WalletHub, a Washington D.C. based financial resource company, ranked Washington D.C the 5th best sports city in the United States in a recent study. The study also concluded that D.C. was the 20th best hockey city in the U.S.
The analysis included cities that had National Hockey League teams and/or National Collegiate Athletics Association Division I hockey teams (which Washington D.C. does not have). It measured things like fan engagement and friendliness, average cost of a ticket and team attendance to see how each city held up as a hockey city.
WalletHub found that the District of Columbia had the fourth-best attendance in the NHL. Over recent years, Capitals fans have been packing the Verizon Center to 103.2% of its capacity according to WalletHub. This ranks D.C. above rival cities like Boston and Pittsburgh in attendance.
“You don’t think of D.C. as typically a hockey town,” WalletHub analyst Jill Gonzalez said. “Having better attendance than almost any team in the league is surprising. Especially since the tickets are so expensive.”
The study on hockey cities found that the average price of tickets for a Washington Capitals game ($70.98) was the fifth most expensive in the NHL. That means that being a Caps fan in D.C. costs less than being one in Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, Chicago or Boston.
Going to see the Boston Bruins play costs their fans the most among NHL cities. On average, a ticket costs $88.70.
The study also measured Washington fan’s friendliness and engagement by the number of Twitter followers and Facebook likes on the team’s official accounts. D.C. ranked 13th which is middle of the pack for NHL cities.
However, attending a game in D.C. may be a different experience.
“I think that D.C. is really on the up right now” Gonzalez said. “When you go to a game there, they are doing a lot of engaging things to keep the fans motivated during commercial breaks to staying in your seat and not going home early.”
Outside of attending Capitals games, D.C. television viewership numbers ranked eighth among NHL cities.
“Eighth best is still certainly something to be proud of,” the WalletHub analyst also said. “[The Caps’ viewership] ranks right under New York City and it’s still above Los Angeles.”
The city of Pittsburgh, a place in which D.C. hockey fans hate losing, was found to be the best hockey city in the U.S. This includes having the best television viewership, an honor that Penguins fans have helped the team hold for quite some time.
When asked what really makes Pittsburgh stand out as the best hockey city in the U.S. Gonzalez simply said, “Pittsburgh is affordable.”
“Steel City” also leads D.C. in franchise value. The Penguins are worth $750 million while the Capitals are estimated to be worth $500 million.
Most people interpret franchise value as more star power.,
“I don’t think [Caps winger Alex] Ovechkin fans will agree with that,” said Gonzalez
Even though the Capitals have won 52.49% of their games over the last three seasons, they still trail the Penguins and nine other NHL teams.
“To continue playing well,” Gonzalez commented, “that really is what is going to get D.C. up there in the rankings.”
Not having won a Stanley Cup hurts D.C the most.
“Realizing that there are so many ‘free agent fans’ in D.C….,” Gonzalez opined about what D.C can do to improve in the hockey city rankings, “…being able to pull them in and getting them more excited, not just about the Caps, but about hockey in general.”
Pulling, “free agent fans” into the Capitals hype in D.C. could also mean pulling fandom from one D.C. professional team to the other.
“When the Redskins are having this low,” Gonzalez remarked, “why not capitalize on the Caps?”