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Carolina Hurricanes: One Successful Season Earns More STM’s

By Nate Orlowski

RALEIGH, NC - MAY 16: Carolina Hurricanes fans celebrate during a game between the Boston Bruins and the Carolina Hurricanes on May 14, 2019 at the PNC Arena in Raleigh, NC. (Photo by Greg Thompson/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
RALEIGH, NC - MAY 16: Carolina Hurricanes fans celebrate during a game between the Boston Bruins and the Carolina Hurricanes on May 14, 2019 at the PNC Arena in Raleigh, NC. (Photo by Greg Thompson/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /
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The Carolina Hurricanes have turned around their franchise in a single season of success and it has shown in the increase of fans who are now coming in droves to become STMs.

What makes a successful sports franchise? Is it on the players to produce results? Is it a mesmerizing game day experience? Or is it maybe a grounded fan base who pour their hearts (and wallets) out in the name of their team to show support? Unsurprisingly, it’s a mixture of all of these.

In the 2012-2013 season, the Hurricanes averaged 17,560 in attendance per game. However over the course of the next two seasons, the base began to see no light at the end of the tunnel and attendance plummeted down to 12,204 per contest, good for lowest in the entire league and the lowest in franchise history.

The beginning of the 2018-2019 season saw much of the same with games far from sellouts. What changed? There is a simple answer to that question; heart and passion. With the now famous Storm Surge, the Hurricanes saw attendance soar. Fans were excited to see just what the players would do

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Season Ticket Members are always the roots of any sports teams. A dedicated group of individuals who sink their hard earned money into an organization not because they have to, but because they WANT to.  So how does the Canes’ playoff success translate into season ticket memberships for the 2019-2020 season?

In 2012-2013, the Hurricanes hovered around 5,000 season ticket members. This season, it was up to 7,500 with an additional 2,000 or more expected to sign up. Season tickets are also being retained at 92%. If you compare to last season, only 72% of season ticket members were retained.

The Hurricanes have also seen a WHOPPING 292% increase in new memberships since the regular season.

All in all, what these numbers show is success=fans and fans=$$$. For the first time since 2009, the Carolina Hurricanes have given their fan base a reason to be ecstatic about next year. The Caniacs are back and I’d expect PNC Arena, AKA: “The Loudest House in the NHL” to be rocking like it’s a playoff game every night. Is it October yet?

Cardiac Cane Readers: What needs to happen to sustain season ticket membership?

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