Will Bruins fans come back?

By Zachary Baru

In recent years the Boston Bruins have enjoyed a boost in popularity through exciting young talent and better on-ice performance, highlighted by a 2011 Stanley Cup title.  Just one year after they had once again climbed back up on top of the Boston sports scene, are they in danger of falling back to number four again?

Not quite so fast.  Out of all of the sports markets in the U.S., Boston is one of the best hockey markets.  If there is any effect on attendance or broadcast ratings, the Bruins should not see as much of a decline as many other National Hockey League franchises.

Hockey's roots in Boston begins at the youth-level.  Unlike many other areas, youth hockey programs in Boston are vast and well-developed.  Add this to the number of colleges in New England with hockey programs compared to other regions of the country, and it can be seen why hockey has such a strong presence in New England.

While Boston is a traditional hockey market, the NHL also has many non-traditional markets as well.  These will likely be the franchises to be hurt the most, especially teams who have made recent improvements in building a fan base.  Take the Florida Panthers for example, who have seen a significant increase in ticket sales, along with better on-ice performance.  The momentum they have created in their market is now in jeopardy.  

The same can be said about the Los Angeles Kings, last year's Stanley Cup champions, who saw enormous amounts of 2013 season ticket sales during last year's playoffs.  These are the teams that will be hurt the most from this lockout, while back in Boston there will be minimal damage.  

After the last lockout in 2004-05, the Bruins' average attendance for 2005-06 was 16,211.  That was up from 15,133 fans per game in 2003-04.  If the Bruins were able to increase their attendance post-lockout during a time of declining interest in the team, they should have no trouble retaining their fans in 2013.  Hockey will always be a part of the fabric of this city, the NHL lockout cannot change that.

Zach Baru can be followed on Twitter @zbaru and reached at zachbaru@gmail.com.

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Celtics' court configuration catching on around NBA

By Zachary Baru

The Boston Celtics are somewhat of pioneers in the NBA.  No, not for anything basketball-related on the court, they were one of the first to change a common area of the arena - the court itself.

It has seen a lot of changes in the past few years, most noticeably the addition of two extra tables, along with additional courtside seats, and moving the announcers to their own table on the opposite side of the court.

This new configuration is entirely centered around the television exposure of courtside advertisements.  By having two new tables, one on each end of the court next to the team benches, courtside advertisements are able to be seen no matter where the action is taking place on the court.  Whether the camera is fixed on the home teams' end, the away teams' end, or the center, courtside advertisements will be seen by the millions watching on television.

These ads receive about 15 percent more exposure with the new configuration, and you can understand why other NBA teams have caught on to the innovative configuration.  One of the most recent teams is Cleveland, who changed the set-up of their scorer's table this season.

The next time you watch the Celtics on CSN, notice how often you can see the courtside ads.  This increases the value their sponsors get from courtside advertisements, making this a growing trend all around the NBA.

Zach Baru can be followed on Twitter @zbaru and reached at zachbaru@gmail.com.

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NHL Lockout Affecting Boston Economy

By Zachary Baru

It is easy to dismiss hockey as a factor in the economy of the nation's seventh largest media market.  But for Boston, each home game that is lost in the current National Hockey League lockout represents a substantial economic loss.

The economic impact of an average Bruins home game is estimated between $850,000 and $1 million.  Anytime you have 17,000-plus fans pouring into an arena, both the neighborhood and the city forfeit the revenue of any event-related purchases.  While the economic impact is felt by the city, the real effects are on the small business owners that rely on hockey to bring in patrons.

The largest example of this are restaurants and bars, mostly in the North End, who see a large increase in business during game-nights.  Aside from the owners who are taking a financial hit, the employees also see a loss in earnings.  Hotels around the area can be effected as well, as fans, media and teams will be coming into town for the game.

If you are still not convinced, take a look at this.  Out of 30 NHL franchises, the Bruins were one of sixteen who sold out every home game last season.  Take the 17,565 fans who entered TD Garden each night, and multiply that by 41 home games.  The Bruins attracted 720,165 people to the North End during the regular season, each of whom represented a potential economic impact.

Many of the 700,00-plus fans coming to TD Garden for hockey games last season used public transportation, either by subway or commuter rail to get into North Station.  This is an example of a loss of revenue to the state, not to mention the loss of state sales tax revenue for any event-related purchases.

