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Avs' marketing slap shot

Campaign puts power play on return to sellouts

James Paton, Rocky Mountain News

Published November 6, 2007 at midnight

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The Colorado Avalanche's marketing team has concentrated on offense.

The more aggressive campaign comes after the club last year failed to skate into the playoffs for the first time since moving to Denver in 1995 and saw its amazing sellout streak snapped at 487 games.

Owner Kroenke Sports has boosted advertising spending, formed a sales group devoted to the team and turned on the creativity, mailing out hockey gloves and DVDs to top CEOs to try to pique their curiosity.

The Avalanche also invited loyal ticket holders to the Pepsi Center's Blue Sky Grill in the offseason to meet with general manager Francois Giguere.

Colorado hockey fans filled the arena every game day and night - until last year. Average attendance slipped to about 17,600 from more than 18,000.

After a lockout wiped out the 2004-2005 season, a salary cap has leveled the ice, helping the weaker markets and restraining the richer ones from spending freely. The Avalanche also lost players such as Peter Forsberg, Adam Foote and Rob Blake to free agency.

The season-ticket base has stayed strong but has shrunk since the Avalanche won the Stanley Cup in 2001, said Paul Andrews, Kroenke's executive vice president.

"One of our biggest problems has been people assuming every game was sold out and there are no season tickets to buy," he said. "We've tried to become way more vocal."

The Avs have seen that season-ticket base fall to a level currently north of 10,000 from a cap of about 14,000 at the peak, Andrews said.

While attendance is off this year - the Avs have drawn an average of 17,042 in the first seven home games, putting them in the middle of the NHL pack - the Pepsi Center is 95 percent full, and the club is confident it will again reach the top tier in sales.

Experts seem to agree.

"It's certainly too early to judge," said Don Hinchey of Denver-based sports and entertainment marketing company the Bonham Group.

"The Avs' marketing may have been somewhat muffled by the success of the Rockies and their great run, and the fact that so much attention was focused on baseball that in previous years was directed at the start of the hockey season."

The team is playing well, and ticket sales have crept higher since the Rockies lost to the Boston Red Sox in the World Series. The Avalanche also have made moves - namely the additions of left wing Ryan Smyth and defense-man Scott Hannan - to generate excitement.

The Avs, meanwhile, have sought to keep fans content by keeping a lid on prices. While some customers will still find the costs high, the price of a game is roughly the same as it was in 2002, Andrews said.

The buzz created by the Denver Nuggets - another part of the Kroenke empire - also makes it tougher.

Andrews is busy promoting that team, too.

His staff sent Carmelo Anthony-size-15 shoes, in addition to the gloves, to Denver's business leaders and offered two free tickets to the first home game. A message on the sneaker says: "Can you feel it?"

The mailing to 500 CEOs resulted in immediate sales of 20 season tickets, he said.

The goal of the Nuggets, led by Anthony and Allen Iverson, is to boost the season-ticket base to 10,000 from a level of more than 8,000.

As for the Avalanche, Andrews said he believed the team will again hit the upper echelon in attendance.

"The Avs' brand speaks for itself," Andrews said. "And the passion for hockey in this city is very, very strong."

Kroenke Sports now has an Avalanche-only sales and marketing team. Previously, one group worked on both basketball and hockey. Andrews declined to say how much the Avs' ad budget has risen.

Restocking the hockey team with stars would certainly help.

"It hasn't been quite at the level we've seen in years past, and people recognize that," Hinchey said.

Is a return to a hot sellout streak possible?

"It is very realistic," Andrews said.

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