Disney to Vendors: Back Ducks for Your Own Good

Marty Colleary isn’t exactly a hockey fan. But the Villa Park baker has sold an occasional cake or two to Disneyland over the past 10 years, and that was enough to get him on a list of vendors targeted to help out the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim.

In its boldest move yet to bolster sagging attendance at Ducks games, the Disneyland Resort is asking companies with whom it has done business in the past--from Colleary’s 40-employee bakery to balloon vendors, car dealerships and lumber suppliers--to buy season tickets to hockey games at up to $3,037.50 a seat.

The one-page solicitation, touting the “importance professional sports has to the community,” warned businesses last week that unless attendance picks up, “the long-term impact will reach far beyond the Mighty Ducks and have negative consequences for all of us.”

Accompanying the letter was an order form for season tickets and an offer for a free ad in the game day program with the purchase of four or more seats.

“What exactly are they trying to say? Are they trying to scare us?” Colleary said. “Here’s a billion-dollar company that can’t get people to watch their sorry hockey team, so they’re bullying everybody into buying tickets. It stinks.”

Walt Disney Co. officials downplayed the letter Thursday, and Disney’s Anaheim Sports spokesman, Tim Mead, said such “preferred vendor” offers are routinely made to the Ducks’ own suppliers. He also apologized for the tone of the letter, saying Disney regretted any misinterpretations.

The Ducks opened as a fan favorite at the Arrowhead Pond in the 1993-94 hockey season, selling out 51 consecutive games from their first year into 1995. But poor play, injuries and six consecutive season ticket price hikes put fan zeal on ice.

Last year, the Ducks sold little more than three-quarters of the seats. Attendance is important in the National Hockey League, which relies more heavily than other major sports on revenue from tickets, concessions and parking.

Concerned with the appearance of small crowds at the Pond last season, Disney started passing out hundreds of free tickets to employees at both of its Anaheim theme parks, and corporate executives outside the team have become more active in marketing than in past seasons.

“What we’re asking people and businesses to do is support us during these transition years,” said Mighty Ducks General Manager Pierre Gauthier.

“We are going from an expansion team into a contending team. In the meantime, we need the support of the people. That’s what we’re asking businesses and people in the community to do.”

Mead said the latest solicitation was the first time the hockey organization has tried to tap into a larger network of Disney vendors throughout Southern California. The offer was sent to roughly 3,000 businesses.

“We basically just wanted to cast the net wider, to reach more potential supporters,” Mead said. “We’re part of a bigger family here and we tried to utilize it. That’s all. It’s a preferred offer for a business partnership, nothing more.”

Colleary and three other vendors, who didn’t want to be identified for fear of losing Disney business, said that what offended them most about the letter was its insinuation that poor attendance at Ducks games could eventually be everybody’s problem.

“They’re basically saying I should do this because they’ve worked with little old me before,” Colleary said. “And if I don’t, it could mean [financial] trouble for everyone. It’s very offensive.”

A car dealer who services some of Disney’s vehicles found the letter “tacky” and simply threw it away. “It’s not worth causing problems with Disney over,” he said.

Mead said the reference to poor attendance having a negative impact on local businesses “meant nothing,” and insisted that vendors should not read too much into it. Gauthier, for his part, was quick to point out that the Ducks have no plans to move or fold even if attendance fails to pick up soon.

Mead acknowledged that the letter perhaps wasn’t crafted well, but “our intentions are pure.”

“It’s a marketing approach,” he said. “We’re trying to sell tickets.”

Before now, selling season tickets has been easy. The Ducks capped season-ticket sales at 14,000 through the 1995-96 season and had no difficulty reaching that limit. Team officials needed only to open the doors at the Pond and money rolled in. The team sold out 90 of 93 games from December 1993 until October 1996, which included selling out all 24 home games in the 1994-95 lockout season. But attendance has dropped 21% over the last four years.

The Ducks have made the playoffs twice in their seven-year history. But they finished last in the Western Conference this past season as attendance spiraled down, leading Gauthier to freeze season-ticket prices for a second consecutive year.

“We had a tough season last year,” Gauthier said. “And in an effort to turn this around we need everyone to stick with us.”

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Ducks Up and Down

Mighty Ducks home attendance last year fell to its lowest point in the franchise’s short history. The average Ducks crowd has dropped 21% over the past four years.

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Total Average % Capacity 1993-94 696,560 16,989 98.9 1994-95* 412,176 17,174 100.0 1995-96 703,347 17,155 99.9 1996-97 695,867 16,972 98.8 1997-98 682,735 17,068 99.4 1998-99 647,973 15,804 92.0 1999-00 592,874 14,460 84.2 2000-01 553,990 13,512 78.7

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* Work stoppage shortened home season from 41 to 24 games

Season-ticket prices even in the Pond’s upper level have increased 30% since the Ducks’ first season, but prices have been frozen for two years and will continue at the same level for the coming season. Here’s how the per-game price for a season ticket has changed for a center ice, mid-level location--Section 411, Row D, Seat 6:

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1993-94 $22.00 1994-95 23.00 1995-96 24.50 1996-97 24.50 1997-98 25.50 1998-99 27.50 1999-00 28.50 2000-01 28.50 2001-02 28.50

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Source: Mighty Ducks