The NHL Arena Welcome Message

[HockeyKate30]

The lousy economy is playing havoc on attendance for the Valley's sports teams, but there are deals for fans looking to see a game on the cheap.

Every professional sports team in metro Phoenix, along with Arizona State University's football team and the annual Fiesta Bowl, has had trouble selling tickets this year as growing unemployment and declining wages are keeping fans home.

Teams have been forced to try promotions once considered unthinkable as the drop in attendance cuts deeper into revenue and costs jobs. For example, the Phoenix Suns saw their 153-game streak of sellouts at US Airways Center end Nov. 1, and a few days later the team laid off about 10 percent of its workforce.

Even scalpers who make a living by charging a premium for tickets say they can't sell some tickets at face value. Three said they couldn't sell dozens of tickets for last Sunday's Arizona Cardinals game in Glendale.

"There is no question this economy has taken its toll on every segment of our society," said Jerry Colangelo, a retired sports owner who founded the Suns and Arizona Diamondbacks. "I have been here over 40 years, and this is the worst it has ever been."

The Phoenix Coyotes, which recently emerged from U.S. Bankruptcy Court, are fighting dismal ticket sales.

The hockey team on Monday drew 5,855 fans, just one-third of the capacity at Jobing.com Arena in Glendale. The Coyotes, drawing an average of 9,526 fans for the first eight home games, have the worst average home attendance in the 30-team National Hockey League, which this week announced a league attendance record for October despite the Coyotes.

Team President Doug Moss said the bankruptcy, which dragged on all summer when the team typically sells season tickets, and uncertainty over the Coyotes' future cost them more than 3,000 season-ticket holders who did not renew.

"We are disappointed more people haven't come out, but we understand the circumstances," Moss said. "The good news is we are selling thousands of tickets every day, and we are moving in the right direction. We had to dig ourselves out of quite a hole."

AZCentral.com

It looks like the Coyotes arent the only ones in AZ that are hurting attendance wise but we are the only ones getting picked on.

[Tashimojo]

It looks like the Coyotes arent the only ones in AZ that are hurting attendance wise but we are the only ones getting picked on.

Haven't you heard? It's the in thing to do this season.

The Avs are having attendance problems as well. It certainly can be infuriating to read half-baked criticisms that make it sound as if the blame is all on the fans and there are no good reasons as to why attendance is suffering now...

[cityhockeyfever]

Despite all this, I remain hopeful that the Coyotes will emerge from this very bad period of their history. If everyone in the Valley is having ticket sales and attendance issues BECAUSE of the economy, all the more for me to blame that and not lack of fan support.

[HockeyKate30]

Despite all this, I remain hopeful that the Coyotes will emerge from this very bad period of their history. If everyone in the Valley is having ticket sales and attendance issues BECAUSE of the economy, all the more for me to blame that and not lack of fan support.

Exactly!