2011-12 AHL Ticket Prices
by Derek Zona on Nov 1, 2011 6:30 AM MDT
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When Scott looked in on the attendance problems in Oklahoma City, the comments focused mostly on ticket prices at the Cox Center. A sampling of those comments show that the locals think the Barons lack affordable tickets, especially considering how new the Oklahoma City market is.
I live in OKC and ticket prices are simply too high. This is development level hockey and even I, a rabid hockey fan, cannot afford to get my family to games...
Ticket prices are huge. Anything in the upper deck should be $10 period. The rest could be dropped a bit but I think Ozman is right – who’s gonna spend $150 for a family of 4 to sit up close?
I’m an OKC resident, avid hockey fan/coach/player and make a decent living. Can’t afford decent seats at a minor league hockey game. Not for a family of four...
I decided to compare the Barons individual game ticket prices to the rest of the AHL. I surveyed team sites, and when necessary Ticketmaster, to come up with the pricing table below. I've broken the table down by conference, as I assumed the more populous northeast, with more established hockey markets, would have more expensive tickets overall. The table is sorted by the lowest-price ticket available.
| Team | Location | Lowest | Highest | NHL Affiliate |
| St. John's IceCaps* | St. John's, NL | 26 | 38 | Winnipeg Jets |
| Providence Bruins | Providence, RI | 24 | 36 | Boston Bruins |
| Springfield Falcons | Springfield, MA | 23 | 37 | Columbus Blue Jackets |
| Syracuse Crunch | Syracuse, NY | 21 | 25 | Anaheim Ducks |
| Binghamton Senators | Binghamton, NY | 20 | 23 | Ottawa Senators |
| WBS Penguins | Wilkes-Barre, PA | 18 | 40 | Pittsburgh Penguins |
| Manchester Monarchs | Manchester, NH | 18 | 32 | Los Angeles Kings |
| Hershey Bears | Hershey, PA | 18 | 26 | Washington Capitals |
| Worcester Sharks | Worcester, MA | 17 | 33 | San Jose Sharks |
| Albany Devils | Albany, NY | 16 | 25 | New Jersey Devils |
| Bridgeport Sound Tigers | Bridgeport, CT | 15 | 47 | New York Islanders |
| Portland Pirates | Portland, ME | 14 | 18 | Phoenix Coyotes |
| Adirondack Phantoms | Glens Falls, NY | 12 | 26 | Philadelphia Flyers |
| Connecticut Whale | Hartford, CT | 12 | 25 | New York Rangers |
| Norfolk Admirals | Norfolk, VA | 12 | 17 | Tampa Bay Lightning |
Overall, my assumption was correct. The teams in the northeast do have more expensive ticket prices.
| Team | Location | Lowest | Highest | NHL Affiliate |
| Hamilton Bulldogs* | Hamilton, ON | 26 | 33 | Montreal Canadiens |
| Abbotsford Heat* | Abbotsford, BC | 20 | 45 | Calgary Flames |
| Peoria Rivermen | Peoria, IL | 19 | 26 | St. Louis Blues |
| Charlotte Checkers | Charlotte, NC | 18 | 38 | Carolina Hurricanes |
| San Antonio Rampage | San Antonio, TX | 17 | 31 | Florida Panthers |
| Chicago Wolves | Rosemont, IL | 16 | 50 | Vancouver Canucks |
| Houston Aeros | Houston, TX | 16 | 84 | Minnesota Wild |
| Grand Rapids Griffins | Grand Rapids, MI | 14 | 32 | Detroit Red Wings |
| Toronto Marlies* | Toronto, ON | 14 | 43 | Toronto Maple Leafs |
| Oklahoma City Barons | Oklahoma City, OK | 14 | 36 | Edmonton Oilers |
| Rochester Americans | Rochester, NY | 12 | 24 | Buffalo Sabres |
| Milwaukee Admirals | Milwaukee, WI | 12 | 26 | Nashville Predators |
| Lake Erie Monsters | Cleveland, OH | 10 | 63 | Colorado Avalanche |
| Texas Stars | Cedar Park, TX | 10 | 50 | Dallas Stars |
| Rockford IceHogs | Rockford, IL | 8 | 27 | Chicago Blackhawks |
*Indicates prices listed in CAD
This chart was created using Ticketmaster's arcane interface, so there may be mistakes. Please let me know if any of these single-game ticket prices are incorrect in the comments. I'll update them as quickly as possible.
Thanks to the alert WBS Pens fan for the e-mail stating that the lowest walk-up price is $18, not $30.
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84 dollars for premium seating in Houston?! I know that Texas is known as the land of oil and wealth in the US but that’s a little over the top pricing for AHL hockey. Heck, I wouldn’t pay that much for NHL hockey!
PPP actually called them up and asked them about that last year. The first row on the glass is vastly more expensive than even the second row (i think the second row is like 50$)
The Houston salesperson said that ice-level seating is extremely popular and people are willing to pay big money for it.
Mike Weber Pressbox Incarceration Status: 4 Weeks and counting.
"The power of Matt Ellis compels you to score."
And they pack the about 8,000 people in a night (rough average). And the glass seating is packed.
Tending The Farm in OKC!
by Neal Livingston on Nov 1, 2011 8:51 AM MDT up reply actions
Overall, my assumption was correct. The teams in the northeast do have more expensive ticket prices.
