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Yesterday the NHL released the 2013-2014 schedule, which as we pointed out in an earlier article, features several interesting characteristics, especially when it comes to attendance projections. Last year's average season attendance was 13,923, while it was also a lockout shortened season, it was the 4th season of being owned and operated by the NHL.
| Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday | Saturday | Sunday |
| 12807 | 13990 | 11299 | 14394 | 16011 | 15012 | 17363 |
| -8% | 0% | -19% | 3% | 15% | 8% | 25% |
| -6% | 16% | |||||
Weekend games (Friday, Saturday, and Sunday) on average pulled in +16% more than the average attendance last year. This is great news considering the Coyotes will play nearly half of their games at home on those nights:
| Date | Opponent |
|
Sat Oct 19, 2013
|
Detroit Red Wings |
|
Sat Oct 26, 2013
|
Edmonton Oilers |
|
Sat Nov 9, 2013
|
Washington Capitals |
|
Sat Nov 16, 2013
|
Tampa Bay Lightning |
|
Sat Nov 23, 2013
|
Anaheim Ducks |
|
Sat Nov 30, 2013
|
Chicago Blackhawks |
|
Sat Dec 14, 2013
|
Carolina Hurricanes |
|
Fri Dec 27, 2013
|
San Jose Sharks |
|
Sat Jan 4, 2014
|
Philadelphia Flyers |
|
Sat Jan 11, 2014
|
Anaheim Ducks |
|
Sat Jan 18, 2014
|
New Jersey Devils |
|
Sat Feb 1, 2014
|
Pittsburgh Penguins |
|
Fri Feb 7, 2014
|
Chicago Blackhawks |
|
Sun Mar 2, 2014
|
St. Louis Blues |
|
Sat Mar 15, 2014
|
Calgary Flames |
|
Sat Mar 22, 2014
|
Boston Bruins |
|
Sat Mar 29, 2014
|
Minnesota Wild |
|
Fri Apr 4, 2014
|
Edmonton Oilers |
|
Sat Apr 12, 2014
|
San Jose Sharks |
|
Sun Apr 13, 2014
|
Dallas Stars |
Weeknights for the Coyotes last year drew -6% less than the season average, However due to the new Pacific Division alignment the NHL threw us a bone and scheduled out new Canadian rivals here 3 times, each. On Average last year when Canadian teams visited the average attendance was up +13%. In addition to the western Canadian teams, the NHL scheduled all of our eastern Canadian teams visits on week nights as well. In addition to Canadian teams we get an Original Six team to start the season and 2 weeknight tilts against our biggest rival, the LA Kings.
| Date | Opponent |
|
Thu Oct 3, 2013
|
New York Rangers |
|
Tue Oct 15, 2013
|
Ottawa Senators |
|
Tue Oct 22, 2013
|
Calgary Flames |
|
Tue Oct 29, 2013
|
Los Angeles Kings |
|
Tue Nov 5, 2013
|
Vancouver Canucks |
|
Tue Dec 31, 2013
|
Edmonton Oilers |
|
Tue Jan 7, 2014
|
Calgary Flames |
|
Thu Jan 16, 2014
|
Vancouver Canucks |
|
Mon Jan 20, 2014
|
Toronto Maple Leafs |
|
Tue Jan 28, 2014
|
Los Angeles Kings |
|
Thu Jan 30, 2014
|
Buffalo Sabres |
|
Tue Mar 4, 2014
|
Vancouver Canucks |
|
Thu Mar 6, 2014
|
Montréal Canadiens |
|
Tue Apr 1, 2014
|
Winnipeg Jets |
The three toughest nights, attendance wise, will be against Columbus, Dallas, and Florida late in the season, so go ahead and mark your calendar now for these three to be "Buck-Bash" events.
| Date | Opponent |
|
Thu Jan 2, 2014
|
Columbus Blue Jackets |
|
Tue Feb 4, 2014
|
Dallas Stars |
|
Thu Mar 20, 2014
|
Florida Panthers |
Continuing on from the +8% attendance gain from last year and a favorable schedule we should see a modest attendance gain again this year. Our completely uneducated guess, a 12% average attendance gain, 15,594 or 91% capacity. Once we get info on the new owners plans for tiered pricing we'll work on a FCI post and what we might expect for the Coyotes bottom line.