With the Vancouver Canucks skidding towards one of their worst season finishes in years, team management has launched a concerted push to keep seats full during their final home stand.
The Canucks currently have just 59 points and are contenders for last place in the NHL. The team is on a seven-game losing streak and has been shut out in three of its last five games.
As the team flounders near the bottom, the Canucks have launched a fan-focused blitz for their final five home games, including bobblehead nights, a South Asian celebration night, player autographs and a fan appreciation night with a $400,000 50-50 jackpot.
In a media release, the team promised “an exciting schedule of fan-focused events” for an “action-packed finish” to the season.
UBC Sauder School of Business Prof. James Brander said that shows the team is struggling.
“It says they’re having a tough time, and they know it. The product on the ice is not good, and the product off the ice — and the feeling in the fan base — is not good either,” Brander told Global News.
“And of course losing Brock Boeser for the season, I think he was obviously their biggest draw, that’s a big negative as well. So they’re just trying to create something positive to end the season.”
The team announced the popular rookie would be sidelined for the remainder of the season with a back injury on March 6.
According to ESPN’s NHL attendance report, average attendance at Canucks games this season has topped out at just over 18,000 — the lowest it’s been in a decade.
Brander said that’s not enough to seriously affect the team’s financial viability — but events like the fan blitz show they’re paying attention.
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“When they were doing well, selling out, generating a lot of revenue outside of the arena as well, they were making money. This year, even though their revenues are down but not down that much, it really cuts into the profit margin,” he said.
Brander added that the Cancuks are now facing stiffer competition for sports fans’ dollars, with the MLS growing in prominence and successful events like the Rugby Sevens coming to town.
He added that when the Canucks were winning and the arena was full, the organization didn’t go out of its way to cater to fans — particularly those that couldn’t afford tickets.
He said next week’s fan blitz could signal a change in the organization’s marketing strategy — one designed to rebuild loyalty and good will with the fan base.
The Canucks kick off their final home stand against the Anaheim Ducks next Tuesday.