Malmö Redhawks have broken audience records during the season.
– We have never had this many people before, says club CEO Patrik Sylvegård to Sydsvenskan.
Malmö Redhawks is this year’s successful team in the SHL. The team, which before the season was tipped by the expert corps to have a tough time in the bottom battle, is currently in a sensational fifth place after 39 rounds played. In step with the success on the ice, the interest around the team has also grown. The audience has found its way back to Malmö Arena. In fact, the club is on course for attendance records.
– We have never had this many people before. We blow our budget on the audience quite a lot and it’s fun. And we have talented, talented people. It is a joy to work with younger people who have drive and I really want to pay tribute to the entire organization, says Patrik Sylvegård to South Sweden.
According to Sylvegård, the Redhawks are making strides with each passing year:
– We are probably quite humble about the task. So, we know this can turn around fast and we’re enjoying it while we can. But somehow, it still feels like we’re making strides every year, both commercially and sportingly. All the hard work we’ve done is starting to pay off.
During the return to the SHL in the 2015/2016 season, Malmö had an audience average of 7,725 tickets sold per match, which was previously the club’s best record. This season it has already happened, when the club so far breaks the attendance record with an average of 7,755. It is an average that will increase, according to Sylvegård:
– We will probably beat all the remaining matches with flying colours.
He also tells us that there is a strategy behind it.
– The audience hasn’t just come. There is a strategy. We are better at seeing who goes when. We have found keys that allow us to connect better with the audience. Saturdays are better for with families, then we try to package in a way. Thursdays are good for business-to-business, then we do something else.
More crowd parties in Malmö Arena await. After Thursday’s away game against Luleå, three straight home games await, against Djurgården, Rögle and HV71. The club has already sold nearly 27,000 tickets for these three matches.
– There is good pressure on the tickets, of course, says Sylvegård in conclusion to the newspaper.
Photo: Bildbyrån
