The perception that hockey cannot succeed in the desert is absolutely false. It is based on so many erroneous perceptions that I hardly know where to begin. In the past this assumption might have had a large ring of truth to it. In order for hockey to succeed ANYWHERE, there has to be interest from the population. That interest in non traditional markets has to be grown. It can be grown through a number of things.
Marketing – people need to be aware that the sport is out there. The commercials can’t just be shown during the games (anyone watching already knows the deal) it has to be shown during the local basketball, baseball and football games (they are already sports oriented… the trick is to get them interested in a new/different one)
Publicity – good coverage of the sport in the local media (a supportive, prominent and consistent coverage is absolutely paramount to growth of a new sport). Phoenix is still working on that. The majority of the writers and newsies here have no clue about the sport or the team and apparently have no desire to learn. It would be awesome to have a white knight in the local media who understood the game and poured 1/2 the enthusiasm to supporting the Yotes as the others who know zilch expend tearing the team down.
Grassroots fans – it is long noted that people tend to follow what they know and grew up with (unfortunately the people of Phoenix didn’t grow up playin games of shinny on the local pond so the kids didn’t grow up to be fans of the sport they played in childhood). Well that is no longer true. The rise of roller hockey and ice hockey rinks has grown and is growing all over the valley. The kids are playing it a falling in love with the sport. This yanks a whole new generation into hockey and it drags their parents in as well as they come to understand a foreign game through their children.
Guys like me- is also another common reason for growth – as the levels of hockey played here in Aizona rise and familiar home town faces emerge into the spotlights fans begin to follow. Teams like PF Chang and others are growing players in non-traditional markets, who are now beginning to emerge into the upper echelons of hockey. Kids like Phoenix’s David Spina are making their debuts into the profssional ranks and locals are following ‘the kids they went to school with” or “the kids they knew from church” and the ssport with a more persoanl interest which often leads to a ‘branching’ effect of loving the game in general.
Transplant affect - Phoenix’s great weather and amenties draws transplants from many hockey entrenched cities. They already love the sport and many transferr old loyalties to their new home’s team. (oh, I realize many only show up when their first love is in town, but many simply buy season tickets for love of the sport too) A winning team in their new home can convert even the most devout.
Winning - everyone loves a winner and Phoenix is no exception. A winning product on the ice would do the most for the Phoenix market. But the hockey devout would (and have) settled for a team that puts up a good fight every night.
Phoenix has been employing many of these strategies quite successfully. Sure they need work in some areas (most of those areas they have no control over…ie. the media) but on the whole, the 11 years in the desert have hardly been wasted efforts.
Yes the average attendance is pretty low on the league’s totem pole but when teams like Toronto, Montreal, Pittsburgh and New York (which have been hockey power houses for what seems like a billion years) are figured in, the averages are a bit skewed and not really fair to fledgling markets like Carolina/TampaBay/Nashville and Phoenix with less than a quarter of that time in service. Phoenix manages to sell and average of 14,000 plus tickets to every game despite all its perceived drawbacks. (i.e. distance, traffic, on ice product) Those aren’t bad numbers for a team that hasn’t won squat in a bandwaggon town.
The sport of hockey is growing in the desert and the Phoenix Coyotes are a major part of the formula. They are helping to generate new NHL fans and contributing to the growth of new ice rinks in the valley and children’s skating programs is a huge part of that contribution. (families are the primary source of new fans, kids that grow up playing the game are the fans of the future). We have a ways to go with our media coverage for sure. But our marketing has won several ADDy awards in the past 2 years (we do need to get them on regular local prime time more), we’ve got the grass roots thing covered and the guys like me too. Winning would take care of some of the transplant conversion and sure as heck get more butts in seats regardless of the midweek commute.
It has taken some time but we’re finally getting it right. I hope we win the court battle and get enough time for all these things we’re finally doing right to pay off.
Don’t forget to write/email/call your legislators and let them know you want them to get behind the SavetheCoyotes mission. And of course sign the petition here.
Below are the links to the Arizona House and Senate. If you do not know the names of your legislators/senator there is a link above the listings located on the right side of the page entitled “how do I find my legislators.” Remember, you are represented by three people in the legislature – two representatives and one senator – be sure to contact each one of them.
URL to the Arizona Senate:
http://www.azleg.gov/MemberRoster.asp?Body=S
URL to the Arizona House of Representatives:







AP photo
AP photo
AP photo