The cheers you heard at the announcement of a deal between the National Hockey League and its players weren’t just coming from fans.
Local sports lounge and pub owners are also buoyed by the return of NHL hockey, which has been on ice since the end of last season because of a labour dispute that led to the league locking out its players.
Ducks on the Roof, which has 85 television sets – including five huge-screen projection TVs – is gearing up for a return to business as usual.
“It (the lockout) did have an impact, of course,” Ducks owner John Scondrianis said of the reduction in business at his establishment during the lockout. “A small one. But nevertheless, it was slower than usual.”
He said the largest drop in his nightly traffic came on cancelled Flames game nights. “Other teams, too. Vancouver, Edmonton – Canadian teams for sure. But mainly the Flames.”
While he wouldn’t attach a dollar figure to his lost business, he figured the 20-30 patrons who weren’t there for Flames games put a dent in his bottom line.
“More on the weekends, of course, because nobody has to go to work the next day,” Scondrianis added.
With the NHL back on tap, Ducks will be ramping up its hockey-related customer incentives.
“We always have promotions on hockey nights,” he noted. “Giveaways. And special drinks and special food and stuff.”
Over at Boston Pizza, the sports lounge is gearing up for increased hockey traffic. With eight big screens flickering with NHL games, manager Shelley Switzer expects her hockey regulars to visit a little more frequently than they did in the NHL’s absence.
“We haven’t been seeing people in with their jerseys in for the games, obviously,” she observed. “We definitely see a lot of Oilers fans. Flames fans and Oilers fans. There seems to be quite a split in the area.”
The return of NHL hockey to the BP Lounge should liven the joint up a bit.
“Certainly, they bring a lot of enthusiasm,” she said. “It’s really great to have that in the building.
“You always hear on the restaurant side when there’s a goal, because you hear a big cheer coming from the lounge. It will be good to have that back.”
Ronnie Knowles, owner of Hideout Pub, said his business was largely unaffected by the NHL lockout because his patrons aren’t just hockey fans, or even sports fans.
“Business was off maybe a little bit, but I picked it up with doing other things,” Knowles offered.
Still, he’s still looking forward to getting hockey back on the box for his patrons. And, while Knowles thinks fans are upset at players and owners for shorting them on more than 500 regular-season games this season, he feels he can entice them back to the game with some customer incentives.
“If you wear something from the Flames or the Oilers, you get a discount on your pitchers and ribs,” he said.
