The Wings "Care."

by joehass on Dec 28, 2008 9:00 AM CST in News Comment 2 comments

Two items (with a hat tip to Malik again):

1. Jimmy Develano tells the National Post about how he empathizes with the common folks:

"We went from a base of 17,000 season tickets - and we would cut that figure off at 17,000 - to where we now find ourselves at 13,500 season tickets, and the decline is 100% economic related. We have a real good hockey team. We won the Stanley Cup in June. The people have not left us because they don't like the product, they don't like the team and we are not competitive.

"We checked with those that had to give up their tickets and 99% of them have dropped them because they have lost their jobs, their company is going to go bankrupt, and people are leaving Michigan to find work elsewhere."

Right...and the facts that you jacked up ticket prices for this season and have an in-arena show that's as threadbare as a 1996 Olympic T-shirt have absolutely nothing to do with it.

2. Oh, so you wanted to watch the Wings game last night? If you have Comcast and decided not to get digital cable, maybe because you're in the boat that Mr. Develano is moping about, you've been SOL: it's only on channel 901. And us WOW customers who thought we'd dodged a bullet because they're showing the Plus games on 14? Not after the first of the year we're not:

Enjoying that dumptruck full of money, Jimmy?

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Admittedly...

The people who would have renewed for season tickets would not have gotten any ticket price increases unless they moved from one price range to another in obtaining better seats. My parents moved up and now pay more for their seats because of the location, but it’s the same price that whoever had those seats last year paid.

So I don’t think you can blame increased ticket prices on why season ticket holders would leave. Now I’m not denying that it is a reason for single game ticket sales in combination with the bad economy, but I don’t think you can use the argument for season ticket holders.

At my apartment, I have digital cable so I can watch FSD+ games, but at home my room just has regular cable so I had to listen to Ken Kal call the game on 97.1’s live stream via the Internet last night.

by Christy on Dec 28, 2008 9:54 AM CST reply actions 0 recs

You’re point is correct, Christy, and I should have picked a different quote. The point I was trying to make was the fact that Develano and the front office wants the fans to think that they have some sort of empathy for them, when in fact the Wings have done nothing towards fans that don’t have money and lots of it. The front office has made it abundantly clear over at least the past five years that they are not interested in growing the fan base beyond those fans who have money, which has limited short-term gain and a boatload of long-term loss.

Develano wants fans to believe that it’s all the mean ol’ economy’s fault, and there’s nothing the team can do. I call horsepucky.

by joehass on Dec 28, 2008 11:18 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs