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The

A Strategic Plan To Reposition the NHL as America’s number one Sport

Prepared by Joseph Deluca

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Table of Contents

Executive Summary 3 Creative Strategy 21 Situational Analysis 4 Summary 21 Product and Service Analysis 4 Creative Brief 22 Target Market Analysis 5 MC Strategies & Tactics 23 Distribution Network Analysis 6 Public Relations 23 Competitive Analysis 7 Web Strategy & Promotions 24 Current Financial Situation 8 Advertising 25 Historical Results 9 Campaign Timeline 26 Macroenvironment 11 Campaign Budget & ROI 27 SWOT Analysis 12 Measurement & Evaluation 28 IMC Overall Objectives & Issues 13 Conclusion 29 Marketing Strategy 14 Appendix 30 Target Marketing 14 Positioning 17 Marketing Mix 18 Market Research 20

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Executive Summary

While it has a devoted niche following, the NHL continues to fight for market shares in the professional sports industry. Its unique style of play and international flair make it a distinctive brand. However, the NHL’s poor television contract and inability to promote its star players has left it out of the minds of many sports fans.

However, through an effective marketing campaign we can challenge individuals to rethink what they know and believe about the NHL and increase revenue through increasing attendance at games and increasing viewership through the television medium.

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Situational Analysis

Product and Service Analysis

The NHL features the world’s best hockey talent. Its game is fast paced and creates an excitement in its fans unlike any other sport. Some of the leagues most notable players are and . One potential weakness of the NHL is that its most dominant players are foreign to the US. Other sports leagues such as the MLB, NBA, and NFL

A unique selling of the NHL is that there is constant action. Play can go on for several minutes without a stoppage of play- players even change on the fly. In addition to its speed lies a fierce physical presence that creates a distinctive style not found in any other sport, which fulfills the consumer’s desire for action-packed entertainment.

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Situational Analysis

Target Market Analysis

The NHL is most dominant in and is growing its brand in Europe by opening up regular season games in places such as Finland, Sweden and Germany. The NHL is more of a niche sport in the . It is most popular in the Northeast and least popular in the Southeast. It is predominantly watched by white males in the middle to upper class.

A current trend the NHL can capitalize on is the rise in hockey’s popularity created by the Winter Olympics. The Olympics provided an additional stage for the NHL to showcase its talent. Specifically, this was effective for promoting the NHL’s brand in the US as it created awareness for American players such as Patrick Kane, and Zach Parise.

Hockey is typically watched and played by Europeans or those of European decent because these are the individuals that grow up exposed to the game of hockey. Much of this is due to the fact that hockey is a very expensive game to play with limited inner city outreach.

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Situational Analysis

Distribution Network Analysis

Live Games

• 30 NHL cities that each hosts 41 regular season games Merchandise • Fans purchase tickets to these games via • licensing agreement with Reebok to create all online, at the arena box office or at other team uniforms retail locations. • Majestic, New Era, Mitchell & Ness and many others have licensing agreements with the NHL • Merchandise can be purchased online through the NHL and various other websites, various retail Television locations, individual team stores and the NHL also has a store in NYC • The NHL currently has television contracts with NBC (broadcast) and Versus (cable) • NHL also has its own television network which can be viewed on satellite and digital cable.

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Situational Analysis

Competitive Analysis

Primary Competition Secondary Competition

Major League Baseball European Hockey National Football League

The NHL’s greatest competitors are other major North American sports alliances. Currently, the National Foot- ball League is the most popular sport in the United States, followed by and the Na- tional Basketball Association. The NBA, MLB and NFL appear to appeal to a more generalized audience. A more comparable sports alliance may be NASCAR as it is more of a niche sport just as the NHL is in the US.

To a lesser degree, European hockey leagues such as Russia’s Kontinental Hockey League (KHL) can be considered a competitor. It has become a growing trend for former NHL players to sign with clubs in Europe. Some examples are Peter Forseberg and Jagomir Jagr. The NHL is still the gold standard for hockey, but it National Basketball Association has lost some of its talent to other leagues.

