Castanet

https://www.castanet.net/news/BCHL/2198 ... eason-ever

This is a great story for our little town, and its great to see the support we continue to give this team.

It is amazing that Penticton can have close to or higher attendance figures than WHL franchises.

http://www.hockeydb.com/nhl-attendance/ ... 9&sid=2018

They’ve certainly come a long ways from the early 2000s, when they had almost no fan support. One year, only the Quesnel Millionaires had a lower average attendance than the Panthers.
New ownership, solid coaching and a professional attitude turned everything around.

Does anyone not think that the SOEC facility had anything to do with it? I would like to think that the option of sitting on a cold hard 2x10 plank that had 50 coats of paint on it holding it togeter vs a theatre seat might have drawn a few more customers.

twobits wrote:Does anyone not think that the SOEC facility had anything to do with it? I would like to think that the option of sitting on a cold hard 2x10 plank that had 50 coats of paint on it holding it togeter vs a theatre seat might have drawn a few more customers.

Most definitely it has a lot to do with it. But there are lots of nice buildings out there are sitting almost empty because the teams can’t put a decent product on the ice. Penticton is lucky because they’ve got a great facility and a top-notch product on the ice.

^^^ also helps they have one hell of a team on the ice, been that way for a number of years. Usually its Vee's or the Vipers that win the BC title, Vipers haven't for some time now.

twobits wrote:Does anyone not think that the SOEC facility had anything to do with it? I would like to think that the option of sitting on a cold hard 2x10 plank that had 50 coats of paint on it holding it togeter vs a theatre seat might have drawn a few more customers.

For sure, your going to draw a larger crowd with a good team and great facility than a mediocre team in an aged on its way out type of facility.

500 free kid tickets per game doesn't hurt either.

ToddT wrote:500 free kid tickets per game doesn't hurt either.

They're still paid for in full, just a very nice gesture from a great member of our community

I can recall the Vee's being a 'huge deal' back in the 50's, when they beat the Russian Red Army in '55. I can't recall seeing or listening to the games, but I recall our parents and grandparents excitement about it all. They talked about it for years afterwards. I guess it was much like when Canada beat Russia in their infamous '72 8-game series.

I do recall it was a rough series, and for years afterwards, this Norris cartoon was pinned up in my Dad's workshop...



Caption: “…and if, through the medium of this great sport, we have contributed to the betterment of international relations and understanding, then we are indeed ..."

I lived in the Penticton in the 60's and attending Vee's games was the most important part of our winter activities...!

Jhunter199 wrote:
They're still paid for in full, just a very nice gesture from a great member of our community

I promise you, not nearly as many people would go if the tickets weren't free.

Jhunter199 wrote:They're still paid for in full, just a very nice gesture from a great member of our community

ToddT wrote:I promise you, not nearly as many people would go if the tickets weren't free.

Well, it all depends on how they count attendance.
If it is done by ticket sales only, or the amount of tickets redeemed/scanned at the door.

According to this, http://www.pentictonvees.ca/vees-set-cjhl-attendance-milestone, the numbers of people counted are those that are physically in the SOEC.
"There wasn’t a single game this season that had fewer than 2,585 fans inside the rink, and 13 of the 28 had crowds over 3,000."

Congratulations Penticton Vees on this significant achievement.

ToddT wrote:

Jhunter199 wrote:
They're still paid for in full, just a very nice gesture from a great member of our community

I promise you, not nearly as many people would go if the tickets weren't free.

They can't get the "free" ticket without the purchase of at least one adult ticket, so it drives sales. I'm so proud of Peter's Brothers for this awesome gesture. The Vees are very affordable, but being able to turn it into a family event without spending that extra $10 or $12 per student is such a bonus. Gets a few more people in the stands so it's all good.

They can get a free kid's ticket without an adult ticket, and fewer adults would go as often if it meant paying for kid's tickets all of the time. I'm not dumping on their achievement I'm saying it's just a little cloudy that's all.
They found a way to get over 3000 per game that's great.