AJC > Sports Thrashers > Blog > Archives > 2008 > March > 12
Wednesday, March 12, 2008
Overlooking A Great Asset
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Avs 5 Former Penguins 2
Tuesday night the Atlanta Thrashers fell to the Colorado Avalanche 5-2. Or, if you want to look at it, the Avs scored five goals and Atlanta’s former Penguin players scored 2. For their new team, Colby Armstrong scored an unassisted goal and Eric Christensen scored the other with assists from Armstrong and Eric Perrin, (well, someone who has been here all year needed to get a point).
With the loss, the team fell to 1-6-4 in the 11 games since going 2 games over .500 for the one and only time all season on February 15.
To point out a couple of positives, the Perrin - Army - Christensen line looked good together and Kari Lehtonen stopped all 6 shots he faced in the 3rd after relieving Johan Hedberg who allowed 5 goals on 23 shots through two periods.
Write Your Own Punch-line
Just Tuesday, Bruce Levenson told the AJC, “I believe we’re a lot closer than a lot of people may think or give us credit for”. He then went on to reference the fact that just last month we were in the playoff hunt.
OK, you guys run with that…
The Whiteout That Wasn’t
The Atlanta Thrashers announce a “White Out” would take place Tuesday night in Philips Arena when playing the Colorado Avalanche. The team would wear their white jerseys at home for the first time since the ’02-’03 season to go along with the giving away of white t-shirts to the first 13,000 fans, (with big props to UPS).
Well, the t-shirts were there…most of the 13,000 planned for came through the gate…but the team wearing the white jerseys were the Avs. The story I get is that the Avs played in Dallas Sunday and they had to wear their whites in that game, so they didn’t want to pack the extra set.
If that’s so… then not only did Colorado push around the team on the ice, but also the team’s marketing department gets the back-of-the hand from the opposition as well.
Overlooking A Great PR Asset
I sat next to a very nice family in section 207 on Tuesday night. (I say nice even though the kids were wearing Avs jerseys…rebellious youth)! Anyway, during the game the daughter, 20-year old Tonya, and I tripped up on one of the subjects that have been kicked around recently…discount ticket prices vs. STH paying full price.
I asked, “OK tell me, what is the difference between a half-full Blueland with the fans paying full price or a full Blueland with those in house paying half price”?
She thought about it for a moment and then speculated, “Um, money? No, wait…it’s the same, right”?
Yes, theoretically, it is. But I went on to ask the young student of the University of Southern Alabama, “But, once they’re here, what is the difference”?
“Um, food? More people buy food”?
Yes, Tonya…what else?
“Uh, beer? And merchandise”?
Yes, and a lot of them paid to park too, right?
“Yes…that’s more money”.
Bright kid, that Tonya. I feel better about our nation’s future.
See, what I’m getting as is…while I completely understand why season ticket holders are upset at being sold a package of seats at the full price just to see someone sit in the same section who paid 65% face value, I believe it makes sense to try and fill those seats anyway possible. It’s good business. However, it’s a double-edged sword because I also know how I feel when I pay $375.00 for a plane ticket and some dude plops his rear end next to me when boarding and the first thing out of his mouth is, “Dang, this is great…I got this ticket for $200.00 on a last-minute fair saver”.
( .\/. ) Grrrr!
So, I understand both sides of this situation.
But here is where I think the organ-I-zation went horribly wrong with this PR disaster …there was no thought of how their most loyal of their customers were going to react. At least that’s the way it seems. Then, to rub a little salt in the wound, the STHs get the un-good attitude that is, “Hey, prices are going up…just deal with it”. This, on top of the disappointment in the play of the team.
One suggestion I have would have is to offer the STH the same amount of discount on their renewal for next season. Say there were 20 games that had such discount specials and the average discount was $25 in their section. That would be $500.00worth of discounts on those seats over the course of the season. So, offer a discount of that amount on their renewal.
They might have offered an upgrade to the next price level at the same price, or free tickets to bring a guest, (in fact I think I read somewhere that just such an offer had be floated out there). Anyway, it would have at least been something! And such perks should be communicated before the offers went out to the general public, …not AFTER season ticket holders rose up about the seeming inequity.
Maybe that would have helped, maybe not.
But, I can’t help but think that if the ASG would have included the STHs with the plan to “Sell Blueland” to the masses, they might have been pleasantly surprised to find they had a willing ally in the cause.
As fellow blogger DowntownATL put it after the Minnesota game, “A weekend game with 6,000 people in the stands begging to learn hockey and become Thrashers fans. I saw them tonight, I talked to them tonight, I high fived them tonight. If my full season ticket dollar is being used to subsidize the newbies; so be it”.
Instead of using this great resource, they simply made many of them feel…well, used.