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Situational Analysis

Current Financial Situation Most Valuable Teams The latest financial report for the NHL was released November 11, 2009. Despite an economic (forbes.com) recession, the NHL had its most profitable year. During the 2008-2009 season the league, posted an average operating profit of $6.1 million , the highest figure in the 12 years Forbes has 1. tracked the leagues finances (forbes.com). 2. 3. Canadiens 4. • Aggregate revenue (including proceeds team owners get from non-hockey events at their 5. Flyers arenas) last year increased $70 million compared with the 2007-08 season, to $2.82 billion . 6. Bruins 7. Blackhawks • The average NHL franchise is worth $223 million , $3 million more than the previous year 8. 9. • Gate receipts rose 1.9% to $339 million , while sponsorship revenue climbed 1.9% to $1.19 10. billion 11. 12. Wild • The biggest revenue growth area last year for the NHL was local TV. Chicago, Detroit and 13. Kings Toronto all signed huge new contracts, boosting overall local media revenues for the league 14. 15% to $356 million 15.

• Ratings on Versus (0.2) and NBC (1.0) were only good enough to generate $80 million in * Complete list including revenue figures rights fees for the league. can be found in the appendix

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Situational Analysis

Historical Results

“Is This the Year?” • The were the most (nhl.com) watched on broadcast television since • Launched at beginning of 2008-2009 season 2002, while Game 7 of the finals featuring the Penguins and Red Wings was the • "What this campaign really represents is the hopes and possibilities and anticipation for the most-watched NHL game (7.9 million start of the new season," said Brian Jennings, viewers) since 1973 (forbes.com). Executive Vice President of Marketing, NHL. • Last year, ratings on Versus and NBC

Results were up 24% and 11%, respectively. • The “Is This The Year?” campaign features four

national television spots with Sidney Crosby, Patrick Kane, Henrik Lundqvist and Dion • During the playoffs, the number of unique monthly visitors to NHL.com increased Phaneuf, in addition to team-specific television, 33% year-over-year to 12.2 million. print, store point of sale and Web ads using

players from each of the 30 member clubs. • Average Reported attendance was up

1.5% from 2007-2008 • Additionally, the NHL revamped its website and

increased the websites amount of digital con-

tent.

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Situational Analysis

Historical Results

Hockey is For Everyone (nhl.com)

• Hockey is for Everyone is a community outreach program that provides support and unique programming to non-profit youth hockey organizations across North America that are committed to offering children of all backgrounds opportunities to play hockey

• Has reached close to 45,000 boys and girls

• Embraces three specific disciplines of youth hockey: diverse hockey (ethnic diversity, geographic location and gender diversity), special hockey and disabled hockey.

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Situational Analysis

Macroenvironment Economic Technological • One major factor is the economic recession. This has caused inflated ticket prices. With • A major technological benefit has been HDTV . More than any other this came varied reports on attendance. Well sport, HDTV has enhanced television programming for the NHL by some reports show an increase in overall at- making the puck more visible and the ice more luminous.

tendance, other reports show a number of • Reebok ‘s EDGE jersey is tighter and lighter than its predecessors. It struggling franchises with attendance on the makes it more difficult for player to be grabbed or hooked and allows decline. them to skate faster.

• A stronger Canadian dollar has spurred on an increase in revenue. A stronger Loonie Cultural helps teams north of the border, because they

take in revenue in Canadian dollars, but pay • Americans ethnocentric point of view appears to hurt the NHL. Unlike their payers in U.S. dollars. other leagues, the NHL’s best players are mostly foreign born. This makes it more difficult to market many of the leagues stars.

• Many individuals are turned off by the NHL because of the misconception of hockey being a game of brutality

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Situational Analysis

SWOT Analysis

Strengths Weaknesses • Unique Brand • Poor television contract and ratings • Strong, passionate fan base • Struggling markets (Atlanta, Tampa Bay, etc.) • Parity created by hard salary cap • Large international talent pool in ethnocentric • Use of Viral Marketing USA • Popular Winter Classic event • Poor marketing of star players • Lack of ethnic diversity

Opportunities Threats • Potential NBA and NFL labor issues • Strong Competition from other sports leagues • HDTV • Other hockey leagues • Buzz created by Olympics • Economic Recession • Stronger Canadian dollar • Misconceptions of hockey being purely a game of brutality

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IMC Overall Objectives & Issues

Objectives

Financial Objectives Marketing Objectives

• For the 2010-2011 season, Increase • Increase league participant diversity by 10% league wide revenue by $100 million within 15 years.

