Duck Officials Define Sellout at The Pond

When sellout crowds of 17,174 are announced at The Pond these days, people look at the empty row in front of them and wonder how it can be true.

The Mighty Ducks say they’re experiencing high numbers of no-shows, and insist they aren’t succumbing to any temptation to pad their attendance.

“There’s no temptation. We announce what it is,” said Andy Roundtree, vice president for finance and administration. “As you saw this year, we had games where it was 16,800 or 16,700. We’re not trying to ‘manufacture’ sellouts. That’s not honest. We’re not trying to deceive anybody.”

As it is at most sporting events, the announced attendance is the number of tickets issued, not the number through the turnstiles. The Ducks say they have issued at least 17,174 tickets for the last 12 games and 14 of 17 this season.

But 17,174 is merely the official capacity. Sometimes there are hundreds more in the building because of additional tickets sold to suite-holders and the $25 standing-room-only seats near the handicapped seating. Conversely, there are times when 17,174 tickets have been issued but there are still seats available.

Recently, there have been hundreds of empty seats visible, particularly against Ottawa on Friday and against Toronto on Sunday. But the announced attendance again was 17,174. The Ducks say no-shows are the reason.

“We’re very concerned about that,” Roundtree said. “Lately, the number of no-shows has been larger than we like it to be. We’re still in the process of understanding why. The factors are things like the opponent, the day of the week, whether it’s on TV, how the team is playing, and other events that are going on--like right now with the Christmas holidays.”