from Cam Cole of the Vancouver Sun,

There was nothing factually incorrect in Edmonton Oilers president of hockey operations Kevin Lowe’s remarks the other day, during the formal firing of general manager Steve Tambellini, when he said that the organization likes all of its fans, but likes the ones who pay to get in just a little bit better.

Any National Hockey League team that tells you different is fudging the truth.

Political correctness aside — i.e., it’s never a good idea to make the hoi polloi feel like second-class citizens when they’re about to foot the tax bill for a new arena — facts are facts.

NHL teams, depending on how vibrant their markets are, make somewhere between a half and two-thirds of their dough from ticket sales. The other avenues — local and national TV and radio revenues, sponsorships, merchandise sales, concessions, parking — combine to form the smaller portion of the revenue stream.

continued