San Jose Sharks players may be more concerned with their woeful 8-12-1 home-ice record, but it's the home-ice attendance that has the owner truly miffed.
"I'm really concerned about the situation," Hasso Plattner said, according to CSN's Kevin Kurz. "If you don't have enough demand, the season ticket holders can't sell the tickets if they are not available to go. So that has a double-negative effect. And obviously for everybody to be in an arena that shows a surplus of empty seats is not very encouraging, even for the playoffs.
"So this is not good, but there's only so much you can do."
For years, the "Shark Tank" was one of the fullest, loudest barns in the NHL, selling out almost exclusively. But this season, they're averaging 2,000 fewer fans per game, dropping to 21st in total attendance, according to ESPN.com.
"The Sharks were the new kid on the block 25 years ago," Plattner said. "I remember days when I couldn't get a scalped ticket because we were more than sold out."
Plattner says the team will soon unveil plans aimed at remedying the situation, including efforts to target the younger demographic.