The only thing that I would argue against this comment is that the cost of living should also be higher in the Northeast. I am willing to bet that rent is also higher up there. However, at the end of the day, I don’t see a few dollars difference as breaking the bank. I still believe that the year off and the poor entertainment value and marketing has doomed this team. It’s ashame, because they are doing well on the ice.
The other thing that I was going to add is that I am not so sure if I will ever buy into the AHL. I understand the level of play is faster and better, and we get to see players that are potential NHLers, but it frustrates me at the turnover in the AHL. Imagine if your Edmonton Oilers team completely turned over every 2-3 years. Wouldn’t that be frustrating? So much for getting a name on the back of your jersey, that guy is no longer with the team. Look at the San Antonio Rampage. The entire team moved elsewhere when the AHL affiliate got switched. I just like some stability and learning players names and remembering things they did or how they play. JMO
by Jack Thompson on Nov 1, 2011 8:27 AM MDT up reply actions
Edmonton used to have a AAA baseball team, and this is basically how I felt. I followed the team a little bit in the 90s, but whenever they changed affiliations, it took a while to get interested again until one day it just didn’t happen.
The biggest fanana of the Havana Bananas.
by Scott Reynolds on Nov 1, 2011 8:41 AM MDT up reply actions
I think to some extent this is something the Oil Kings struggle with as well. At most you get three or maybe four years of watching a kid and then he’s gone, and in this case could be competing against the Oilers. I simply love watching live hockey so the turnover isn’t a big deal for me but I can see why it would bother some.
Everyone knows rock attained perfection in 1974. It's a scientific fact.
Writer for The Copper & Blue and a frequenter of the time waster that is Twitter.
Jack, your point it valid. The revolving door of players is a tough sell in hockey scarce communities (like Oklahoma City). This is where marketing teams fail in that, I believe, they have to sell the game, the atmosphere, the “future NHL” players angles more than anything else.
If I had to choose between the consistency of players ala Central League vs. the ever-changing American League lineup, I’d take the latter any day.
Tending The Farm in OKC!
by Neal Livingston on Nov 1, 2011 8:55 AM MDT up reply actions
Imagine if your Edmonton Oilers team completely turned over every 2-3 years. Wouldn’t that be frustrating?
Normally, yes. But have you see the Oilers over the past two or three seasons?
Lead Writer for Oil On Whyte - An Edmonton Oilers Blog
by chappy35 on Nov 1, 2011 10:57 AM MDT up reply actions 1 recs
Does replacing crappy players with other crappy players not count as turnover?
Everyone knows rock attained perfection in 1974. It's a scientific fact.
Writer for The Copper & Blue and a frequenter of the time waster that is Twitter.
Except for a small core of players, the NFL turns guys over just as fast.
Editor of The Copper & Blue, and leader of The Cult Of Hartikainen.
I’m an OKC resident, avid hockey fan/coach/player and make a decent living. Can’t afford decent seats at a minor league hockey game. Not for a family of four…
That was me, BTW. The $14 cheap seats you listed could be the basis for a decent discussion. Those $14 seats are in the upper concourse and in the corners. Not bad seats (especially at the Myriad), but not great either. The next seat price up is $21. That’s right in the lower bowl and corner area I tend to prefer, so for the sake of discussion let’s use that. It’s pretty much the median ticket for a Barons game, IMO.
So for a family of four (hell, one of mine is an infant and probably wouldn’t cost a ticket for till next season) three that’s $63 bucks for a night of Barons hockey. But wait! I’m not a season ticket holder, so I have to park on the street or in the Santa Fe Garage. Add $6. Then you need to eat dinner for that night out. I’ll give you McDonald’s or Sonic in Bricktown. We can usually get out of there under $20. Now, we’re up to almost $90 with no food or drinks at the game and no souvenirs. The food and drink prices are a tad inflated at the Myriad. When the Hornets came to town years ago, the Ford Center (where the CHL Blazers played at the time) raised food prices since they had a captive audience with the (then) novel NBA team. Those concession prices haven’t come down. What I’m saying is, it still feels like we’re paying NBA concession prices for AHL hockey.
Even if we step down to the $14 tickets, I’m still out almost $70 for a night of hockey Downtown. Not sure that there are tons of people who can afford that more than once or twice a season. You have to remember that the vast majority of people who attended the CHL Blazers’ games were getting in the door for $7-$9 dollars with voucher, or free ticket, or bue-one-get-one, etc. You’re basically twice as expensive than the historic market experience for a similar product (whether it was a viable business model or not is another discussion) and last year the Barons stumbled out of the gate (which left a bad taste in many’s mouths) and the marketing has been somewhat lackluster, IMO. (Creating a Moment is a pretty lame slogan too. Sounds like we’re crafting a dump on the ice).
That being said, they get my money. They only get it two or four times a season and I tend to pick and choose games (usually Lake Erie) and then only on weekends. I imagine the vast majority of the fans in the metro are in a similar boat.
If we don't get our sauce, we ain't watching the game!
Might have changed my mind a little
After spending big bucks on Minnesota Wild tickets this year, even the $30 center ice tickets sound cheap.
Biggest problem IMO is marketing the target audience. Obviously in hockey hotbeds like MN (and Edmonton) you aren’t going to have problems filling the arena. My OKC Barons season tickets would be $88 each here in MN. For a hockey fanatic like me it’s a great deal now that I look back. For the fair-weather fan in OKC they won’t pay that much. Tough call
Ya, and the Ticketmaster fees are BS.
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