NHL Attendance Report 2024-25 – Sound Of Hockey

This article has been updated since the original post with midseason information. Scroll through the story to view the original information.

Mid-season update

The NHL just passed the halfway point of the 2024-2025 season, making it a good time to take a look at attendance across the league. Overall, the NHL continues to experience growth in attendance, with numbers increasing since the last quarterly check-in. On January 10, the average league-wide attendance was 17,443, the highest average at this point in the season since 2012–13.

Per team you can see how the attendance of each team has changed compared to last season due to the same number of games.

Since the first quarter check-in, there have been some notable changes.

• Winnipeg continues to see the largest percentage increase in visitors, although growth has slowed to 11.4 percent from 15.9 percent in the quarter. While attendance has increased since the first quarter, the smaller percentage increase reflects higher attendance during the second quarter of last season, limiting potential year-over-year growth.
• Chicago has recently experienced a surge in visitors. The Blackhawks now have the second-highest increase from season to season. At the quarter point they were down 1.4 percent but recovered to be up +5.0 percent.
• Minnesota and St. Louis continue to lag season after season, but both teams have narrowed their declines from November. If this trend continues, they could see positive attendance growth by the end of the season.
• Columbus has seen an increase in attendance compared to last season and now unexpectedly finds itself in the playoffs. The team is playing exciting hockey, buoyed by a strong home record of 14-5-3, which has given fans plenty to cheer about. Their presence will be worth watching as the season progresses.

Here's a quarterly overview of each team and the changes between quarters.

Let me know if you have any questions and/or theories about the changes we're seeing so far.

This section was originally posted on November 19.

First quarter report

As the US Thanksgiving holiday approaches and the NHL season reaches its traditional early benchmark point, now is an ideal time to take stock of the league's attendance figures for the 2024-2025 season. Before I dive in, I want to give a few disclaimers; attendance figures are based on team reported numbers, which are defined as tickets distributed, and not necessarily the actual number of people in the building. Furthermore, the intention is not to shame any team or fan base. There are many factors that influence attendance, including team performance, ticket prices, day of the week and even the weather.

After years of researching attendance trends, I have found that most teams experience some cyclical patterns, and that all teams are capable of strong attendance. For context, at one point the Phoenix Coyotes had stronger attendance than the Chicago Blackhawks and Pittsburgh Penguins, to name a few.

Let's get into it.

Average participation in the competition

The league's average attendance at this point in the season has increased by 1.5 percent compared to last season and now stands at 17,225. This is the highest average attendance for this stage of the season since 2016-2017. Much of this growth is driven by the Arizona Coyotes' move to Utah. Last season, the Coyotes played at the 4,600-capacity Mullett Arena in Arizona States. This season, the Utah Hockey Club will play at the 11,131-capacity Delta Center in Salt Lake City.

Other growth areas include Winnipeg, Detroit and Florida. Here is the attendance change per team compared to the same number of games last season:

With a two-season playoff drought, it's not surprising that the Penguins are losing fans. However, I'm a little surprised to see declines for the Kings and Islanders, especially since both teams made the playoffs last season. Maybe the novelty of the new arena on Long Island has worn off.

Sale

I've noted before that attendance growth in the NHL is limited by the high number of sold-out events. Historically, about 50 percent of NHL games are sold out. This season, that figure has risen to 62 percent, the second-highest number ever at this point in the season.

The increase in sold-out games is a positive signal for the overall health of the league. Here are the number of sellouts broken down by team.

It's somewhat surprising that the Philadelphia Flyers haven't had a single sellout so far this season. However, last season they also did not sell out in their first fifteen games. Considering they haven't made the playoffs in four seasons, this might not be entirely unexpected.

Game-by-game NHL attendance trends

Here's a detailed look at each team and how this season compares to the same point last season:

Notable observations

• The Kings' attendance slump appears to be limited to the second and third games of the season, so we can expect a rebound as the year progresses.
• With the Winnipeg Jets off to a strong start, attendance growth appears likely to remain steady.
• While the data doesn't clearly reflect this yet, the Sharks have significant potential for attendance growth, as fans will likely see Macklin Celebrini and Will Smith.
• The Penguins' rough start could lead to a further decline in attendance as the season progresses.
• After failing to sell out Games 2 through 8, the Washington Capitals have sold out their final two games.

Seasonal note

It's also worth noting that October and November tend to have the lowest visitor numbers of the season, so we can expect some increases as the season progresses.

This analysis is relatively simple and does not take into account many contextual factors (for example, ticket prices, competing sporting events, or entertainment options). If you have any questions or insights on what could be influencing visitor trends, please feel free to share!