Blackhawks expect attendance to remain high in 2024-25 after big increase last season
Connor Bedard’s presence kept the United Center full this past Blackhawks season.
Michael Reaves/Getty Images
After a strong season attendance-wise in 2023-24, the Blackhawks believe they're on track to draw even bigger crowds to the United Center in 2024-25.
That's interesting because the novelty factor surrounding star forward Connor Bedard has mostly worn off and the team isn't close to playoff contention yet. A lag in attendance next season would make sense — but it doesn't seem like that lag will happen.
What drove the Hawks' attendance success this past season? What will drive it next season? Here's a breakdown.
2023-24 analysis
Attendance across the NHL increased 1.9% this past regular season, and Hawks fans were major contributors to that trend.
The Hawks' attendance increased from 17,167 per game in 2022-23 to 18,836 per game in 2023-24, which ranked fourth in the NHL behind the Canadiens, Lightning and Red Wings. The Hawks' 9.7% year-over-year attendance increase trailed only the Panthers (11.7%) for the league lead.
They had 18 games with attendances over 19,000 and only three games below 17,000, which marked a big change from the season before (when they fell short of that threshold 18 times).
"The two leading drivers for [our] attendance increases are, No. 1, the Connor Bedard effect, and the second is our increase in our weekend games," Hawks business president Jaime Faulkner said this week.
The Bedard Effect is obvious. The teenage sensation and presumptive Calder Trophy winner massively rejuvenated interest within the Chicago sports scene for a bottom-of-the-standings team.
It was clear from the moment the Hawks won the draft lottery last year that his presence alone would change things. For contrast, when he wasn't present — during the six weeks he missed with a broken jaw in January and February — the decrease in energy within the arena was noticeable; the team drew three of their five smallest crowds during that window.
The weekend effect is a subtler but equally interesting note. Every NHL team (including the Hawks) draws better on weekends than weekdays, so increasing the number of weekend games helps increase total attendance.
The Hawks achieved that simply by requesting that the NHL schedule-makers prioritize weekend dates, particularly Saturdays, which they had historically mostly ceded to the Bulls. They were rewarded with 25 of their 41 home games last season taking place on Friday, Saturday or Sunday, up from 19 the year before.
The Hawks averaged 19,196 fans at weekend games, up from 18,257 the year before (a 5.1% increase). Meanwhile, they averaged 18,272 at weekday games, up from 16,226 the year before (a 12.6% increase).
It's worth noting they've made the same request to maximize weekend games in 2024-25. Although the complexity of the United Center calendar makes that request's fulfillment non-guaranteed, they're hoping for roughly 25 again.
A third factor behind the attendance increase is the diversification of the fan base. In February, the Hawks shared data about their non-white, female and Gen-Z fan bases each ranking among the three largest in the NHL. All three sectors have grown significantly.
That led to 110,000 people attending Hawks games for the first time in their lives this season, Faulkner said. In other words, roughly one out of every seven fans at any given game was a first-time attendee.
2024-25 outlook
Bedard's novelty factor might have mostly worn off, but his popularity has not. His presence not only drove single-ticket ticket sales but also season-ticket membership sales last season, and that trend isn't changing.
Since opening season-ticket renewals Feb. 21, the Hawks have a renewal rate of 96% and are also ahead of budget for new membership sales, Faulkner said.
Compared to shortly before the draft lottery last year, their Full-Season Equivalents — a metric used by the sales department that also factors in half-season and partial plans — have nearly doubled.
That's in spite of the fact the Hawks raised season-ticket prices by an average of 6% this spring, including more than 20% in some of the United Center's highest-demand 300-level sections (where, say, a $5 increase makes the biggest difference percentage-wise). Faulkner is quick to point out that ticket prices overall are still cheaper than they were in 2021.
At this point, the Hawks are nearing their internal caps on season-ticket plans in some sections, which guarantee a certain amount of single-game tickets remain available for every game. They're 90% of the way to the cap overall; Faulkner believes they might hit the cap in the 300 level by the end of summer and no longer be able to offer season-ticket memberships there.
"One thing that has been top-of-mind and very important to us is to ensure we can continue to have tickets available for our games and that we do not price families out," Faulkner said.
Results from the annual season-ticket member survey were also encouraging. There was a 103% year-over-year increase in satisfaction about member benefits (things like concession discounts and special events) and, intriguingly, an 80% year-over-year increase in approval of the direction of the team under current leadership.
Whether or not — and, if so, to what degree — general manager Kyle Davidson follows through on his declaration to begin building up the NHL roster this summer could affect that approval stat moving forward.
But coming off a 23-win season, with expectations for next season still nowhere near playoff contention, the Hawks nonetheless appear destined to largely fill the United Center and rank near the top of the NHL in attendance again.