When You Know You Will Go
Comments(0) Hockey is all around us. Turn on the TV, open a newspaper, walk down the street and you will seem something that has to do with the sport. In this past year coverage and popularity has grown not even in Canada but in the United States as well. You would be hard pressed to find anyone in Vancouver who doesn’t know what the “golden goal” is and who scored it last February. 
I’m positive most students can relate to being strapped for cash while they are attending University, making cost effective entertainment all the more important. In Vancouver people fork over vast amounts of money to go watch hockey in the form of the Vancouver Canucks, and why not, they are the big dogs in town. But right here on campus students have the opportunity to watch great hockey for 1% of the price. So in a brand new 5,054-seat 47.8 million dollar arena watching fellow University student-athletes, some of which have been drafted to the same league as the Vancouver Canucks play, the question raised why is there not more of a fan base?
One of the major factors for lack of attendance I believe is due to the lack of marketing. UBC athletics has 3/4 components to the marketing mix at their fingertips:
- Product: University hockey. (6 players NHL Draft picks, 11 attended NHL try-out camps)
- Price: $2 Students, $5 Children/ Seniors, $10 General Admission
- Place: Doug Mitchell Thunderbird Sports Centre (47.8 mill, 5,054 seat arena)
- Promotion: …?
If students don’t know about the games, how are they supposed to come watch? The potential to bring out fans and have a great atmosphere every weekend is unlimited. In coming posts I will share my ideas on how to make this happen!!
