By Jennifer Offenbeck
Ottawa 67s season ticket holders are concerned they’re not getting their money’s worth because of the new owner’s aggressive marketing campaign.
Ottawa entrepreneur Jeff Hunt, who purchased the No.1 ranked franchise in the Ontario Hockey League in June, was criticized by some season ticket holders who feel they’ve been cheated out of a deal. For the two home games after the opener, Hunt offered a 2-for-1 deal to everyone who had a ticket from the first game. However, this marketing technique hasn’t pleased everybody. Tammy McNamara, a 15-year-67s fan and a season ticket holder for the last 13 years, said she thinks the new marketing campaign is a good idea, but what it’s doing to ticket holders is very unfair.
“Season ticket holders buy their tickets in advance,” said McNamara. “We get 25 per cent off but when you work out all this marketing, we’re not getting 25 per cent off.”
For the Oct. 23 game, McNamara said she paid $7.50 for a ticket, more than the general public did. The 2-for-1 deal let fans through the door at two home games for only $4.75 a ticket.
“I see what Mr. Hunt’s doing, but it should only be one game a month,” said McNamara. “He’s got to be careful with his season ticket holders because there’s a lot of people who are really upset with it.”
Hunt said he understands the concern of the fans who bought their tickets in advance. He wrote a letter to the team’s 1,000 season ticket holders urging them to remember the value of their season’s tickets over the whole season, rather than just one game.
“We’ve got a lot of game promotions scheduled for fans, so the season ticket holders don’t have to worry,” said Hunt. “They’re our main fans, of course we don’t want to lose them.”
While pleasing the season ticket holders is important, Hunt said getting people through the door is his main challenge. His goal for the season is to more than double last year’s average attendance of 2,300 to about 5,000 a game. With increased advertising on Roger’s Cable, four radio stations, and three newspapers, it’s already becoming a reality, with attendance up almost 1,000 fans a game.
“We’re doing a lot more advertising and we’re trying to create a better atmosphere for the fans,” said Hunt. “The atmosphere is a lot more fun before and after the game. The fact that we have more fans is more exciting, too.”
This year’s home opener was host to almost 11,000 fans, the largest crowd in the history of OHL hockey in Ottawa.
Hunt put $30,000 into marketing the opener, more than the 67s spent on advertising all of last season.
The team’s marketing manager, Doug Drain, said Ticketmaster sold more 67s tickets for the home-opener game by phone and at its outlets than it had for all Ottawa games last year combined.
“The biggest thing we’re trying to get across to fans is to come and try the Ottawa 67s again,” said Drain. “We need the best advertising we can get. Our media coverage is the biggest thing.”
Keeping ticket prices from going up is another way the club is trying to attract fans. Family packages were also introduced to keep the prices within a reasonable budget.
“We’re just trying to sell the team (67s) as a family affordable product, an evening out that’s cheaper than a movie,” Drain said.
Hunt said he hopes to get another sellout between now and Christmas. By bringing in live bands, welcoming minor hockey players and having more promotional give-aways, he said he believes the numbers will increase.
“You can’t beat the home opener, but since then, 4,500 to 4,600 has been positive,” said Hunt.
After Christmas, the team’s final stretch before the Memorial Cup, Hunt will push for more full houses. Hunt’s ultimate goal for the season is for the 67s to host the 1999 Memorial Cup. To do this, the team must win as many of their first 40 games as they can to be in the running.
As the new owner, Hunt admitted that he is already facing challenges, but ones that come with the job.
“I’m learning the whole hockey experience,” said Hunt. “I’m on a rapid learning curve.”