Pats owners taking financial hit for lost outdoor games
The Regina Pats are turning a negative into a positive as they forge ahead with their Centennial Salute Homecoming Weekend.
The Pats’ owners — Queen City Sports and Entertainment Group — expect to take a financial hit from their decision to scuttle two outdoor games just six weeks before they were to be played at Mosaic Stadium.
However, QCSEG president Anthony Marquart believes it was better to pull the plug now than to move forward with a doomed project that may have incurred a deficit in the millions.
“We certainly were open and willing to look at providing this unique experience for the people of Regina,” Marquart said. “Circumstances are such, though, that we had to make a decision whether to move forward based on current ticket sales.”
Fans and corporate sponsors had purchased a little more than 10,000 tickets for the outdoor games since they went on sale in November. That’s about half of what would be required for the event to break even.
As a result, the NHL alumni game on Feb. 17 will be moved to the Brandt Centre, followed by a WHL regular season contest on Feb. 18 between the Pats and Moose Jaw Warriors.
“The financial risk was substantial if people chose not to come out and experience the game, so we’re going indoors,” said Marquart, who expressed no regrets despite a six-figure loss due to the cancellation. “You take a run at something and hope that it’s embraced by the community at large. If it’s not, that’s OK too.
“Our goal here is to bring different entertainment options to this community. Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn’t work, but irrespective of that, it’s still going to be a great weekend.”
News that the outdoor games have been moved indoors will presumably be a disappointment to fans who’ve already purchased tickets. That’s also true of the players, many of whom were excited to be part of what was potentially a once-in-a-lifetime experience.
“It’s business, so we can’t really worry about it too much, but it’s a little bit of a bummer,” Pats centre Matt Bradley said. “Everyone was kind of looking forward to it.”
“It’s too bad that things didn’t work out,” head coach and general manager John Paddock said. “It’s quite the thing (to play in an outdoor game) but that’s just the way it is. It wasn’t working, so you change it.”
The move indoors will be a lot easier on the pocketbook. Although details haven’t yet been made public, it’s expected that tickets for the alumni game will start at $25.
The two-game outdoor packages had a price range of $75 to $275.
“We decided as an ownership group that even though we’ve incurred substantial costs in preparing for the outdoor games, we’re going to take that hit and give fans an opportunity to experience the All-Star Celebrity Classic and go in at favourable pricing for all,” Marquart said.
People who’ve already purchased outdoor game tickets are expected to receive an email offering a full refund, plus the first option to buy tickets for the two indoor games.
Season ticket holders will retain their usual seats for the PatsWarriors game in addition to being offered an alumni pre-sale, slated to begin on Saturday at 10 a.m. Tickets are expected to go on sale to the public next week.
Meanwhile, Homecoming Weekend festivities will proceed as scheduled with Rogers Hometown Hockey and the Warm-up to the Waskimo Winter Festival.
The weekend starts Feb. 16 with the Pats’ Community Foundation Honours gala dinner, featuring about 50 former NHL stars. They’ll hit the ice the next day for an alumni game that includes interactive elements between players, coaches and fans.
The All-Star Celebrity Classic is also slated to include a skills competition, followed by a post-game skate in which fans can share the ice with their NHL heroes.
“It’s still going to be a great weekend,” Marquart said. “We have more information coming with respect to the Regina Pats Community Foundation, which is in its first year of existence and is our vehicle to give back to the community. We’re still very positive about what we can offer that Family Day long weekend.”