This is part one of a three part piece on the Avs and marketing.
The Colorado Avalanche have a serious opportunity in front of them, provided they market themselves correctly.
Since the NHL lockout, the attendance at the Pepsi Center for hockey games has not been what it used to be.
Back in 2005-06, the Colorado Avalanche had no problem selling out games at Pepsi Center. According to ESPN, during that year, the Avalanche ranked 11th in the NHL in attendance and had 100% attendance. Flash forward to the 2010-11 season, the Avs rank 24th at only 82.3 percent capacity.
The departure of the popular names (Patrick Roy, Peter Forsberg and Adam Foote) as well as a rougher economy and a diminished on-ice product all have played factors in declining attendance numbers.
So how do the Avalanche get the attendance back?
Making a better arena experience
In recent years, High Definition Television became the hot new thing. In hi-def, games have become clearer, sound better. The only thing missing is the feel of the ice but otherwise the difference between going to games and watching them on TV has become negligible.
Currently, the only thing a fan will miss between going to a game and watching it on his TV is the in-game entertainment. The fans can get their friends together, drink a beer at their home and still watch the same game that fans are paying at least $24 to see. In fact, it might be better considering their TV at home might have been picture than the Pepsi Center Jumbotron.
When the Pepsi Center opened its doors in 1999, it was the pinnacle of modernity. It had the best sound, the newest Jumbotron and, of course, the best fans. Step into 2011, the sound is still great, the fans, the ones that come, are still fantastic but the Jumbotron is severely outdated.
Watching replays or player features or camera pans through the seats on the Jumbotron feels like taking a step back in time to a time where TVs still have pixels. When you compare the Pepsi Center Jumbotron
to the one in the Verizon Center out in Washington
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the difference is easy to see. The picture at the Verizon Center is clear, it is crisp, has great definition. Watching replays on that screen is like watching them in real-time. This not only captures moments on the ice better but it would make film clips- something that all fans enjoy- more vivid and would get the crowd more engaged.
A Jumbotron is not a cheap thing at nearly $17 million but considering that it would make for a better experience at Avalanche, Nugget, Mammoth games but also concerts, political events, the benefit would certainly outweigh the cost. Buying a new, updated Jumbotron, you're not just spending money, you are making an investment in your most valuable resource: the fans.
Updating the Jumbotron would improve the in-game experience which, in turn, would bring more fans to the games, give everyone more revenue and increase fan loyalty. Getting a new Jumbotron wouldn’t just be investing in the arena, it would be investing in the fans.
With a new Jumbotron should come a tweak in the soundboard for the Pepsi Center. Unlike the Jumbotron, the sound system of the Pepsi Center is not outdated and still puts out great sound but it still could be tweaked.
Most of the time at Avalanche games, the sound is turned up to maximum when in fact some contrast could be truly effective.
One of the greatest American composers is John-Philip Sousa, the father of the American march practically invented contrast. One of the great things about Sousa beyond his ability to make really upbeat music is the dynamic contrast. Since all his pieces are marches and marches do not change speed, Sousa had to do something to keep the attention of his audience. What he did, instead of changing speeds in a piece, he changed the dynamic.
Sousa pieces are notorious for being loud one minute and then quiet the next, make the audience curious where the sound went only to be knocked off their feet by the next strain that immediately becomes loud again. This contrast is good at keeping the attention of the audience and also keeping them on the edge of their seat.
At the Pepsi Center, this could be quite effective. Keep the sound at a medium volume for much of the game until the true impact moments of a game. Imagine the Avalanche going on the powerplay to a suddenly overpowering sound system with the crowd cheering all the more. Though the only thing that has been done has been to turn up the music, the fans would be intrigued and it would pull them up to the edge of their seats.
Recently the Pepsi Center has added an organ to its repertoire, an addition that has pleased fans. To hear the theme from “Family Guy” or “The Office” or classic rock gems like “Don’t Stop Believin’” or “Immigrant song” gets the fans up in their seats and has certainly increased the quality of their in-game experience, an experience that can be heard on TV but not enjoyed quite the same way.
With the new organ, the experience has become better and the fans have responded. Since the organ has been installed, attendance has risen from 77.5 percent attendance in 2009-10 to the 82.3 percent recorded the previous year. This is not to say that is the only reason but it certainly is something to factor in to the increase in attendance.
Image how much more the fans would enjoy the in-game experience with a full HD-jumbotron playing clips from Back to the Future or “Black Sheep” or “Animal House.”
It would also be much more enjoyable to watch the replay that Erik Johnson shot beat Detroit goaltender Jimmy Howard over the shoulder when the fans can see the stick bend and individual fibers of the net move, all while sitting with 18,007 of their closest friends. That kind of experience is worth the price of admission and that is just a replay of one play in one game, not 60 action-packed minutes of yet another classic Avalanche-Red Wings rivalry matchup.
With a small sound adjustment and a new Jumbotron, any seat in Pepsi Center instantaneously becomes a prime seat.
Check back soon for part 2: Getting more fan interaction
Colorado Avalanche Blogger • 
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