• For the 2010-2011 season, increase • Increase viewership on the television medium ticket sales by 10% by 15% for the 2010-2011 season

• Increase Brand Awareness by 20% over the next 2 seasons. Critical Issues

• Poor television ratings • Struggling markets (Florida, Atlanta, etc.) • Lack of diversity among participants • Lack of awareness in respect to star players outside of Crosby and Ovechkin

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Marketing Strategy

Target Marketing

Ethnic Minorities

• These primarily consist of African Americans, Latinos, Asians and all other ethnic backgrounds. This is an important target because the NHL lacks diversity in both its participants and its viewers. Give or take a few players because of day-to-day roster transactions there are about 25 black hockey players currently in the NHL and all most no other ethnic minorities (nhl.com).

• These individuals are typically of a lower economic class and predominantly grow up in an inner city environment. They are normally drawn to sports such as: football, basketball and baseball because theses sports have programs that are more accessible to them.

• Besides a lack of exposure, there are also cultural differences that detract minorities from hockey. For example, many Latinos and blacks enjoy hip-hop however hockey is mostly closely associated with rock music.

• By expanding the NHL’s audience to different demographics, a larger fan base will be established. With a larger fan base comes more revenue

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Marketing Strategy

Target Marketing

Traditional Sports Fans

• Although these individuals enjoy a wide array of sports, hockey usually isn’t at the top of their list. They come from various backgrounds and have varying levels of income. They much rather stay in with their “boys” and drink a few brews than go out with their significant others to a museum or an opera. Not only do they find the opera uninteresting, but going to the opera also means taking off the sweats and baseball cap and putting on an uncomfortable pair of slacks.

• It is important to address this target for two reasons. For those who are already established hockey fans, the brand must be reaffirmed to keep them interested in the sport. For those who are at least no more than casual hockey fans, the brand must be repositioned to garner more of their attention. This shouldn’t be overly difficult since they already have a strong sports background

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Marketing Strategy

Target Marketing

Non-Sports Fans

• These individuals, like anyone else seek entertainment, but just don’t have an interest in sports. They may enjoy the arts whether it’s going to the ballet, enjoying a good book or checking out the newest exhibit at the local art gallery. They may also find enjoyment in a variety of musical genres such as: adult contemporary, country, hip-hop or rock.

• It is important to target these individuals to attract new viewers to the NHL. There lack of charisma towards sports may actually help with the marketing effort. The NHL is truly a unique sports brand so it can be illustrated that there is something for them that other sports just cannot offer.

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Marketing Strategy

Positioning

• Currently the NHL is considered by many to be a second rate sports league behind the NFL, MLB and NBA. Although the NHL has a very passionate fan base, it is more of a niche sport than it is popular sport for the general audience.

• Much of this can be attributed to the lack of product knowledge by the consumer. Most people know what the NHL is, but beyond a basic understanding little else is known. From this ignorance comes misunderstandings and misconceptions about what the game of hockey and the NHL is actually about.

• Many consumers fail to understand the many unique features of the NHL that cannot be found in any other sport or entertainment, such as: sudden death in both the playoffs and regular season, its unrivaled and sustained fast pace tempo, the unparalleled skill of its athletes (think of playing another sports on ice skates) and its unheralded blend of speed and physicality.

• All of these features come together to feed the consumers hunger for an exciting and one of a kind entertainment experience.

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Marketing Strategy

Marketing Mix

Product Price • The vision behind the product that the NHL puts forth is to create a unique • Currently the NHL has the second cheapest average form of sports entertainment that cannot be rivaled. ticket price among the four major sports alliances. Only

the MLB is cheaper, but baseball teams play twice as • Presentation is extremely important to the NHL. Following the lockout of many games so demand for tickets is lower the 2004-2005 season, the NHL made many changes to its game to create an overall better representation of its sport. (sportsbusinesssims.com).

• Ticket prices communicate that the NHL is an affordable • Some the changes included: stricter enforcement of obstruction penalties form of sports entertainment but still high enough to to create a faster game with more flow, the elimination of the two line pass insinuate a quality product. to spur on scoring and excitement and only allow teams 15 seconds to

change after a stoppage to speed up the pace of the game. • The current pricing fits in well with the NHL’s strategy as the latest findings show an increase in league revenue • Allow these changes were made to create an overall better presentation and overall attendance. It appears that both the for the NHL’s fans. consumers and the NHL are content with pricing.

* Specific pricing statistics regarding the four major sports alliances can be found in the appendix

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Marketing Strategy

Marketing Mix

Distribution Promotions • The biggest distribution challenge currently facing the NHL is its • The NHL’s competitors have done a better job promoting its poor television contracts. products. The major strengths of the MLB, NBA and NFL lies

in their ability to reach more consumers. The NHL lacks the • Currently the NHL’s contract with NBC runs through the 2010- brand awareness of the other 3 major sports alliances 2011 season. Under the contract NBC will broadcast the Winter

Classic , nine regular season games, weekend games during • The NHL will need to reach more consumers to compete for the playoffs and up to 5 games (.com) market shares in the sports entertainment industry by

increasing its brand awareness and by creating initiatives to • Under the contract NBC and the NHL share revenue engage consumers with its product.

• The NHL’s contract with Versus also runs through the 2010- 2011 season. Versus paid the NHL $72.5 million for the 2007- • The NHL has done a great job with revamping its website and promoting its sport through viral marketing (it is the only 2008 season major sports league that allows consumers to post NHL

content on YouTube). • Under the contract Versus covers 54 regular season games, provides coverage for as many playoff games as possible and two games of the Stanley Cup Finals (espn.com).

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Marketing Strategy

Market Research

Online Game Attendance • The NHL tracks its website statistics through analytics and • Ticket sales are tracked and recorded for metrics companies such as Omniture SiteCatalyst each game at each arena

• Things such as visits, page views, unique visits and average • Specific games and dates are matched with time spent on site are tracked and recorded (omniture.com). its corresponding sales figures to track the

effectiveness of certain promotions. • Random surveys are also conducted about its website. At anytime a visitor may be prompted to take a short survey to give feedback on the website

Other Television • The NHL uses polls and scans blogs to see • Ratings are tracked through the Nielsen Company for what fans and others are thinking both NBC and Versus • The NHL has an active two way communication • Ratings are also tracked for specific games such as between itself and fans to gain further insight by the Winter Classic and Stanley Cup playoff games using tools such as FaceBook

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Creative Strategy

Summary

“Rethink” Campaign Change is the driving idea behind the “Rethink” campaign. We want to change what individuals currently believe:

• When, Michael, the underprivileged inner city African American boy thinks he’ll never set forth in an ice rink, we want him to rethink. We want to expose him to hockey and give him an opportunity to learn and understand the game.

• When Amy, the middle-aged housewife, thinks she’ll never have anything in common with the NHL, we want her to rethink. We want her to realize that there is just as much drama in hockey as there is in any of the primetime programming that she so diligently watches.

• When Beau, the typical southern bachelor and NASCAR enthusiast, thinks that racing is the only real source of adrenaline, we want him to rethink. We want to show him that the NHL is just as fast and fierce as NASCAR.

Narrow-minded, ill-conceived thinking and preexisting ideals are at the root of many misconceptions. Through an effective marketing campaign the thoughts and beliefs of individuals can be changed. That is exactly what the “Rethink” campaign is designed to do. We want people to alter their thinking and see what the NHL really is.

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Creative Strategy

Creative Brief

To whom are we talking? Sports fans and non-sports fans who are seeking entertainment

What do they currently think? They currently think that the NHL either doesn’t or cannot fulfill their entertainment needs because it doesn’t relate to them

What would we like them to think? We would like them to think that they can relate to hockey and thus be entertained by it

What is the single most persuasive idea we can convey? To “ Rethink ” what you currently believe

Why should they believe it? Because they will drop any previous perception about hockey and understand that they actually do relate to the NHL through target specific advertising

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MC Strategies and Tactics

Public Relations

One of the key components to the “Rethink” Campaign will be community outreach. Currently the NHL has the “Hockey is For Everyone” initiative (see page 10) . This is a great program but it must be expanded upon to reach more children. In an effort to increase diversity in the game and brand awareness more children must be reached by:

• Working with each individual franchise to maintain, expand upon or develop youth hockey programs in their respective markets, with particular attention being paid to struggling markets.

• Seeking donations from NHL sponsors to purchase equipment, refurbish arenas, etc.

• Seek active volunteers by offering discounted ticket prices and free NHL merchandise for participation in the program

• Holding free hockey clinics at more locations, more often.

