If you’re a fan of the Avalanche or the Golden Knights you were likely able to get a lot accomplished during Saturday’s first intermission. Evidently the NHL had been watching reruns of Disney’s Frozen leading up to the Lake Tahoe outdoor game. In a move eerily similar to Olaf’s optimistic view that the Sun/heat would have no effect on him, the league decided to have puck drop at 1pm MT (i.e. THE HOTTEST PART OF THE DAY). Following an extremely sloppy 1st period of play organizers announced there would be a delay to repair ice conditions.
Things got so bad that there were literally slush puddles in portions of the rink leading to several slips and falls by players and officials alike. The glare off the ice didn’t help matters either, with every close up camera angle showing players squinting to see (Philipp Grubauer, the Avalanche goaltender took warmups with sunglasses on).
Mercifully after an 8 hour delay, the game finally resumed with the Avalanche emerging victorious 3-2 in the dark of the night.
If this were the league’s first foray into outdoor games, the whole thing could be chalked up to a learning experience. But they’ve been doing various iterations of the event (be it the Heritage Classic, Winter Classic or Stadium Series brand) since 2003. One would assume that they’d have worked out the kinks by now.
Regardless, the league seems to find itself in a unique situation. On the one hand, the merchandise, and special heritage jerseys and all the other excuses to release “limited edition memorabilia” is great for the bottom line. It also doesn’t hurt when you can cram 105,000 fans into the Big House in Michigan to watch the Red Wings take on the Maple Leafs. Those extra 85,000 tickets sold compared to a regular home game isn’t insignificant.
Yet as many who have actually been to an outdoor game will tell you, it’s a cool experience, but they wouldn’t exactly be camping out for tickets to attend the next one. Whether it’s the poor sight lines (these venues weren’t built to host hockey games), weather, or even just the on ice product itself (we’ve now had poor ice, Sun, Snow, blistering cold and more play factors in outdoor games over the years leading to less than stellar play on the ice), one has to wonder, how many more iterations of the event we’ll see moving forward.
The league has done a good job thus far of “spreading the wealth” in terms of outdoor game participants. All but 5 fan bases have seen their team take part in a game now (Columbus, Carolina, Arizona, Tampa & Florida being the ones who have not), so if the outdoor events are to continue we’ll start seeing teams taking part in their 2nd, 3rd, or more go round. In Chicago’s case, they’ve already participated in 6 outdoor games at this point.
So what is the league to do? Hope that the novelty of the outdoor experience hasn’t worn off yet and continue going to the well with their football stadium tour of North America? Or will they be looking to replicate the stunning visuals of Lake Tahoe for future events?
Personally I’d prefer the latter. Create a truly unique visual experience, and you’ll generate a lot more buzz around the event than you would with a sloppy game played on a football field. Take the venues to the next level as well. Play on the frozen ice of Lake Louise. Have a game on Parliament hill, or build an outdoor rink in the Rocky Mountains to create a truly unforgettable experience. Abandon the idea that you NEED 70,000+ fans to feel like the event accomplished something.
If the league is serious about its efforts to replicate the NBA’s success in becoming a “global brand” (Bettman is a former basketball guy after all), then have a game in Palace Square in Saint Petersburg, or in the shadows of Big Ben in London.
There are ways to offset the lost revenue at the gate if the league is able to get creative. Streaming rights, a pay-per-view model, or building the event up to the point where you’re getting premiums placed on the commercial spaces are quick ways to generate additional income. Will the NHL ever reach Super Bowl levels of commercial success for ad revenue? Probably not, but even getting to a point where you’re at half that would be a multitude more than what the league is currently generating for 30 second spots. You can also keep the usual “special edition jersey” and hope to recoup costs on merchandising. And working with various levels of government to see what kind of tourism related write offs or greasing of hands can take place doesn’t hurt either.
Whatever the NHL ultimately chooses to do, there’s a reason that they’re lagging behind the other 3 sports in the pecking order of the “Big 4” in North America (one could even argue soccer is poised to overtake the league shortly in terms of popularity, it already has in many markets). It’s time to get creative here. There was some experimentation with drones and different camera angles for the Lake Tahoe game, and there needs to be more of that. If you ever want to get to a point where revenues, player salaries, and team valuations get anywhere near the other major sports, something is going to have to change in how the product is presented.
In terms of salary, Auston Matthews is currently the highest earning player in the NHL at $15.9M (though his actual cap hit is lower). That would make him the 76th highest paid player in the NBA behind the likes of perennial All-Stars Gorgui Dieng, Ricky Rubio, and James Johnson. He’d also be the 57th highest earner in the NFL, and the 70th highest paid player in the MLB.
Times are changing, both in terms of how fans consume their content and in the diversity of people cheering on their teams. If the latest edition of Hockey Day in Canada (who hammered the themes of diversity and inclusion at every opportunity) has taught us anything, it’s that whether they’re watching from at home or in person, it’s no longer just the blue collar, WASP, father and son combos that make up the league’s fanbase. Every year the percentage of women, BIPOC, and LGBTQ+ who consume hockey content increases. The league needs to adapt and cater to this shifting consumer base accordingly.
Lake Tahoe hopefully taught the league a few important lessons (chief among them that Sun + Ice isn’t a recipe for pristine surface conditions). But also that the venue can be just as important as how many people you can cram into the bleachers. Anecdotally I saw way more mentions, tweets, shares, and posts online about the Lake Tahoe game than any other previous iteration of the NHL’s outdoor series. You’d like to think the league took notice of that as well and will modify their strategy moving forward. The only question is, will it happen on Bettman’s watch, or someone else’s?
-Kyle Skinner
Twitter: @dynessports