With another season in the books, albeit a shortened one, I thought I'd do some analysis on the Stars' attendance numbers.
"Why, Dave?" I hear you ask. Well ..... just cos, that's why :-)
The 19/20 season was another record breaking season for attendance numbers. A season average attendance of 1402 is the highest ever and represents the third successive year of growth with Omar Pacha at the helm.
A couple of seasons ago, the Stars brought face off time for Sunday games forward to 5 pm. The hope was that this would encourage more families, with school in mind on Monday morning, to come along as the games would finish up earlier. The reaction was mixed to say the least but, the proof of the pudding is in the eating, as they say. This particular pudding is a green line and it's climbed higher for three seasons in a row now.
Tastes pretty good to me.
The decision by the Stars to host more Saturday games than Sunday games last season was certainly a gamble. Ask any fan who has been around for a while and they would tell you that hockey night in Dundee is a Sunday night. While Sunday games are still well attended and as popular as ever, you can clearly see that Saturday's are where the biggest growth has come from and this has to be worth exploring further.
"I wonder if the numbers are driven by Flyers and Clan games with their larger crowds?" I thought to myself. Better break them down by opposition and check it out I suppose.
Answer:- nope.
While they are certainly our biggest crowds, it's great to see growth on games against pretty much every team as it shows the increase in Stars fans across the board, I reckon.
Wee note to the Fixtures Committee for next season - more triple headers for the Panthers in Scotland please. We need to get that number up :-)
The Stars' numbers are pretty good in their own right but, to get a sense of perspective, it's good to compare yourself to your closest competition so I had a look at the other Scottish teams too.
As you can see, the Stars compare very favourably to the Clan and Flyers in terms of average attendance performance. In fact, I'd go as far as to say that, unless anything changes, the Stars will pass the Flyers for average attendance next season.
Over 10,000 more people are coming to watch the Stars now compared to three seasons ago. Whichever way you look at it, that is absolutely massive. Some numbers speak for themselves. This one definitely does.
Of course, the 19/20 season being cut short has affected the total attendance numbers but the Stars were on track to have more people through the door than the 18/19 season. Considering the Stars had achieved their highest total the season before, the fact that it would have been beaten really shows how much of a buzz has been created around the team and the city.
And finally ..... How did the Stars compare against the rest of the league?
Pretty well, as it turns out.
More than double the league average increase on the previous season and the highest increase in the whole league across all games.
Dundee is where it's at, clearly.
So will the 20/21 season will bring a fourth successive season of increased attendance? Another record breaking total attendance number? A higher average attendance than the Flyers? A regular season sell out? Without the benefit of a crystal ball, I don't know the answers to those questions but, what I do know is that all of these things are within reach.
So, tell your family, tell your friends, tell your colleagues, tell random strangers in the street! It's gonna be an exciting season next season and you won't want to miss it.
Sources:-