Without the NHL, Boston's economy will not crumble, but the league still represents an economic boost for the city and state.  From government, all the way down to small business owners and employees, the loss of the NHL will be felt by much more than just Bruins ownership.  For the city and the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, it is significantly important hockey returns to TD Garden.

Zach Baru can be followed on Twitter @zbaru and reached at zachbaru@gmail.com.

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Developments May Come Soon About Breakers' New U.S. Women's Soccer League

By Zachary Baru

Promising news came earlier this evening about the status of a new U.S. women's soccer league.  The Boston Breakers already announced in August that they would be members of a new league, along with seven other franchises, including a new team in Seattle.

Tonight during a halftime interview at the U.S. Women's National Team exhibition in East Hartford, Connecticut, U.S. Soccer President Sunil K. Gulati told NBC Sports Network that "I think over the next 10 days, we'll have some interesting things to say", when asked about a new women's league.

Gulati also mentioned that U.S. Soccer has been working with investors and the Canadian Soccer Association regarding the development of a new women's league.  This is great news for the Breakers, who earlier this year competed in the semi-professional Women's Premier Soccer League Elite (WPSL Elite).

A crowd of 18,870 fans braved rainy conditions at Rentschler Field in East Hartford tonight for an exhibition match between the United States and Germany, ending in a 2-2 draw.  These two teams also played before a sold-out crowd of 19,522 at Toyota Park in Bridgeview, Illinois on Saturday, ending in a 1-1 draw.

After playing from 2009 to 2011 in Women's Professional Soccer (WPS) at Harvard Stadium, last year the Breakers played at Dilboy Stadium in Somerville, selling out all 7 home games with more than 2,000 fans per game.

The comments from U.S. Soccer President Sunil Gulati this evening made for an encouraging night for U.S. women's soccer.

Zach Baru can be followed on Twitter @zbaru and reached at zachbaru@gmail.com.

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MLS Wakeup Call: The Revolution Has Already Begun

By Zach Baru

Last Sunday, CenturyLink Field in Seattle had 66,452 screaming fans.  If your first reaction was wondering who the Seahawks were playing, you would probably be surprised to find out that it was not an NFL game at all.  It was a Major League Soccer match.

And if that wasn't interesting enough, it was not a playoff game, and there were no special promotions or double-headers with international teams.  Sunday in Seattle was just plain MLS soccer.  And the city, along with many others in the country, is falling more and more in love with it.

So where does this revolution in MLS leave our own Revs?  Well, for now, it's sort of the calm before the storm.  While Gillette Stadium will not routinely get over 60,000 fans for a Revolution game, there is no reason why within 5 years a scene like Sunday in Seattle cannot happen in Foxboro at least once a season.  And the chance of seeing attendance pick up close to the 20,000-range in the near future looks promising

Last year at Gillette, 51,523 fans came to see the Revolution play an exhibition match against Manchester United.  Of course this was not an MLS match, but it is still encouraging since it was played on a tough drawing Wednesday night.  Although the Revolution's average home attendance this season was 13,281 (and 13,222 in 2011), poor on-field play and the lack of a soccer-specific stadium has long hurt the Revs.  With the demand other MLS markets are seeing across the country, such as Seattle, Portland and Kansas City, the rise in popularity of the MLS will soon come to New England.

The Boston area, along with the rest of New England, has an enormous amount of youth soccer programs.  With MLS thriving, these youth are more and more likely to grow up fans of their MLS team, and continue to support the team as they grow older.  This is where the MLS has an advantage over the NHL, NBA and MLB, where popularity is more steady, and not exactly increasing much.  Even though this is the same old story soccer fans have been preaching since the 1970's during the days of the North American Soccer League, along with Pele and the New York Cosmos, this time soccer actually has a stable league in MLS that has learned from the mistakes of the old NASL.

The Revolution will ride the success of teams like the Seattle Sounders, and will capitalize off the success of MLS as the league grows, into growth of its own.  They have solid ownership in the Kraft Sports Group, and a market that embraces soccer.  When the on-field performance improves, so will the response off the field.  It is only a matter of time before the revolution in MLS comes to New England.

