Goddess Sasha and I were practically kicked out of Avalanche practice for observing the team from ice level at their practice facility.  I’m a photographer and like to take pictures, and as I was shooting Andrew Raycroft, we were politely asked to move up to the balcony to watch.  I explained that I was there to take pictures and the nice man explained that it was a distraction for us to watch practice from ice level — like you’re allowed to do at every other NHL arena (!).   If little Goddess Sasha, her pal Master A and I can distract a whole team of professional hockey players by our mere presence, the team must have bigger problems than fans wanting to watch practice from downstairs.  Anyway, I was disappointed and  I told him I wouldn’t get any good pictures from upstairs.  He assured me I would.  How, exactly, do you get good pictures through a white net and two panes of glass?  Then he told us that the coaches said it is a liability for us to be there watching from behind the glass.  Last time I checked, about 100 or so people watch every NHL game from behind the glass.  Is that not a liability?    I’ve been to many NHL practices and at all of them people happily milled around, watching through the glass or sitting in the bleachers adjacent to most sheets of practice ice.

Lesson One: Fans attending practice generates interest and buzz for the team.  People who go to practice tell their friends “I saw Darcy Tucker today at practice doing …”  whatever.  It’s irrelevant, but people will tell their friends about the funny or cool thing that happened at practice.  Or show their pictures to their friends.  Or post it on a photo sharing site or message board, where people will get excited, not just about the Avalanche, but hockey in general — and that’s a good thing!   Treating fans like they are nuisances is going to have a similar effect, only negative.  “Some guy basically kicked me out of practice today” or “I went to take goalie mask pictures for my collection, but I didn’t get any shots — they wouldn’t let me!”   Not good buzz or PR at all.

So far I have been very disappointed with the Colorado Avalanche.  They won’t allow attendees to go down to the lower levels to watch warmups before the game.  Why?  Goddess Sasha (an Avs season ticket holder, by the way) witnessed an entire team of youth hockey players from Saskatchewan being told they could not watch the Edmonton Oilers warming up because they did not have lower level seats.  That’s not right!

Lesson Two: Young people grow up to be old people with money — why alienate your future customers?  Why make your city and your team look bad by treating customers — yes customers — this way?   Without the fans, all you have is a bunch of grownups playing a kids’ game.

Boo Avalanche marketing team!