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GDT LEAFS @ DEVILS 11/2/07 7PM FSNY/HD XM 207 660AM


Devilish34

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Well...I didn't read most of the posts so far but here's my quick take on my first game at the rock...other than being late for the 5:40 train in Cranford and getting to Newark around 6:30 I have to say, as most have pointed out the waiting to get in is horrible...it's not like there is anything in the exact immediate area to distract from the wait either....once inside, it's more spacious and of course up to date but it just seemed small...overall even with the sporadic things and the cool murals and what not the place just had a "small" feeling to it...that was made more evident when I trotted up the steep upper bowl to take my seat in section 213...first, I'm not a small guy...but then again, I'm not a big guy either...I've never had problems getting in tight areas or things like that but the seats were horrible...I couldn't relax at all by sitting back spreading my legs a bit and watching the game because I had to sit with my legs tightly closed and leaning forward because the second the person below me leaned a bit forward the sight lines for the bottom half of the ice were blocked....the CAA had way better sight lines and a more comfortable feel when sitting (which was extremely surprising)...the cup holders although good in theory made the seating even more uncomfortable...overall, the lines on things (other than getting in) weren't too bad...it was a cool novelty walking to my seat and being able to see the terrace type seating watching the game....then again, by the time the game was over I didn't get a chance to look around much because I had to make the 10:11 train or be doomed to wait for the 11:07...and I have a 4yr old son who was getting tired....this made it a less than family friendly atmosphere...if they want to promote using the train then they simply need things scheduled around it a bit better....anyway, not sure if I'll get to many games mainly because of my scheduling with classes and work and the like but I can say overall, the first impression didn't make me seem like I couldn't wait until the next time I went....and that's one thing, even with the tolls and the turnpike and parking that I could say about CAA....the first time I went did make me want to go back again as soon as possible....

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I don't see where they get 15 sellouts, I really don't, the Rangers are really the only guaranteed sellouts aside from Opening Night and the Flyers will be close at least. Isle games were always some of the worst-attended at CAA.

Other than that a fair point without any personal attack :P Obviously the Devils aren't going to be Minnesota or any of the Canadien cities as far as attendance, hopefully they're at least in the middle of everyone else by the time it's all said and done.

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Great game and a great night. I decided to meet up with my girlfriend and my friend Jeff at Fanwood for the 5:35 train. Luckily, we were able to get some $10 seats despite arriving a half hour before game time. After getting in I toured more of the arena that I didn't see on opening night. The cigar stand looked cool but I didn't even bother to check prices on that. I once again was loving the food. The best part of the night was moving down from 233 to one of the $100 sections. I noticed there seems to be a lack of ushers there/caring and took advantage of the situation. It left my with prime time seats for some of Marty's great saves, Madden's awesome shorthanded goal and Parise's goal.

I really liked the line up up and down tonight. Its only going to get better when Langenbrunner comes back. Hopefully they keep playing strong and beat the Rangers tomorrow.

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Where did they play last year, oh that's right in some pos arena. All we heard about was how the new building was going to make a huge difference. They over estimated the willingness to overpay just because. If they played the Rags 15 times a year they might get 15 sellouts, that not being the case they won't come close. The Nets have outdrawn them both nights so far and that's SAD.
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The Nets outdrawing them on Halloween is one thing, it was absolutely expected considering it was their season opener against a good team. The Nets outdrawing the Devils last night is a definite cause for concern. The people over at IZOD must be having wet dreams over their early success.
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Meh I don't know...the Nets first have cheaper seats, huge marketing team behind it, the NBA is a much more poplar league, have more household names in the sports world, and are k nown for giving away huge amounts of seats. SOmething tells me the Devils made more money off the gate last night.

Looking around the leauge's ticket prices, you really can see how much overpriced the Devils seats are. But they make more money this way. I guess....

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Don't be so sure...

The Devils need to lower them now...if they want to sell any of them...or care too.

The Black Center Ice seats - $200

Behind Marty - 70

Behind other team - 80

mezzanie - 55

Balcony - start at 50, end at 20/25

Upper sections - leave alone

or something like this....

From a business standpoint - how much money would they lose because of the change in pricing, would their be a difference in the rising sales that would cover it? How much do they need to make from ticket sales in the business model? Will teh change in concessions make up for lost ticket sales...etc....

As a fan I want them to sell every seat, and teams who own their arenas in smaller tv markets (smaller tv deal) have much cheaper seats. Our seats are on par with Toronto...and NJ ain't no Toronto market.

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Meh I don't know...the Nets first have cheaper seats, huge marketing team behind it, the NBA is a much more poplar league, have more household names in the sports world, and are k nown for giving away huge amounts of seats. SOmething tells me the Devils made more money off the gate last night.

Looking around the leauge's ticket prices, you really can see how much overpriced the Devils seats are. But they make more money this way. I guess....

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Let's not forget the Nets give away tickets as opposed to the Devils, and they still drew less than their opener vs. da Bulls. Just like the Pistons will outdraw the Red Wings, the Nets will outdraw the Devils more times than not when going up against one another. Nets marketing owns Devils marketing, and NBA owns NHL in this market.

