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Canuck ticket prices and
mediocrity continue to soar

» The high cost of wat

  

Cazzy Lewchuk
Staff Writer

Ti prices for sports,
especially hockey, are an

interesting trend. They’re

arena, and of course proximity
to the playing surface. The
distinction between individual
and season ticket prices is also
important, although many
season ticket seats are sold
individually for each game.

NHL team ticket is the Toronto
Maple Leafs, at a mere average
of $446 per game. Although
the Leafs are one of the

most popular hockey teams,
particularly in their home city,
they're also widely (perhaps
informally) known for being a
terrible team that hasn’t won
a Stanley Cup since 1967. It’s

a pretty steep sum for a team
that’s only made the playoffs

most expensive US team is the
Chicago Blackhawks, whose
ticket prices are much more

$279 a game.
At home in Vancouver,
Canucks ticket averages are

ching

: third in the league (Edmonton
: is #2 at the fine price of $328)

: and still more expensive

: than any US team, cashing

: in at $296. For someone in

: Vancouver making minimum

: wage at $10.25/hour, a decent

: seat to watch the Canucks fight
: valiantly could potentially set

entirely dependent on the team, them back 29 hours’ worth of

: pay.

It’s no wonder the demand

: for Canucks tickets is currently

: at an all-time low. Although

: tickets to a preseason game can

: be found for as cheap as 1/10 of

Th .  : $296, several thousand of the

e current most expensive : :
: 19,000 seats in Rogers Arena

: have remained empty. Demand

: is likely to be even lower when :

: ticket prices go up as the regular :

: season kicks off on October 8. :

Clearly, the thrill of

: watching a hockey game

: live with friends or family is

: becoming rarer and rarer. Even
: the highest-up seats possible

: in Rogers Arena easily retail for
: atriple-digit priceduring the:
twice in the last 10 seasons. The : S©280”- In fact » the average price ;
: for Canucks tickets has gone up
: by $32 compared to the average
: price at the start of the 2013-14

: season.
reasonable at an average of only :

Of course, many factors

: drive the ticket prices
: and demand, the most
: prominent being the Canucks’

performance on and off the

: ice. Currently coming off of

: one of their least-promising

: seasons in recent memory, it’s
: quite likely ticket prices will

: drop shortly. Still, the average
: price will always be something
: unaffordable to the majority
of people who would love to

Know the score?

Contact: Sports Editor

M sports@theotherpress. ca

www theotherpress.ca

: experience the game regularly.
: But hey, Radim Vrbata is worth :
: every penny of his $5-million
: annual salary. Probably.

On the other end of the

: spectrum, average ticket prices
: to see the Carolina Hurricanes
: are the lowest in the league at
an average of $62. A diehard

 

: Leafs or Canucks fan might

be better off taking a plane for

: their team’s away game in North
: Carolina. It could easily cost

: less than an equivalent seat on

: home ice, particularly by taking
: adomestic flight across the

: border. Great fun for the whole
family!

 

Ref play

» Why it’s okay to rag on professional referees

Eric Wilkins
Sports Editor

M sports
@theotherpress.ca

+

i u

[* been a referee for soccer,
and it’s absolutely brutal. If

you make the right call, you get

howls of dissent. If you make

the wrong call, you get howls

of dissent. If you miss a call,

you get howls of dissent. And

at the end of the day you trudge

off the pitch with your only
comfort being the knowledge

the mail for officiating a bunch
of 12-year-olds. But that $17.50
suddenly doesn’t seem like the

: princely sum it once appeared
: to be.

It’s all one can do not to

: scream at the overzealous

: parents that their supremely

: talented elementary school

: prodigy is never going to

: bea professional and their

: enthusiasm is misplaced, to say
: the least.

But let’s flip the coin over

: here. Forget about the teenagers
: looking for another outlet to

: stay connected to their sport

: while making a buck. Let’s talk

: about referees. Professional

that you'll be getting a cheque in : referees.

There are more than a few

: out there who will argue that
: it’s unruly and wrong to rag

: onreferees. Unruly? Well, yes.

: Unsportsmanlike? There can be
: no doubt. Boorish and base? Of :
: course. But wrong? Goodness
: no.

Ragging on the referees

: is just a part of the game. Just

: like beer, overpriced grease,

: and misspelled fan signage.

: Fans give it to their team and

: individual players all the time.
: Why not the fellows roaming

: about in the middle making a
: nuisance of themselves?

Referees are paid

: professionals doing a job. While :
: it’s inappropriate to shout :
: obscenities at people in any

: other profession, with referees,
: it comes with the territory. Refs

: are well-aware of the abuse

: that comes with their job but

: still take the position without a
: second thought. Invitation for
: verbal cruelty accepted.

I’ve known enough refs

: in my life—as I’m sure we all
: have—that I can confidently say :
: that to some peculiar extent,
: some of them enjoy the negative :
: attention. Sure, everyone may
: be hating them, but that zebra
: is being noticed by everyone.

: It’s an ego trip of sorts. A good
: friend of mine once referred to

it as “short man syndrome.”
Those characters with

whistles permanently affixed
: to their fingers get some kind
: of joy from being the law and

: receiving that odd brand of

: respect reserved for one of the

: more hated positions. Some live
: for that power trip. It’s why a

: vicious slide tackle from behind
: will sometimes go unpunished,

: but a single word in protest to

areferee’s call will warrant an

: immediate card.

Again, not all refs are like

: this, but even for those who

: aren't, don't be afraid to let your

: frustrations loose on them. They
: know it comes with the job—the
: job that they’re being well-paid

: for. And hey, god it’s fun to let

: loose. “Good, ‘cause you fell, you
: fat pig! Have another doughnut!
: Have another doughnut!” Thank
: you, Jim Schoenfeld.