Blue Line
NHL Battles Icy Economy
By Alex Nseir

Once thought to be immune from financial downturns, the recent economic collapse is so bad that it is affecting professional sports franchises. No league seems to be safe from the recession.

The NBA laid off a tenth of its staff, while the NFL cut 169 jobs and its commissioner cut his salary by about 20 percent. ESPN decided not to fill 200 vacant jobs and the U.S. Olympic committee slashed millions from its budget by firing 54 employees. Nascar teams have laid off hundreds of employees and the PGA is losing three title sponsors.

While losing sponsorships are one of the reasons teams and leagues are hurting, losing fans that are driven away by high ticket prices is another concern. The New York Post's beat writer for the Rangers, Larry Brooks, proposed an across-the-board price freeze on NHL season tickets for this year's playoffs and the 2009-2010 season, which he thinks will provide positive publicity and boost ticket sales.

So far, at least 13 of the 30 teams in the NHL have decided to freeze season ticket prices for next year, including the Anaheim Ducks, the Florida Panthers, the New York Islanders, the Carolina Hurricanes and the Ottawa Senators, while the Dallas Stars and Tampa Bay Lightning are reducing prices. The Hurricanes are actually freezing prices for the next three years and the Ducks are also freezing the prices of parking and concessions. Many teams in the NFL and NBA are also freezing and reducing ticket prices.

The Penguins, however, who reached a milestone of 100 sellouts and counting this season, have a season ticket waiting list and a new arena to build, will likely not follow this trend.

Despite this, the Penguins have made other kind gestures to loyal fans over the past few years. In the 2008 Stanley Cup Playoffs, the Pens erected an LCD big screen outside of the arena so fans that were not able to get tickets could watch every home playoff game in a festive environment. The big screen was a huge hit, and thousands of fans gathered in front of the arena to watch the games over the four rounds of the playoffs. The team also capped off home wins with fireworks displays. When the Pens kicked of this season in Sweden against the Ottawa Senators, the team offered a watch party at where fans could watch the game on the Jumbotron at Mellon Arena, free of charge.

The Penguins have not announced any promotions that they will have should the team make the playoffs this year.

While the Penguins are not reducing or freezing ticket prices, the Pirates announced that they will freeze prices for 2009 and add value-priced season ticket plans. The team has not raised season ticket prices for seven consecutive years-currently the longest streak in the MLB.

Not all teams can afford to freeze ticket prices. Because NHL franchises must ensure that their team meets revenue-sharing requirements, which dictates that the club must increase revenue annually by more than the league average to qualify for the league's redistribution, the Buffalo Sabres, Toronto Maple Leafs, and Washington Capitals are increasing ticket prices.

Athletes in the NHL will also be affected by the recession. The NHLPA makes payments to the league in the event of revenue shortcomings each season. At the end of the year, the league usually pays back the players the money that was given to them. That will probably not happen this year.

While the economy is keeping fans from turning out to see their favorite teams in other cities, the Penguins and the Steelers seem likely to continue to sell out every home game throughout this crisis. The Steelers have won two Championships in four years, and Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin have nearly elevated hockey in Pittsburgh to Steeler-status. Ticket prices at Mellon Arena have risen since last year.

The Pitt Panthers' were unbeaten this year at the Petersen Events Center and sold out every game. The hottest college team in the city attracts high-profile Pittsburghers like Jeff Reed, Troy Polamalu, Mike Tomlin and Mario Lemieux, and seats to see the Panthers are not cheap. Average ticket prices have increased from $250 a seat to $345 since the arena opened in 2002.

However, Pitt reserves seats and reduces ticket prices for students, which makes the Pete one of the toughest places to play for opposing teams.

While the success of the region's teams is thrilling for fans in the best sports city in the country, struggling Pittsburghers looking for teams other than the Pirates to slash ticket prices will probably be disappointed for the time being.