The season after missing the playoffs for the first time since 2003, the San Jose Sharks say they’re “still very strong” in terms of season-ticket sales.
But that doesn’t mean there’s been zero decline. Club COO John Tortora told the Mercury News that renewal rates are expected to drop to around 85 percent, down from the 92 to 93 percent levels the Sharks had grown used to after years where they’d advanced past the first round of the playoffs.
“We expected a drop off after there was some frustration on a number of levels, particularly with the fact that we missed the playoffs,” Tortora said. “We had lost in 2003, we lost I think 3,000 season ticket holders the last time we missed the playoffs. The sample size isn’t all that large because it’s been 12 years since we missed the playoffs. But we anticipated a drop off and we’ve seen that.”
In spite of what happened last season, new coach Pete DeBoer has predicted a “big bounce-back” year for the Sharks.
