Sports Illustrated's Adrian Dater wasn't able to get former NHLPA executive director Bob Goodenow to speak about the present state of CBA negotiations between the NHL and NHLPA, but Dater suggests that both Goodenow and many 04-05 lockout veterans are both bemused by and slightly angry with the fact that the NHL's teams have done such a thorough job of proving that supposed "inflationary spiral" of ticket prices directly linked to player salaries (which was a big fat lie) was a farce, with small-market teams leading the way in terms of managing to inflate prices of marquee games based on the laws of supply and demand:
During the tumult and shouting of the 2004-05 lockout, Goodenow and the NHLPA scoffed at the NHL's claim that ticket pricing might be lowered if there were a CBA with friendlier terms for the owners. While, in fact, ticket prices on average did not rise substantially in the 2005-06 season and in some cases were lowered, the average did increase fairly substantially in the longer term.
According to Team Marketing Report, a Chicago-based firm that analyzes the business aspects of sports, average NHL ticket prices have increased from $43.13 in 2005-06 to $57.10 in 2011-12. It is hard to point accusatory fingers at NHL owners for asking for more money for tickets when the laws of supply and demand clearly have been met in their favor. NHL arenas were filled to about 93 percent capacity last season.
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