Bums in Seats
By Heidi Van Regan
Originally published on the P-Dub Fan Cub March 1, 2024
BUMS IN SEATS is an industry term to many. It refers to attendance but also to the PR and marketing used to get those bums into those seats. A major consideration for anyone producing events, there's an impact whether there aren't enough seats (like Toronto) or not enough bums (NY and Boston).
I've been meaning to share these 2 pics. Although they are clearly not the work of a photographic expert, it's ok because today we're looking at the backgrounds. See anything? Not much. No bums in seats. Empty sections.
Last year I saw La Force de Montréal play twice, once in November and again at the end of February. (I would have happily gone to more, but that's another story).
Both of these pictures were taken DURING the game. Not warm-up, not after.
Picture One was taken at the Verdun Auditorium, the same place that's been sold out since mid January this year. No attendance was posted, but it was the season opener and also the team's first ever home game. As you can see, there are a lot of empty seats. I was told layer by a reliable source that it was about half full, which tracks with what I remember, so 2000 absolute max.
The second pic was taken in an arena that's about the same size. There were maybe 300 people there, mostly family and friends judging by the people sitting around us. As you can see we had amazing seats. General admission cost $20 and it was first come, first served. We got there about 10 minutes before puck drop and sat directly behind the bench.
Bums in seats has traditionally been a huge issue for WoHo. And even though the PWHL is getting great numbers in Toronto, it's still a problem in NY and Boston. Anytime a seat isn't filled it represents a cost to the league. Overextending on rental costs in venues where seats are empty is risky.
In some cases it's smarter to under-deliver. It creates hype (look how desirable the jerseys became once we couldn't get them). Smaller venues cost a lot less per seat. The atmosphere is always better in a full house, regardless of the size of the house.
I don't know what we'll see next year. I like the idea of a hybrid model, with games played in multiple venues. Here's how that could work:
'Prestige' games in small venues would be an excellent incentive to buy season's tickets, and would offset the cost of larger arenas. It's easy to envision that these games would be sold out ahead of time and not go on general sale, making them even more desirable.
'Marquee' games at NHL arenas could highlight special events: Jr hockey, black history, newcomers, pride, etc. Opportunities abound, especially when it comes to MERCH! The Battle of Ontario, the Battle on Bay Street, the Battle of the Bagel - you get the idea. Co-producers could make this even more economically feasible, as could pairing with other events.
A midsize arena would round out the season, even though the cost per seat in these venues is probably the highest. The arenas have to be as close to full as possible, as often as possible.
The more profitable the League is the sooner we can start talking about purpose-built arenas for our teams, and that's really where we want to end up. (After expansion).
So next time you're frustrated about not getting tickets, just take a minute to consider how awesome it is that you can't get tickets. The early adopters have done our job of starting the ball rolling. Now it's time to move into the mainstream and the League is moving very quickly.
I don't want us to go back to 300 person crowds ever again.
PS this is a private group so posts can't be shared, but if you want a shareable version you can find it here, on the FG page: