Determinants of Attendance in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League: Role of Winning,Scoring, and Fighting

Attendance in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League was studied for the 2009 to 2010 season. This junior league, part of the Canadian Hockey League system, serves as a development league for teenage players who attempt to parlay their participation in this league into a professional career. Fan demand for this level of hockey is found to be sensitive to the success of the home team and to exhibit normal consumer responses to weekday and monthly effects with weekends being more popular and attendance increasing throughout the season toward the playoffs. On-ice factors such as scoring, a proxy for excitement, and fighting are not shown to have a significant effect on attendance.