Running on empty: Once the hottest ticket in St. John's, IceCaps facing rows of empty seats

Two years ago, the St. John's IceCaps were aiming to break the American Hockey League record for a sellout streak.

The St. John's run of putting a bum in every one of Mile One's 6,287 seats for every home game since their inception eventually ended at 120 games.

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It'sthe second-longest streak in AHL history, behind only the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins' 144 sellouts.

Attendance shy of 4,000 people

But just two years later, Mile One has a lot more elbow room.

We've set the bar so high over the last four or five years that it's a disappointing crowd for us.- Glenn Stanford

The arena fell just shy ofselling out for Saturday's season opener, with an attendance of 5,820, but the three subsequent games didn't crack the 4,000 mark.

Glenn Stanford, IceCaps chief operating officer, told CBC the team's season ticket base is down around 30 per cent from last year, and blamed the current economic climate.

"A lot of our season-ticket holders are feeling that pinch, and we understand that. We understand that cost is a factor in the decision," he said.

"We understand people can't afford to come down to those games, can't afford time-wise, for 38 games, and we're feeling the pinch on that from where we had been in previous years."

Stanford said having a turnout of 3,500 people in the stands in the league on a weeknight is considered a good showing.

"Obviously for us it's not. We've set the bar so high over the last four or five years that it's a disappointing crowd for us."

Last AHL season for foreseeable future

Stanford says he's confident attendance will creep up as the season rolls along, especially if the team is able to string together some wins.

"This is a hockey town, and they'll support a team that's winning," he said.

"Not to put any pressure on our team, but it's like any market. Anybody likes to have a competitive team and a winning team, and we're no different here."

Stanford acknowledged this is the last season of AHL action in St. John's for the foreseeable future.

"We're looking at other possibilities coming through," he said. "I really believe the community will come out and support this as we move forward."