Not That It Would Have Helped Last Night

I have always been a touch obsessed with the idea of making the ice rinks in the NHL wider. Given the size and speed of today's players, I feel like all the rule changes in the world aren't going to get the NHL game back to the offensive glory days of the 1980's that Gary Bettman so desperately longs for. Back in May, over on the Opossum-Palooza, I did a quick, decidedly unscientific, study of what the impact of a wider rink would be. I'm bringing it up again now because I was down on the glass, thanks to a very generous client of mine, last Wednesday for the Capitals' game against the Bruins.

When I wrote that piece at the O-P, I guesstimated that a wider ice rink would result in 22 new front row seats. Looking at my ticket from last Wednesday's game, I can tell you that front row seats are worth $225 a pop.

$225 x 41 games a year x 22 new seats = $202,950 a year in added revenue

Obviously, this fails to take into account the overall decrease in the number of tickets available, but I have no doubt the seats that disappear as a result of a larger ice surface would be those of the inexpensive variety.

As for the numbers I wasn't able to particularly quantify back in May: concession sales. This time around, I went to the game with one of the sales reps from a brand we sell at my store. He has a large expense account. Given the outrageous price of food and alcohol inside the Phone Booth, I would guess that, during the course of the game, the four people in my group (including myself) probably drank at least $30 worth of beer. This is a rather conservative estimate because the truth is, I hang out with some serious drunks. This is also not counting the various libations we consumed while up in the Acela Club during intermissions, or down at the Johnny Walker Coaches Club after the game. All told, the total amount we spent on food and drinks probably came to at least $200. Bringing the adjusted total dollar figure for each ticket to roughly $275.

$275 x 41 home games x 22 new seats = $248, 050

Again, my little study here is decidedly flawed, but I think it probably paints a pretty good picture of the overall added value of a wider rink. Especially since it doesn't take into consideration the increase in size of the second or third rows, which are also outrageously-priced expense account country. It also doesn't take into account the cost of converting an arena from the current layout to the new larger rink layout. All I'm trying to say is that, when looked at a little more closely, the issue of wider rinks needn't be simply an issue of increasing the game's aesthetic value, it could potentially increase the league's bottom line.