As the season begins to wind down and slim playoff hopes becoming even slimmer, I have decided to take a look at what has been good and some things that could be done to increase the home town advantage. Yes, I know some of these would be expensive and there may be restrictions on how business works, but they are just some thoughts that would increase the atmosphere in the AUD.
I'll start with some of the things that have been good so far in the first year of having professional hockey back in the Mohawk Valley. First, we have hockey and people are coming out in full force to watch it. Nine games so far this year have sold the maximum 3,815 tickets for admission. It is a very telling number of the support for hockey in the area. By ticket sales, Utica College has continued their stretch of being tops in NCAA D3 attendance. Through the regular season, they averaged 3,779 tickets sold per game, according to USCHO.com. The Utica Memorial Auditorium is also turning back into a modern arena. The fresh coat of paint(and vinyl wrap) provided the initial face lift. The season ticket holder bars, The Horton Room and Kilfoils, have added a new experience for those who have been going to the AUD for years. More changes are still in the work, I personally cannot wait to see them continue. The Comets have done an excellent job of using promotions to sell tickets as well. Teaming up with other local and national businesses, there has been a giveaway of some sort for around half of the home weekend games. As well, weekday games have featured discounted tickets and discounted beer. Lets be honest, what brings Utica hockey fans out more than $2 beers? The Comets have stayed very connected to the community as well, as would be expected with their ownership group. They have featured several local groups with pregame ceremonies, had local celebrities such as now Olympic goal medalist Erin Hamlin and America's got talent celebrity Leon Etienne drop the opening puck. Local youth teams have played between periods and been honored during games. Of course, they have also added the "hall of fame" for the past Comets, honoring the history of the game in the area. There has been lots to love so far this year, with still more to come in the remaining games and into the future.
The first change I would like to see made applies to both the Comets and Utica College. Both teams have excellent season ticket sales which is great but limits tickets available to the general public. I believe there needs to be a way for season ticket holders to surrender their tickets if they are not attending a game. This would allow the AUD to come closer to filling up on games which they are technically "sold out". Utica hasn't been in this scenario in a long time, before the invention of stub hub to be sure, so people don't think about or want to go online to sell their tickets. Facebook can work for some but only if people are going to be in the area to physically exchange them. An option on the Comets website to surrender them for resale (maybe with reimbursement to the original ticket holder) would benefit both the Comets an their fans.
The second change I would make is creating a sponsored "energy section." The premise would be that fans could buy specific tickets with the intention being that they will bring energy to the game. Utica has always had "The Chicken Man" and years ago it was his section that led all the cheers at The AUD. Needless to say he isn't in his prime to do so any more and The AUD lacks the energy he used to bring. I personally would try to get a radio station to but out one of the stage end sections and resell them to the fans who are interested. Utica College has a general student section area that occasionally provides the passion and leadership to the crowd. We've heard how loud The AUD can get in the closing seconds of the game, why not more often when the team could use a lift?
The third change I would make would be using the downstairs pub to its maximum potential. Opening the pub for game where the Comets are away from The AUD could be a big draw, especially against local teams where the rivalries are growing. I know the games are available on the radio and AHL Live, but for some streaming isn't worth the money. If the Comets streamed the games in the pub it would allow fans to get together to support their team, not to mention additional revenue from beer sales, maybe even partnering with The AUD concessions to make it food available. Another idea would be selling tickets to just the pub for Comets home games which are sold out. While this one would hurt season ticket holders, it would increase the number of people able to be in the building for the big games.
The Comets have been extremely successful so far this season on and off the ice. These ideas could add a bit more to the atmosphere at the games to help them continue. What do you think? Any other ideas? Feel free to share them on here or with me on twitter at @oisen25