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MC Strategies and Tactics

Web Strategy & Promotions

As stated in the Situational Analysis the NHL has recently completed a massive overhaul of its website and has seen an increase in . The NHL can use this to its advantage to drive ticket sales and bring credibility to its “Rethink” campaign through effective promotions

“Rethink” Promotions “Rethink” Giving • Coinciding with the “Rethink” commercials will be a contest • To help with “The Hockey is For Everyone” initiative and to drive in which participants show how the NHL has made them ticket sales fans can donate new or gently used hockey equipment rethink something in their own life. at their local NHL arena.

• Each piece of consumer-generated media (CGM) would • In exchange, they will receive a voucher to purchase discounted be posted to a microsite linked to nhl.com. There visitors tickets at their respective arenas of the microsite can view the videos and vote and leave comments.

• Each participant would receive a voucher for a discounted tickets to select game that can be redeemed through an online purchase.

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MC Strategies and Tactics

Advertising

The “Rethink “campaign will feature a series of commercials to be aired both nationally and regionally (and some time specific) for each of the 30 franchises. The ads will be designed to generate brand awareness and drive televi- sion viewership

• Will be 30 second spots featuring clips from specific events or games from the NHL. The commercial will present one outcome or situation, then prompt the viewer to rethink what they see and then present a new perspective or outcome.

• The commercials will feature a variety of star players to give them increased exposure

• All commercials will be aired during NHL programming on Versus, NBC and on the NHL Network.

• Additional advertising spots will be purchased on ESPN, MTV, Telemundo, and TBS

• Additionally, all content will be available on YouTube and on nhl.com for a viral marketing effort

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Campaign Timeline

Jan Feb Mar April May June July Aug Sept Oct Nov Dec

“Rethink” Ads

“Rethink” Promotion “Rethink” Giving Hockey is For Everyone Expansion Hockey Clinics

Willie O’Ree Ad * see appendix The “Rethink” ads will coincide with the duration of the NHL season. The Willie O’Ree add will coincide with black history month and Jackie Robinson day (April 15). The hockey clinics will be run in the offseason so NHL players and coaches can participate. The Hockey is For Everyone expansion will be a gradual and continual effort. The “Rethink” Promotion will be run in the middle of the “Rethink” ad campaign so consumers can gain an understand- ing of the campaign before participating in the promotion and once the promotion concludes there will be amply time to distribute the winning video.

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Campaign Budget & ROI

Q1 (Jan-March) Q2 (April – June) Q3 (July – Sept) Q4 (Oct – Dec)

“Rethink Ads” $5 million $5 million $4 million $5 million

Hockey is For Everyone Expansion $2 million $2 million $2 million $2 million

“Rethink” Promotion $1 million $0 $0 $500,000 $100 million dollars in “Rethink” Giving $1000,000 $0 $0 $100,000 increased Hockey Clinics $0 $500,000 $1 million $0 revenue (primary financial Willie O’Ree Commercial (part of “Rethink” $ 1 million $100,000 $0 $0 ads) objective) Sub Totals $9.1 million $7.6 million $7 million $7.6 million Minus $31.3 million Total Marketing Expense $31.3 million (marketing expenses) The biggest expense in this campaign is advertising. The “Rethink” campaign will coincide will the upcoming season and Equals be featured both on television and online via YouTube, nhl.com, and the NHL’s Facebook account. A lot of the advertising ROI of $68.7 will be scene during regular NHL programming so spots won’t have to be purchased. million

The next biggest cost is the expansion of the Hockey is For Everyone intiative which works hand-in-hand with the hockey clinics and “Rethink” giving campaigns. We hope to partner with NHL sponsors to offset some of the costs

The major cost associated with the “Rethink” Promotion is the development and managing of the microsite.

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Measurement and Evaluation

Increase viewership on the television For the 2010-2011 season, Increase Increase Brand Awareness by 20% medium by 15% for the 2010-2011 league wide revenue by $100 million over the next 2 seasons season Each year the league does a financial A random sampling of the general public Ratings are tracked for individual games and analysis following the conclusion of its can be down through survey analysis. The additionally average ratings are calculated season. Each teams revenue is tracked survey will ask individuals general ques- and then an aggregate number is tions about the NHL and their understand- through Nielsen for both Versus and NBC summed up ing of it.

For the 2010-2011 season, increase ticket sales by 10% Increase league participant diversity by 10% within 15 years. Each arena tracks ticket sales for each game and then the totals of each arena are added Every player on every team is accounted for. This can together to calculate league wide attendance. very easily be tracked by analyzing each team’s roster.

