Toigo isn’t worried about empty seats in Buffalo
Ron Toigo insists the attendance woes at the World Junior Hockey Championship tournament in Buffalo, N.Y., aren’t worrying him.
“You’re talking apples and oranges,” said Toigo, the Vancouver Giants’ owner who’s one of the lead organizers for next year’s world junior event in Vancouver and Victoria.
“That whole eastern area has had it basically back-to-back-to-back (with both the 2015 and 2017 tournaments in Toronto and Montreal, followed by Buffalo this year). It’s probably been overdone there.
“I think USA Hockey needs to evaluate their decision to go to Buffalo. If you wanted to go east, I think the Detroit area probably makes more sense.
“Or you could have had a shared one in Everett, Portland and Seattle. I think that would be great. As for us, I think we’re in good shape.”
Toigo couldn’t give out exact numbers on ticket sales so far. Lisa Dornan, Hockey Canada’s director of communications, wouldn’t get into specifics either, although she was exceedingly positive about next year’s tournament, which will be split between Rogers Arena and the Save-On-Foods Memorial Centre.
“It’s fair to say that Hockey Canada had a great response during the 2019 WJC pre-sale that exceeded targets. We are now in the public sale phase and by the end of this year’s event the expectation is that we will be in the best ticket sales position we have been since Alberta 2012,” she explained via email.
Hockey Canada’s website is selling full tournament packages for Vancouver and Victoria. There will be 19 games at Rogers Arena, including both semifinals and both medal games.
A seat in the club section for all 19 games runs you $2,250 before GST ($118 per game). It’s one of 10 price points available. At the other end of the spectrum, you can get into the building in the upper bowl for all 19 games for $650 before GST ($34 per game). Victoria is hosting 14 games, highlighted by two quarter-final matchups. The price points range from $699 for all 14 ($50) to $399 for the set ($28.50).
According to various reports, ticket prices were set between US$30 and US$110 per game for matchups at the Key Bank Center in Buffalo, with seats for today’s outdoor game at New Era Field between US$55 and US$137.
For Canada’s 4-2 win over Finland on Tuesday, the announced crowd was 9,552. The Americans’ 9-0 win over Denmark on the same day attracted 7,207 fans, while Canada’s 6-0 win on Wednesday over the Slovaks pulled in an announced attendance of 7,834.
Organizers are promising a crowd of more than 40,000 for today’s outdoor game between the Americans and the Canadians.
The attendance has been a storyline so far.
USA Hockey spokesman Dave Fischer admitted the crowds aren’t as big as they were when Buffalo hosted the event in 2011, but was also quoted as saying: “We have a chance to build on those and I am certain we will. We are never satisfied unless every seat in the building is filled for every game.”
Toigo was one of the lead organizers for the 2006 world juniors, which played games at Rogers Arena as well as in Kamloops and Kelowna. It set a tournament attendance record at the time, drawing 10,488 per game. It’s since been surpassed by the likes of the 2012 tournament in Calgary and Edmonton, which drew 14,688 per game.
The 2015 event drew 12,212 per game while last year was listed at 8,596 per contest.