With Blackhawks out of playoffs, does Chicago care about hockey? – Chicago Tribune
Joe Kenny has owned Finley Dunne’s, a “hockey bar” on Lincoln Avenue in West Lakeview, for about 20 years. Then last week something unusual happened.
Nearly two dozen patrons actually wanted to watch a Stanley Cup playoff game that did not involve the Blackhawks.
“That doesn’t sound like a lot,” Kenny said. But normally when the Hawks are out of the playoffs, interest in the NHL plummets. It marked, he argued, a significant shift in Chicago’s sports landscape.
“(Hockey fans) now know they can go to their neighborhood bar … and say, ‘Hey, can you put the hockey game on?’ People will say, ‘Oh, sure,’ whereas five, six years ago, it would be, ‘Why do you want to watch hockey?’ ” Kenny said. “People are coming out because of the Hawks fan base but also because of the (growing) acceptance of hockey among the sports fans here in Chicago.”
Numbers back that up. The research firm Scarborough reports 51 percent of people in the Chicago area in 2015 said they were “very,” “somewhat” or a “little bit” interested in the NHL. Compare that with 2007, when only 23 percent reported the same. In 2015, 20 percent of people reported being “very” interested in the NHL compared with just 3 percent in 2007.
But Chicago has a long way to go from being Hawkeytown to a hockey town.
Television ratings for NHL playoff games in Chicago nearly vanish when the Hawks are not playing and lag far behind local ratings for NBA playoff games when the Bulls aren’t participating — as is the case this month.
Take the ratings for the leagues’ respective conference finals.
For Game 1 of the NHL’s Western Conference finals between the Sharks and Blues, the rating in Chicago was 1.88 — with one rating point equaling about 35,000 households. Game 1 of the NBA’s Western Conference finals between the Warriors and Thunder drew a 6.0 rating in the Chicago market, according to the NBA.
You can also measure the impact of the Hawks being out of the playoffs at local bars. Just ask owners and managers such as Kenny, who see their bottom lines take a hit when the Hawks are eliminated early in the postseason. This year marked the first time since 2012 the Hawks did not advance at least to the conference finals.
Kenny said the Hawks being in the playoffs can add 30 to 40 percent more revenue in May and June. Meanwhile, at the Pony Inn on Belmont Avenue, another Hawks bar, the bar doesn’t see the big spikes in business it sees on nights the Hawks are playing in the playoffs.
“You just have to find other ways (to generate revenue),” said Matt Hayes, director of operations for Pioneer Tavern Group, which includes the Pony Inn. “You can’t cry about it. They can’t win the Stanley Cup every year. It’s a gift. That’s how we look at it. … It’s awesome when they’re in it, but when they’re not, what can you do?”
You can choose to watch the other playoff games, though Chicago isn’t doing so nearly as much as it would if the Hawks were still in the playoffs. Game 2 of the Western Conference finals last season between the Hawks and Ducks drew a 12.4 rating in Chicago. Game 2 of the West finals last week drew a 1.45 rating. And instead of hearing audio of the game in Finley Dunne’s, you could hear a stream of Creedence Clearwater Revival and Bob Seger tunes as the Sharks skated to a 4-0 win.
Still, some are watching every game of the playoffs.
Take the group of guys who play a regular Monday pickup hockey game at Johnny’s IceHouse East. Almost all of them, ranging in age from 20s to 50s, said they are watching every game.
Before they took the ice, the dressing-room chatter revolved around the toughness of Lightning goaltender Ben Bishop, who left Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals on a stretcher because of a leg injury, and whether the Blues’ Ken Hitchcock is a good coach.
“He plays every game like it’s a playoff game, like (Tom) Thibodeau with the Bulls,” Craig Itagaki said. “They have a good team, though. I’m not saying Hitchcock is a bad coach; he wins everywhere he goes.”
Several of the pickup players wanted to see the Sharks win the Stanley Cup.
“I do not want the Blues to win because they beat the Hawks,” Luca Lenzi said. “If the Blues do go, I’m hoping it’s the year the East finally wins it.”
Tom Moro, owner and CEO of Johnny’s IceHouse, said he has seen interest grow in the NHL beyond the Hawks.
“When you talk to some of the parents that didn’t grow up playing hockey … if we have a game on and there’s genuine interest, they know players from the other teams,” Moro said. “They know some of the Hawks players that were traded. I do see it. I don’t think there’s the enthusiasm there would be if (the Hawks were) still in it, but I think people are just generally watching more hockey now.”
Chicago ranked sixth among all markets in overall ratings for the first two games of the Sharks-Blues series, even though they lagged significantly behind the NBA’s ratings.
Moro said the increase in popularity isn’t just due to the Hawks. He said the NHL has done a good job of marketing the game through internet highlights and the NHL Network. The favorite player of Moro’s son, who is 14, is Kings goaltender Jonathan Quick.
“Right now it’s got a little bit of a push (in popularity),” Moro said. “They’ve turned it into this really flashy experience. Just generally it’s on more people’s radars. I’m 47 years old and you couldn’t even find hockey on TV before. Now with the internet, it’s more available and easier to watch, easier to get into. That helps with anything.”
It hasn’t helped hockey dominate the sports landscape in Chicago since the Hawks exited the playoffs. Bars are looking for other ways to compensate for lost revenue. They’re scheduling more private parties and trying to capitalize on the success of the Cubs and White Sox.
“People are still going to go out drinking,” Hayes said. “It’s just not going to be as often or as hard core.”
Twitter @ChristopherHine
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