Don McNaul would turn on his television last winter and curse the fates that there was no “game on.” McNaul was not quite ready to paraphrase Patrick Henry by proclaiming, “Give me hockey or give me death,” but it was close.
“I definitely missed my hockey last winter,” said McNaul, a 37-year-old Parker resident who plays in an adult hockey league. “I’m ecstatic that it’s back. It was a rough year without it.”
Will the majority of Colorado NHL fans forgive and forget the nearly year-long lockout that tentatively came to an end Wednesday? The answer seems to be yes – with a caveat:
“I think fans are still waiting to see whether something will be given back to us because of the lockout, like lower ticket prices. I think if they don’t, they’ll alienate everybody,” said Bob Bebber, the general manager of the hockey rinks in the Sun Microsystems complex in Westminster. “But I think the people will come back in Denver. I haven’t heard a lot of people saying they wouldn’t be back. They just want to see hockey.”
Local hockey fans seem to expect to be rewarded with lower ticket prices at Avalanche games.
“I think that has to happen for fans to fully come back,” Bebber said. “I think a lot of fans are really expecting that. If they cut player salaries that much, but didn’t lower prices, I think the owners would make a major, major mistake.”
Bebber manages what he said is the largest adult hockey league in the nation – 103 teams, with 16 players a team. He said the lockout impacted his business.
“We didn’t see the surges in (membership) in April and May, like we usually do,” he said. “When you have the excitement of the playoffs, it tends to generate more interest in hockey.”
The Avalanche said Wednesday it has seen almost no drop in season-ticket membership among its fan base as a result of the lockout. Dean Bonham, who runs a sports and entertainment marketing firm in Denver, did research on behalf of the NHL during the lockout that he said showed fans would forgive the league for a lost year in order to restore a more affordable financial landscape.
“None of our friends who have Avs season tickets have canceled,” said Jason Kirkfield, a partial season ticket-holder from Louisville. “We’re happy the Avs will be back on the ice.”
But Kirkfield, along with Bebber and McNaul, said they hope the product on the ice is the faster, more exciting one NHL brass have hinted will be coming in the near future.
“They definitely need to make it more exciting on the ice,” McNaul said. “Hockey is best when the best players can show their skill. It’s not so exciting watching them be bear-hugged all over the ice. I think that’s what hurt the NHL more than anything. You want to see the exciting offensive players do their thing. I certainly hope that returns.”
Adrian Dater can be reached at 303-820-5454 or adater@denverpost.com.