Zach Baru can be followed on Twitter @zbaru and reached at zachbaru@gmail.com.

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Three Renovations TD Garden Needs

By Zach Baru

The latest renovations at TD Garden will be an even better makeover of suites than you will find on any HGTV reality show.  The suites will include many state-of-the art features including ways for companies to brand themselves to clients they are entertaining during the games.

The new and innovative renovations are a great step forward for TD Garden, which has certainly done its fair share of minor and semi-minor renovations in the past.  But for the 18,000-plus seat arena built in 1995, it continues to be out-dated in many ways.  As newer arenas offer different ways to appeal to fans, TD Garden will have to keep up.  Here are three ways they can do it:

1. Integrate with social media.

To encourage fans to tweet where they are, or just tweet about the team in general, small screens could be added in the arena devoted to displaying any hastags related to the Bruins, Celtics, TD Garden, or the event that is taking place.  Not only would this promote the venue, teams and events, but it would also get the fans more involved.  Would this have to be monitored?  Absolutely.

2. Install LCD monitors in the loge concourse for commuter rail status.

The Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey offers fans walking in the concourses during the end of events the chance to view LCD screens with the status of commuter rail, which is just blocks from the station.  As soon as fans leave their seats, they can view screens showing train times, track numbers, and status of trains taking the 13 mile trip to New York City.  There is no reason why this cannot be implemented to the concourse of TD Garden, making it easy for fans taking the commuter rail below the arena in North Station.

3. Add colored lighting to the roof over level 9.

An underrated feature of TD Garden is the outside lighting they have at night, which really jazzes up the arena.  Between the new sign on Causeway Street, and the lighting on the outside roof, the arena looks very modern for a venue built in 1995.  Why not add similar colored lighting to the roof over level 9 in the arena?  It is already lit-up all around the interior of the arena, but adding color similar to the red lights Mohegan Sun Arena uses would be a great way to create a new vibe at TD Garden.

Zach Baru can be followed on Twitter @zbaru.  He can be reached at zachbaru@gmail.com.

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Can the Boston Cannons Pack Harvard Stadium for MLL Championship?

By Zach Baru

The 2012 Major League Lacrosse Championship Weekend will be at Harvard Stadium on Saturday, and for Cannons marketing, this could not be a better opportunity.  They are the defending champions of MLL, and unlike the championship season last year, the two potential post-season games will be in Cambridge.

Last August in Andover, Maryland at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium, the Cannons won the league's title before 5,027 fans.  This year, Harvard Stadium will most likely be a bit more filled, as the Cannons' final home game earlier this month drew 9,056 fans.  High attendances this season, coupled with on-field success should result in setting attendance records this weekend at Harvard.

A 4 PM start on Saturday does not help, and box office tickets that are purchased on gameday are a little high at $30.  One thing that is certain, is if the Cannons were to reach the final on Sunday, the game would give them excellent exposure, as Sunday's game will be aired live on ESPN2.  The Cannons have benefited from the presence this season's Comcast SportsNet broadcasts gave them, but a live ESPN2 appearance would really give the Cannons needed attention.

As the Cannons have seen great attendance figures grow in recent years, this is a chance for them to capitalize on having the championship at home, and also showcasing their brand to fans who may not know much about them.  Last year's title did earn the Cannons headlines, and also appearances on the field at Fenway Park and Gillette Stadium, but this weekend they can truly obtain maximum media exposure.

The Cannons should be able to top 10,000 fans for Saturday's game, and if they reach the championship Sunday, they could surpass their franchise record of 11,894 fans set earlier this year in June.  The Cannons title last year before 5,000 fans in Maryland may not have stopped the presses, but this year a potential title in front of 10,000-plus fans in Harvard would really make an impression here in Boston.

2012 Boston Cannons Home Attendance:

April 28 vs. Rochester: 9,174

May 5 vs. Charlotte: 9,273

May 12 vs. Hamilton: 11,277

June 9 vs. Long Island: 11,894 (franchise record)

July 19 vs. Denver: 7,743

July 28 vs. Chesapeake: 9,117

August 4 vs. Ohio: 9,056

Average: 9,648

Source: Boston Cannons




Zach Baru can be followed on Twitter @zbaru and reached at zachbaru@gmail.com.

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