Headcount: FPHL 2018-2019 Edition
Welcome to Headcount! A series where we take a look at attendance trends throughout minor professional hockey. Today we will be taking a look at the FPHL attendance from the 2018-19 season and comparing them to the 2017-18 season.
- Excellent = 1,000 or more on average
- Average = Between 500 and 999 on average
- Danger Zone = Less than 500 on average
FPHL Average Attendance for 2018-19 was 1,546, which is up 55.85% from the 2017-18 season (992).
2018-19 FPHL Attendance (Attendance Average provided by federalhockey.com)
Team AAPG Change from 2017-18
1. Elmira Enforcers: 3,137 N/A (Inaugural Season)
2. Carolina Thunderbirds: 2,714 +22.97% (2,207)
3. Danville Dashers: 990 -2.37% (1,014)
4. Watertown Wolves: 964 +39.71% (690)
5. Port Huron Prowlers: 835 -9.24% (920)
6. Mentor Ice Breakers: 374 N/A (Inaugural Season)
We have reached the final headcount of the off-season and it's certainly an interesting one. The Federal Prospects Hockey League is the lowest of minor professional hockey. As such, the attendance and team count reflects that. With only six teams during the 2018-2019 season, I had to adjust my categories quite a bit. Now. let's get started as we talk about the FPHL attendance figures!
First off, there are two big elephants in the league, the Elmira Enforcers and Carolina Thunderbirds. These two teams accounted for 66.9% of the total FPHL attendance during the 2018-2019 season. Elmira specifically was recently in the ECHL when they were home to the Jackals before folding due to ownership selling the arena, but not the team. The Enforcers are the first team in FPHL history to break the 3,000 per game mark.
Now onto the Carolina Thunderbirds, the FPHL's Southern darling that has made the league look south for more expansion possibilities. Averaging more than 2,000 a night in each of their first two seasons, along with winning the Commissioners Cup this past season, has turned the Thunderbirds into a model FPHL team. Now, this upcoming season they will have a closer rival with the addition of the Columbus River Dragons. These two teams could help boost each others attendance even further, which is the ideal scenario that the FPHL would love to see.
Next, we have the Danville Dashers, the longest-running FPHL team in the league today. Danville over the last few seasons has been around the 1,000 spectators a night mark, which in the FPHL is typically a good, stable ground. While they aren't a historical powerhouse on-the-ice or in the stands, they seem to have a solid fanbase willing to cheer through it all.
Back up in New York, the Watertown Wolves saw a very nice increase in attendance from 2017-2018, up to near 1,000 spectators a game and only a tiny bit behind the previously mentioned Dashers. The attendance for the Wolves in 2018-2019 is also a franchise record, with the previous high being 740 back in 2016-2017.
Now up to Michigan as the Port Huron Prowlers went down some, now under 900 people at their games each night for the first time in their franchise history. I wouldn't worry about Port Huron too much, though. This season the Prowlers are getting an in-state rival in the form of the Battle Creek Rumble Bees, which should hopefully help bring a few more fans to the arena for both teams.
Lastly, we take a trip to Ohio and see that the Mentor Ice Breakers did not do well in their inaugural season, both on the ice and at the gate. Failing to make the playoffs, as well as failing to even draw half of the Prowlers attendance figures, the Ice Breakers are the lone team from 2018-2019 that I would consider to be in danger. Their arena was the smallest in the FPHL last season, as the Mentor Civic Ice Arena only holds 1,600 people. Hopefully the Ice Breakers front office can bring more people into the building this season, otherwise, the future of the team could very well be bleak.
As an extra thing here at the end, the FPHL is about to have a very important season. Not only is it the 10th season of the league, but they have added four new expansion clubs for this season. We talked about each club on our Meet the Team series, but this will be a year where we see just how well the FPHL can hold up financially. Should be a fun season to watch and see how the league and it's teams do at the gate.
-Marc of The Robinson Report
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