The Nuggets are leading their division and 3rd in their conference.

The Avs are, well, the Avs… and Denver isn’t nearly the hockey town they have been portrayed.  And now there’s no Joe Sakic to boot.

Fans are voting with their dollars and butts, and the vote is that the Avs aren’t going to probably be a big draw again, winning or not.  Their newness has worn off.

Posted by Primis on 12/22/09 at 08:59 AM ET

It’s just so ironical that Dater’s team can’t draw flies while he bashed Nashville back on opening night for not selling out. Truly ironical. good luck with that. Merry Christmas.

Posted by PredNeck from Hicktown on 12/22/09 at 10:33 AM ET

I’ve only been in the Denver area for a few years, but with so many things to do for pratically nothing combined with the Denver economy really sucking, maybe people have just changed their lifestyle. For instance, I haven’t been to a game in probably two years. Ive even passed when my Wings have come to town. I just can’t see spending the money when I can have a lot more fun doing other things for a third of the cost. I have friends who haven’t been to a Rockies game in awhile. Meanwhile, the parks and the trails around town are a bit more crowded then they were a few years ago. Just a theory. Maybe its going on in other cities as well.

Posted by UMFan from Colorado on 12/22/09 at 11:35 AM ET

One of the biggest issues is drawing back the “casual fan”.  In order to do that the Avs owners need to hire someone that took at least a basic marketing class in high school.  If they went to a business college and got a degree in marketing then that is a huge bonus.

Another issue is that the local media (besides Dater) doesn’t talk about the Avs very much.  The televised, print, and radio news generally goes like this from Aug/Sept to March;
Broncos, Broncos, Broncos, Broncos, Broncos, Broncos, Broncos, Broncos, Broncos, Broncos, Broncos, Broncos, Broncos, Broncos, Broncos, Broncos, Nuggets, Nuggets, Nuggets, Nuggets, Nuggets, Nuggets, Nuggets, Nuggets,
Avs. 
Then, once baseball season starts change the order from Nuggets, to Rockies, to Broncos off-season news, to Avs.  During the hockey off-season one wouldn’t even know we have a hockey team with the “coverage” the Avs are given.  Yet, if a Nugget or Bronco sneeze it’s front page in the sports section.

There are rumors of an Avs billboard in town, but I don’t know anyone that has seen it.  Plenty of Nuggets and Rockies billboards, and let’s face it, no one in Colorado needs to be reminded of the Broncos.

Another reason, like what many other teams are going through, folks are just this side of broke.  When one has to decide between gas in the car or hockey tickets generally the gas wins.  Especially when Avs management is too stupid to figure out the whole “lower ticket prices” thing that seems to work for other teams.

The Broncos will always sell out.  That’s a given in Denver. 
The Avs have the highest ticket prices and the worst marketing/front office/fan and customer relations when compared to the Nuggets, Rockies, and other NHL teams.  “Casual fans” are finding other things to do with their money.

Denver has the smallest population in relation to other cities that have professional hockey, football, basketball, baseball, soccer, indoor lax, outdoor lax, and until recently arena football teams.  Not to mention a couple other minor league hockey and basketball teams and no shortage of college sports.

Like every year, I’m sure there will be an uptick or surge in ticket sales after football season.  The Broncs play eight home games, and maybe a few playoff games.  The Avs play 41 home games, and a few playoff games.  People figure they have time to catch an Avs game that they might not have with football.

Don’t worry about the Avs.  They’ll be fine, just give it a little time.

Posted by AvsRock from My timeshare in insanity... on 12/22/09 at 06:25 PM ET