Summary of Fan Survey results

Photo: Andy Burnham

During the 2022/23 season, we launched our first-ever Fan Survey to get your thoughts on a wide variety of topics connected to the Elite Ice hockey League.

6,978 responses were received, and since the survey closed PwC have broken down the results to give both us and your individual teams a wealth of information about Elite League fanbases.

As promised, we are pleased to present a summary of the results. Some information is being kept back as it is commercially sensitive.

Fanbase demographics
The average age of an Elite League fan is 38 years old, with 58.1% of those responding being male, and 40.8% female. 0.6% of respondents identified as non-binary, while 0.5% preferred not to answer this question. Over half of the respondents indicated that they are married, or in a relationship.

Statistically, the youngest fanbase in the Elite League is Belfast (followed by Dundee and Manchester) while Nottingham, Guildford and Fife are the oldest.

54% of the respondents to the survey were season ticket holders, with 46% not holding a season ticket. The biggest reason for not buying a season ticket was stated as not seeing enough games, however the vast majority of fans attend almost every home game.

A surprising discovery from the survey was the number of fans across the league who own pets, at almost 70% of those responding to the survey.

Free text feedback
In terms of positive feedback, fans indicated that they feel the Playoff Finals Weekend is a great way to end the season. Additionally, fans told us that they highly value the Elite League's Pride games and feel that ensuring EIHL arenas are a safe space for all fans is something to be proud of. League and team social media, and a family-friendly atmosphere at games, were also highlighted as positives for the Elite League.

On the contrary, the biggest complaint from fans was the current format of the Challenge Cup. This out-ranked both wanting teams to show greater professionalism and the level of officiating in the league, which were the next two highest points of negative feedback.

Fan experiences
Belfast Giants were ranked to have the league's best pre-game show (followed by Sheffield and Cardiff) and atmosphere (followed by Glasgow and Manchester), while the SSE Arena in Belfast received the highest rating for seating and general arena/rink facilities. Fife Ice Arena had the highest satisfaction rating for the selection of food and drink available on game nights, while Belfast and Sheffield fans were the most satisfied with their teams' selection of merchandise. Manchester, Nottingham and Sheffield rated best for public transportation options to get to the arena.

In general, fans prefer games to be played on Saturday and Sunday, however nine of 10 teams' fanbases also scored playing on Friday nights at an average rating of more than four out of five. No team's fanbase scored midweek (Monday-Thursday games higher than an average of 3.6 out of five).

Hockey operations
Winning the league was the highest priority for fans of Belfast, Cardiff, Nottingham and Sheffield; while making the playoffs was the number one aim for Coventry, Dundee, Fife, Glasgow, Guildford, and Manchester fans. Winning the Challenge cup was scored highest by fans of Belfast and Sheffield.

Overall, fans indicated they narrowly prefer fast, technical hockey compared to physical hockey, scoring their importance as 3.91 out of five and 3.86 out of five respectively.

On the subject of the number of non-homegrown players in the Elite League, 36.2% of fans said it was about right, while 31.3% answered that it didn't matter. A further 17.8% said the number was too low, while 14.7% answered that it was too high.

In terms of tournament priority, fans clearly placed the League as the most important competition, followed by the Playoffs and then the Challenge Cup. Playing in the Champions Hockey League was scored as important by fans of Belfast, Cardiff, Glasgow, Nottingham and Sheffield, while only Giants, Devils and Panthers fans rated the IIHF Continental Cup high on their list of priorities.

"The Fan Survey has given us us a wealth of insights into the demographics, behaviours, and preferences of our fan base and, in terms of off-ice initiatives, is probably one of the most important things we have done in a long time," said Head of Hockey Operations, Mike Hicks.

"For the league, and individual teams, there is a lot of information within the survey that can only be useful as we move forward.

"It's important to recognise that the information we have received in some areas might not necessarily result in overnight fixes, but are things we can work on and towards over a number of years. We are very grateful to everyone who gave their time to complete the survey, and much of the data will also be of great use to our new Commercial Manager when he takes up his position in August 2023."