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Conclusion

The NHL is the purest representation of a truly unique sport. It is unfortunate that more people are not aware of this beautiful game and lack the understanding to truly appreciate it.

We must challenge individuals to “rethink” what they know and believe through brand awareness so we can change the perception of the NHL in the minds of consumers. By superseding any primary misconceptions or false pretenses about the game of hockey we can attract more fans to the game. With more fans will come: increased in-game attendance and increased television viewership and ultimately a higher collective revenue which will ensure a maximum ROI.

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Appendix

Works Cited

NHL.com ESPN www.nhl.com www.espn.com

Forbes.com www.forbes.com

CBS Sports www.cbssports.com

Omniture SiteCatalyst www.omniture.com

Sports Business Simulations www.sportsbusinesssims.com

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Appendix

Rethink Barriers

• Designed to be a television ad aired during February (black history month) and possible re-aired on April 15 (Jackie Robinson day).

• The Ad will feature Willie O’Ree breaking the NHL color barrier as he was the first black person to play in the NHL.

• The primary purpose of the ad is to generate brand awareness within the African American demographic

• The secondary purpose is to draw parallels between the NHL and MLB because Willie O’Ree is known as the Jackie Robinson of the NHL.

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Appendix

Rethink A Day at The Ballpark • Designed to be a television ad promot- ing the game of hockey through its popular Winter Classic event.

• Will feature clips from the past two Winter Classic which have been at baseball fields (Fenway Park and Wrig- ley Field).

• Can also be used to promote future Winter Classics

• Its aim is to draw parallels between the game of baseball and hockey

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Appendix

Team Values

1-Yr Value Change Operating Income 3 Rank Team Current Value 1 ($mil) (%) Debt/Value 2 (%) Revenue ($mil) ($mil) 1 Toronto Maple Leafs 470 5 31 168 78.9 2 New York Rangers 416 1 0 139 27.7 3 339 2 71 130 31.3 4 Detroit Red Wings 337 11 0 130 27.4 5 273 -1 24 101 3.1 6 271 3 44 108 11.6 7 258 26 0 108 20.9 8 Dallas Stars 246 -10 81 97 12.4 9 Vancouver Canucks 239 1 46 109 20.3 10 New Jersey Devils 223 0 112 97 1.4 11 Pittsburgh Penguins 222 14 45 93 3.3 12 210 -3 54 95 1.3 13 208 -1 79 92 10.6 14 Anaheim Ducks 206 2 17 94 4.8 15 Colorado Avalanche 205 -11 16 84 3.4

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Appendix

Team Values

1-Yr Value Change Operating Income 3 Rank Team Current Value 1 ($mil) (%) Debt/Value 2 (%) Revenue ($mil) ($mil) 16 Flames 200 -2 15 95 -0.8 17 197 -5 66 90 -3.8 18 191 -4 55 80 -2.2 19 184 3 24 84 -5.0 20 183 15 37 83 -4.9 21 177 5 51 82 -4.6 22 St Louis Blues 176 9 68 80 -2.7 23 170 1 29 79 -5.2 24 166 -5 60 83 9.4 25 165 5 27 77 -9.9 26 159 -2 50 74 -13.6 27 156 -5 52 71 -5.7 28 149 -3 67 62 -5.6 29 143 -10 46 68 -1.8 30 Phoenix Coyotes 138 -3 101 66 -18.5

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Appendix

Cost of Attendance

Average Average Ticket Percent Average Price of League Price Change Price of Beer Ounces Soda Ounces Hot Dog Parking Program Cap FCI

NFL $54.75 4.9 $5.37 18 $3.23 20 $3.52 $15.34 $4.59 $15.67 $321.62

MLB $19.82 3.9 $5.17 17 $2.66 17 $3.05 $10.28 $3.98 $12.55 $155.52

NBA $44.68 1.6 $5.10 16 $2.78 17 $3.13 $10.99 $4.63 $14.28 $261.26

NHL $43.57 1.6 $5.05 16 $2.75 17 $3.01 $10.19 $4.18 $13.84 $253.65 * FCI (fan cost index) is the average cost for a family of four to attend a game. It includes: the price of 2 adult tickets, 2 children’s tickets, 4 hot dogs, 4 sodas, 2 beers, parking, a program and 2 hats.