bruins) have a group of disgruntled fans who refuse to buy tickets for a team that can't win. Winning solves all of the Bruins problems, where as it is much more complicated for the Revs.
I know the Revolution count their season-tickets differently thank other MLS clubs, but I believe the count for the 2007 was over 4,000. Craig would know for sure.
No question, the number of people who would embrace (and support) the Bruins if they were an elite team is much, much greater than the number of people who support the Revs now (three Cup finals in a row qualifies as elite in this league, I'd say). But even with that said, it's astonishing to think that the Bruins' season-ticket base could be smaller than that of the Revs. That's an 84-year-old franchise that's produced some of the region's most beloved athletes and teams -- and engendered fierce loyalty among its fans. The Revs are 12 years old and, more often than not, have targeted the "family fun" crowd rather than treating the "product" like serious sport.
It has to be taken into account that the Bruins now are about as popular as the Revs but their tickets, I dont know of the top of my head, but would probably cost triple.
Oh I agree with you. I was just mentioning the differences in the situations. The Bruins, as well as the NHL as a whole, is on the verge of becoming irrelevant in this country. Meanwhile MLS and the Revs seem to be heading in the other direction.
I remember hearing that the Bruins have significantly less STH (3-4 K) than is required by the NHL for expansion teams or for a team to relocate. .
I wouldn't say the Revs are about as popular as the Bruins, but the season-ticket info suggests that things are going in that direction, perhaps faster than I thought they would.
Yes, but that's more of a negative statement about the B's than it is a positive statement about the Revs. For, now, I'm very pleased that it seems like our long, gradual decline in attendance seems to have bottomed out and *appears* to be starting to climb. It's early yet, but the Bruins seem to be MUCH improved - a significant sign of how important the *right* coach is in hockey. Clearly Bruins fans have had more crap dumped on them any fan base deserves and they stayed loyal long beyond what many would have considered reasonable. It's ironic, that now that they seem to be finally on the right track again, the fans have finally opted out. IF they can continue on a positive track for the remainder of the season and win at least a first-round series in the playoffs, there may be a significant return next season.
Change that to the Revs, and you've got the past 11 years. 5 years of crap where so many of the diehards were just so frustrated by everything (not just the product on the field) that they finally gave up. We got better and attendance basically plummeted.
2008 Season Ticket Pricing (20 game package): this off the Rev's site and doesn't include any renewal or early birs specials.... Premium Season Tickets - $900 per seat Category I= $480 Category II= $380 Category III= $280
It's not only winning that the Bruins are missing--their ownership has been doing as little as possible competitively in order to turn an easy profit. I wouldn't go back to the Bruins even if they won the cup, until the ownership changes I'm out.
They haven't been a serious Stanley Cup contender for 15 years. When you have years of boring mediocrity, you turn off a lot of people and it's very hard to get them back. That's why it's only been the last year or two that the Revs have started to gain back lost fans from the early crap years even though they've been good since SN got here.
Certainly. But, 1) the attendance is down even over last year's post-lockout season, and 2) if the overall situation were less bleak, I think a LOT of fans would still be on board. The Revs ownership is much, much better than the Bruins ownership. And, the attendance didn't "plummet", it was a steady, gradual decline - which, at least for now, has been reversed. In the first 5 years, at least the Revs management/ownership had the excuse that they were trying something brand new. The Bruins could make no such claim.
FWIW, I believe the Whalers had just over 12,000 season ticket holders in their last season in Hartford.