Experiencing Edmonton’s Ice District – Sponsored

I recently took my family to Ice District Sales/Preview Centre in downtown Edmonton to look at my options for season seats next year. As a season seat holder, I had already received the mailout that the Oilers had sent a few weeks previously, and had received the many emails from the team ‘encouraging’ me to also come down to the Info Centre to get a better appreciation as to what my seating options are.

My first impression was, well…impressive. My 3 year old was especially enamored with the giant wall lengthened video screen that greeted us. I am pretty sure she could have just sat there for 30 minutes rather than having me drag her upstairs to sit in chairs and look at smaller screens.

We were greeted by a sales rep and taken for a tour of seating options for Rogers Place. She showed the multitude of price and location options – to which I again, was impressed. The one thing the Oilers did well in the new arena was to better vary the price points to reflect the sightlines and perks each area has. There was also a cool area for my family to get a shot of themselves with a rendering of the rink in the background. That was a nice touch as well to make you ‘feel’ like you were in the rink.

As I milled around the coffee area and tried to imagine myself in one of the many seating options , it struck me that I had a serious problem.

I can’t afford 90% of the seating options.

Well – maybe that’s not exactly true. Maybe I just don’t want to.

Now don’t get me wrong – the Oilers have been doing much more right than wrong lately, both on and off the ice. There seems to be a general feeling that the rink will be a great success, the area in downtown will boom economically, and the good times should be around for the hockey team performance wise for a sustained period of time.

But as a business person and a father of 4, I started to analyze what the team was asking me to invest in them for my entertainment dollar.

They were asking me to invest more to them on an annual basis than I do for my:

• Vacations
• Vehicle Payment/Maintenance and Gas
• Food for my Family
• My Mortgage

The only things I would pay more for than in a year than my Oilers seasons seats would be my taxes. That’s it.

And that’s not for luxurious Theatre Seating options or one of the other luxury options that they have created for fans to enjoy themselves. I am talking about pretty much every section other than the standing belly bar and the nose bleed section.

That seems like way too much money.

The other thing that struck me is the fact that with this move into a new arena, and without a family friendly pricing option available, that the Oilers are alienating multiple demographics of fans (families, students, blue collar workers) and catering to the Executive crowd. It is a real possibility that the Oiler games at the new Rogers Place will look a lot like what most Oiler fans make fun of at Maple Leafs games – corporate, stuffy, not ‘real’ hockey fans.

I am sure that that engaging fans for free through social media, great blog sites the Oilers Rig, and forum pages help keep the Oilers brand strong. But I just can’t imagine that there will be the same attachment from young people if they don’t actually get to go to a live game because ticket prices are not affordable.

How many of your fondest childhood memories of being an Oiler fan involve being at a live game versus being in front of a TV?

I’m not sure if I am being cheap or just making good sense – probably a combination of both. I have to make a decision in the next month or so before my time to purchase my Rogers Place seats come up. And there may be a very good chance that next year the only way I go to Ice District will be to sit out in the Winter Garden or go to a movie rather than go to watch the Oil.