Has The Golden Magic Worn Off? Fans Notice Lots Of Empty Seats Toward End Of Close VGK-St. Louis Blues Game At T-Mobile Arena Wednesday
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By Alan Snel of LVSportsBiz.com
Is the shine off the love affair between the Vegas Golden Knights and their fans?
Many VGK fans commented about the slew of empty seats all around T-Mobile Arena with four minutes to go in the VGK-Blues game with the Knights trailing only by a single goal, 2-1. The Golden Knights eventually lost, 3-1, after St. Louis dropped in an empty-netter.
Announced attendance was 17,690 — which might sound impressive when fixed-seating capacity is 17,367. But with the Knights’ success on the ice during the first four seasons and a high bar for attendance numbers and arena capacity percentage, 17,690 is actually the lowest attendance since December 2017. Typically, this T-Mobile Arena area has standing room only fans. Last night, a sole usher stood there.
“There’s no buzz around this team anymore. Fleury was traded and the whole aura of the team from a fans prospective went flat (Not all fans). The players appear to be playing with no interest. Injuries, tickets prices (Although extremely cheap near game time) have a hand in it,” fan Josh @VGKHSK wrote on Twitter Thursday morning.
“The magic has worn off. The honeymoon phase is over. Employees from within the organization have left (Some public and some not public). Things are just different now. I still hope for success and bringing a cup to Vegas with the players we have. The luster has worn,” he wrote.
More here:
Thomas Bruny wrote on Twitter, “Did not renew my tickets for this season because of VGK’s lax attitude in helping stop pandemic. Mask compliance and enforcement is a joke. Proof of vaccination is needed to attend large public events. By the way … I am using my Raiders tickets.”
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The inaugural season for the Knights was sheer magic as the first-year team united a city after a horrific mass shooting on the Strip and made a miracle run to the Stanley Cup Final.
The last two seasons ended with losses in the NHL semifinal round.
But the team’s most beloved player, original Misfit Marc-Andre Fleury, was shipped to Chicago to dump his $7 million-a-year salary. And Ryan Reaves, though not a talented goal-scorer, was a fan favorite, too, for his bone-crunching checks and engaging personality that was on display on local water district advertisements and when he pitched his craft beer.
Some fans said they are not attending games because there is little enforcement of the local and state indoor mask mandate and that the Golden Knights do not require fans to show proof of COVID-19 vaccination like the Raiders do at Allegiant Stadium.
Fan Matt Johnson tweeted: “This is part of why people get frustrated. Why didn’t the Knights follow the Raiders lead? Make it vaccinated only and make masks optional.”
More feedback on Twitter:
702SportsCap chipped in on Twitter: “People left to beat traffic by that point. It wasn’t that empty the whole game.”
Some fans said they wait up until an hour so before the game and can get VGK tickets on the team’s own AXS resale site for a reasonable amount like $25. Last night, there was a $19 ticket available about 30 minutes before puck drop.
The Knights won their season-opener, 4-3, to the new Seattle Kraken team. But they have lost two in a row to Los Angeles and St. Louis. They play Edmonton on Friday and the New York Islanders on Sunday.
Here’s a scene from today’s VGK practice.