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That's fine HOI, I know complaining about the attendance here is more or less preaching to the choir since the people that take the time to post here are the dedicated fans that will go to games anyway, or would if they could.

I think it's easier to blame the Devils - especially since they do their best to fvck things up at times - than to think just maybe we truly don't have a big enough fanbase to sell out or come close to it consistently. People talk about the expensive seats and there's something to it, but for what it's worth the club seats did sell out pdq (supposedly).

I'm just a bit frustrated that we're still talking about attendance and reasons why we don't even come close to a sellout three games into a new arena. You predicted a near-sellout yourself last night as did most of us and it didn't happen.

Didn't take away from my own experience last night though, especially since the people that were there were into it, particuarly the ones in my section and the next one over and especially late in the game. The third period felt like a playoff atmosphere.

Edited by Hasan4978
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From section 127:

Same attendance issues at CAA - Upper two tiers are pretty packed, lower sections had very few people. Coincidence? I think not.

Anywho, the goal horn was the same, but just turned up louder - much louder! :thumbsup:

I actually like the concession stand at the upper concourse - better then the ones on the lower. But I don't like the fact that the pretzels are behind the counter of the beer stand - but they don't sell them there! Argh! Come on guys!

I was impressed with Toronto's PP collapse style - although it really didn't do much. The last goal by them was really just a fluke.

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I think it is pretty clear we don't have a big enough fan base in New Jersey right now to sell out. When you have this new beautiful arena and only 13,000 and change come the next night is scary. Enough with the weekday game against a non-rival on Halloween because that is BS especially since we hardly faired any better against on a Friday night against a rival. You are telling me there aren't enough fans who didn't get to see the building on opening night to fill up the building the second night let alone the next 10 nights after that. Most teams around the league would sell out the first 15-20 games in their new building especially after that sh!t hole.

I don't even know how much it is about money, especially when we aren't even selling many of those 200 $10 tickets. Right there, anybody has a chance to go to a game for $10. I don't know that much about ticket prices around the league, but I don't think they are that bad compared to Ottawa. In Ottawa, everything in the second bowl is at least $130 while everything in the first level is $160-200.

This really has to be about the size of our fan base. The team gets how many people for a parking lot parade...30-40 thousand. I think that sums it up there. That is an amazing event, which is free by the way and that is all we get. Most teams that win can get over 100,000.

I'm not point any fingers here. Everyone on this board who lives in Jersey are awesome fans. There just isn't enough of you. This team needs more fans like Msweet and Has.

One last thing, enough with % of capacity. Saying that we fill up 80% of the building is not impressive. This building is one of the smallest in the league so 80% doesn't look as nice if it were 80% of the Sens

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Well then the NEXT question is... how do you work on improving the fan base??

This is one place this team is lacking miserably in....

one way to do it... perks... discount tickets (how about per say... if you buy a full season ticket you can get the $65 seats for like $30.... I'd almost consider moving down for that)... things like this... ENCOURAGE people to want to go to games... the train pass is an excellent idea they've come up with... they need MORE of this... or maybe something else kinda wacky like giving the season ticket holders some comp tickets.... a bring your friends promotion (not like the money won't be made up in beer and food sales since we OWN the place)... get fannies in the seats and they will spend money on EVERYTHING ELSE there...that too should not be overlooked... it's not about filling seats... it's about PROFIT!

But that aside it's bad enough you're the bastard team in the bastard sport... but come on... there's a fan base out there to be tapped!!!

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I think the major problem is how close it is to New York. You can't turn on the TV to listen to Devils' Talk or listen to the radio that has hours of hockey talk. It is all going to be about the Yankees and Giants and Jets I'd imagine. Mike and Mad Dog are not going to be talking about the Devils.

Living in Canada it is so hard to compare. You can't escape it even if you tried. In Ottawa, hockey is all we have. We have a sports station that basically dedicates 12 hours a day to dissect everything Senators until there is nothing else to talk about. Every local news channel talks hockey. Even if you don

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Yeah WFAN carries the Devils now... and NOT A DAMN PEEP about the new arena... well aside of Beningo's one idiot remark that it's in Newark... hey fvcko... all you morons go INTO THE BRONX to see your Yankees choke every year (I'm sick of the Yankee talk and their manager and all the other idiocy going into it now :P)

but you gotta do SOMETHING ... and the best something in the WORLD is word of mouth and getting people to get there and see how awesome it really is!

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The fanbase must be improved. A major way of accomplishing this is through the media. Unfortunately, other than the Ledger and Record, no major media outlet in the metro area talks Devils hockey. On the other hand, the Nets have been getting great coverage in the Post and Daily News. The Rangers get their coverage. The Devils get a blurb. Hows that gonna create a buzz and get people thinking Devils hockey?

We gotta fill this arena before those media outlets would consider covering us more. The new arena is supposed to do that.

Have the Devils been marketing well in the city? I see the New Home, New Goal billboard all over Jersey, but what about in Penn Station NY? Any NY-based forumites care to shed some light on this?

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