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For immediate release
August 10, 2004
(OTTAWA) – Fans of NHL hockey are livid and they are speaking out to protect their game.
On the verge of an impending lockout of players by the National Hockey
League, failing successful Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) talks, 85%
of fans believe that a work stoppage is looming. Only 8% of NHL hockey fans
believe that the 2004-05 season will begin on schedule.
"Fans are extremely fed up with both the NHL and its players," says Jim
Boone, co-founder of the NHL Fans' Association. "In 1994, when similar CBA
talks occurred, fans were clearly supporting the players, since they had
endured years of suppressed salary levels. However, this time around, fans
are not so enamoured with the players crying poor. Likewise, fans have
little appetite for NHL team owners who showed poor judgment by paying
players ridiculous salaries over the last decade."
A recent poll of NHLFA Members found that 81% of fans believe that there
should be some form of team salary cap or luxury tax to keep player costs
under control. More than half (55%) of fans think a team's salary cap
should be between $30 and $40 million (USD) each season. Seven out of 10
fans also believe that players should participate in a television broadcast
revenue sharing program with the NHL, effectively increasing the amount each
team can spend on players' salaries as TV revenues increase. The general
thinking is that the players and team owners should not be adversaries, but
partners in the successful growth of the game – on and off the ice.
Sixty percent (60%) of NHLFA Members support a reduction in regular season
games from 82 to 72 as a means to keep costs down. One third (31%) do not
support such a change in the game.
The NHLFA was launched in 1998 to give hockey fans across North America and
worldwide a way to express their views on NHL hockey and to influence the
game for the better. The non-profit NHLFA is free to join at www.nhlfa.com
and has 21,904 Members.
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