Sansided
Eyes On Isles
Home/Editorials

New York Islanders With Worst Attendance in NHL

Oct 12, 2015; Brooklyn, NY, USA; Fans arrive before the start of the NHL game between the New York Islanders and the Winnipeg Jets at Barclays Center. Mandatory Credit: Ed Mulholland-USA TODAY Sports
Oct 12, 2015; Brooklyn, NY, USA; Fans arrive before the start of the NHL game between the New York Islanders and the Winnipeg Jets at Barclays Center. Mandatory Credit: Ed Mulholland-USA TODAY Sports /
facebooktwitterreddit

The home of the New York Islanders isn’t perfect, and the team isn’t much better so far this season and fans are staying away to an embarrassing degree.

Season number two for the New York Islanders at the Barclays Center was supposed to be better. The fan experience was supposed to improve. Fans were supposed to make the Barclays a fortress for the Isles.

Fans just forgot that in order to do so they need to show up to the games.

That might not be totally fair. I’m sure a lot of fans have a good reason for not going to the game. Travel to the arena may be cumbersome and tedious. They might not want a seat that’s either obstructed or they have to perform a Linda Blair to see what’s happening on the other side of the ice.

All are good reasons to stay home and watch the games on TV rather than go to the arena. Oh, and the team isn’t that great right now. I forgot to add that in as a reason.

All of this is combining to become a perfect storm of terrible attendance.

Bottom of the League

The Islanders might not be at the bottom of the league in terms of standings. Although their 12 points only has them in 23rd and two points from the bottom.

But in terms of average attendance, the New York Islanders are at the bottom of the NHL. The Isles are 30th with an average 12,379 fans attending home games.

Want your voice heard? Join the Eyes On Isles team!

Write for us!

It’s fair that the Isles have the second smallest capacity rink in the NHL. Bigger only than the MTS Center in Winnipeg by some 700 seats. But even they outperform the Islanders.

The Jets average attendance is 17,537 according to ESPN. That’s a remarkable133% attendance percentage rate. The Isles is 78.3%, better only than Arizona and Carolina. Ouch.

Next: Barzal Going Back to Seattle Is a Good Thing

Being lumped together with Carolina and Arizona doesn’t feel good. These are teams on the existential cliff, looking down. Both are perennial relocation candidates because of their poor attendance ratings, amongst other issues. Things weren’t supposed to work out this way for the Islanders. Getting butts in seats should be priority number one.

facebooktwitterreddit