Hurricanes president disputes attendance figures: 'I go by dollars'

Carolina Hurricanes president Don Waddell isn't pushing the panic button just yet despite a dwindling number of fans in attendance at games.

The Hurricanes played to a 2-1 overtime loss to the Columbus Blue Jackets in front of a crowd of just 7,892 people Tuesday. It's a startling number and comes after the Hurricanes saw the league's worst attendance figures last season.

However, Waddell disputes the numbers, insisting it all comes down to money in the end.

"We're not last in the league in attendance," Waddell said, according to Chip Alexander of the News Observer. "You guys can publish (attendance) reports, but I go by dollars. So we're not last.

"Nobody is happy where we are, no doubt. We also have to continue to keep moving all the elements forward. If we can do that, I think attendance is going to pick up with that."

Waddell has focused his efforts on season tickets and after distributing a survey to season-ticket holders, decided to limit the number of discounted tickets to increase the value of season seats. The move has struck a blow to attendance figures.

If there is a bright side to the Hurricanes' attendance conundrum it's that the season opener against the Minnesota Wild last week did sell out, so fans aren't completely ignoring the club.