Coyotes Slash Opening Night Prices

The Phoenix Coyotes are, if only for one night, going to try and look like a healthy, happy franchise with a supportive fanbase. Of course, anyone following their plight knows that is not the case. The hockey team from the desert has been in a fierce ownership battle in bankruptcy court and is now missing their owner/coach, who is entangled in the battle. Things got worse when the team drew only a few thousand fans -- depending on who you ask -- to a preseason game last week and received some media scrutiny for it.

With opening night almost two weeks away, the team's PR and marketing departments have awoken from their summer slumber to offer fans an opening night discount that looks like a failing car salesman's last stand. "Come down to Crazy Coyotes Motors! Everything must go! Go! GO! Our prices are low! Low! LOW!"

From the Coyotes' website:

The Coyotes are extending a special ticket offer to the public for the Oct. 10 game. All lower bowl seats are available for just $25 while all upper level seats are on sale for only $15. The tickets go on sale Thursday at 10 a.m. and are only available online at www.phoenixcoyotes.com. The NHL has also offered a 15% discount on merchandise at www.shop.nhl.com that will be included with every ticket order through Sept. 30.

The team is also deeming the game a "WhiteOut" by encouraging all fans to wear white. There are two distinct and different ways to look at it. Either your glass is half full and it's a pep rally with a chance to apply the cardiac defibrillators to a fanbase and team that is flatlining, or, on the other side of the fence, your glass is half empty and this is an empty shill that is trying to desperately fake excitement and attendance on top of the fact that selling front row seats at a deep discount is clearly akin to a 'going out of business' sale.

Take it for what you will.

While it's not really a surprise that the season opener clearly hasn't sold out -- really, could anyone expect it to after the summer? -- you've got to wonder how many tickets actually sold. That number is probably small and the team needs to put some butts in seats to try and convince fans that there's going to be some energy around the team this year. A lackluster home opener could have serious fallout on ticket sales throughout the rest of the season.

It's like a concert that's not selling out. You might like the band, but if you go and the place is empty, not only are you going to have a bad experience but you're going to wonder what happening place everyone else is at. So, to avoid that situation, many times promoters hand out tons of comp tickets to try and get people in the building. Same thing here. How awful a precedent would it set for the team if the Jobing.com Arena was less than half full on the biggest night of the season's first half? Imagine the media's reaction from last week's low attendance 50 times over. And thus the team virtually hands out tickets to try and put butts in seats.

The show must go on in Arizona this year no matter what the future holds. It's a shame the team, city and fanbase has to go through it, but such is business. Maybe they'll end up being one of those furniture stores that going out of business sale ... annually. Hopefully not, but hey, this is Gary Bettman's NHL.