With the 2017 Stanley Cup finals in full gear and Americans willing to pay 15 percent more, on average, to see an NHL match than an NBA game, the personal-finance website WalletHub today released its report on 2017’s Best Cities for Hockey Fans.

To determine the best places for hockey spectators, WalletHub’s number crunchers compared 72 U.S. cities based on two divisional categories, including professional and college hockey, across 19 key metrics. The data set ranges from the performance level of the city’s teams to minimum season ticket prices to stadium capacity.

Top 20 Cities for Hockey Fans
1 Detroit, MI 11 Newark, NJ
2 Boston, MA 12 Philadelphia, PA
3 Pittsburgh, PA 13 San Jose, CA
4 Anaheim, CA 14 Glendale, AZ
5 St. Louis, MO 15 Washington, DC
6 New York, NY 16 St. Paul, MN
7 Chicago, IL 17 Nashville, TN
8 Sunrise, FL 18 Dallas, TX
9 Buffalo, NY 19 Denver, CO
10 Tampa, FL 20 Los Angeles, CA

Best vs. Worst

  • The Washington Capitals’ performance level, 63.41 percent, is 1.8 times better than the Arizona Coyotes’, 36.18 percent.
  • The North Dakota Fighting Hawks’ performance level, 66.27 percent, is 4.2 times better than the Niagara Purple Eagles’, 15.66 percent.
  • Anaheim, Calif., has the lowest average ticket price for an NHL game, $89, which is 3.3 times lower than in Chicago, the city with the highest at $297.
  • Chicago has the highest attendance rate for NHL games, which is 1.8 times higher than in Raleigh, N.C., the city with the lowest.
  • Chicago has the highest team franchise value, $925 million, which is four times higher than in Raleigh, N.C., the city with the lowest at $230 million.

To view the full report and your city’s rank, please visit:
https://wallethub.com/edu/best-worst-cities-for-hockey–fans/13283/