Study says the NJ Devils have the worst fan experience in the NHL

Here’s another New Jersey dis.

A study out now says that the New Jersey Devils offer the worst fan experience out of all 31 teams. The survey was conducted by Ticket Source.

The study looked at things like stadium capacity, city safety rating, average ticket price, average cost of an alcoholic drink, the average cost of a soft drink, the least expensive hot dog, the least expensive team hat, and the distance to the city center.

The Devils were second worst in city safety (behind Detroit), but only 19th in average ticket price, which should get a lot more weight, if you ask me. The Devils had the most expensive alcohol, however, at $.88 [er ounce. New Jersey had the second lowest arena capacity at 16,514.

The Devils ranked at #11 for soft drink prices, 8th for least expensive hot dot ($6.50!), and had the sixth most expensive team hat. For distance to the city center, the Devils were the 4th worst at a little over 11 miles, giving them their final score, ranking last in the NHL.

I think some of these categories are kind of arbitrary; I don’t care how close to the city center the arena is, I care more about how much parking is available (although the Devils don’t do well, there either). Also, just by being in the more expensive Northeast, prices for everything is going to be higher. I’ve been to my share of Devils games, and I’ve never felt ripped off.

The study heavily favored the Canadian franchises, with four of the top five being north of the border (1. Calgary, 2. Ottawa, 3. Vancouver, 4. Columbus, 5. Montreal).

The Rangers were 16th and the Flyers 23rd.

They also ranked NFL teams’ fan experiences and the Jets were 24th and the Giants were 26th.

The post above reflects the thoughts and observations of New Jersey 101.5 talk show host Bill Doyle. Any opinions expressed are Bill Doyle's own.