2021’s Best Cities for Hockey Fans

Adam McCann, Financial WriterJun 14, 2021

Adam McCann, Financial Writer
Jun 14, 2021

Hockey, like all sports, was impacted greatly by the COVID-19 pandemic, and the NHL could be facing around $2.5 billion in lost revenue as a result. That said, the 2020-21 season has still proceeded despite some delays, and the Stanley Cup semifinals are approaching. The teams that qualified are the Vegas Golden Knights (0 Stanley Cup wins), Montreal Canadiens (24 Stanley Cup wins), Tampa Bay Lightning (2 Stanley Cup wins) and New York Islanders (4 Stanley Cup wins).

So for all the diehard and rookie fans, WalletHub crunched the numbers to determine the best places for hockey enthusiasts. We ranked 73 U.S. cities based on 21 key indicators of a good hockey city. Our data set ranges from ticket prices to stadium capacity to the performance level of each city’s teams.

Table of Contents

Main Findings Ask the Experts Methodology

Main Findings

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Best Hockey Cities

Overall Rank	City	Total Score	NHL	NCAA
1	Boston, MA	60.91	1	1
2	Detroit, MI	53.85	2	57
3	Pittsburgh, PA	52.84	3	39
4	New York, NY	49.76	4	55
5	St. Louis, MO	46.76	5	57
6	Denver, CO	46.71	7	19
7	Newark, NJ	45.33	6	57
8	Tampa, FL	44.02	8	57
9	Chicago, IL	42.87	9	57
10	Buffalo, NY	39.17	12	42
11	Sunrise, FL	38.82	10	57
12	Anaheim, CA	38.47	11	57
13	Washington, DC	37.79	13	57
14	Philadelphia, PA	37.10	14	57
15	Dallas, TX	36.20	15	57
16	Raleigh, NC	35.42	16	57
17	Glendale, AZ	34.47	17	57
18	St. Paul, MN	33.78	18	57
19	San Jose, CA	33.43	19	57
20	Columbus, OH	31.70	22	38
21	Nashville, TN	31.29	20	57
22	Las Vegas, NV	30.48	21	57
23	Los Angeles, CA	27.87	23	57
24	Grand Forks, ND	20.65	24	2
25	Orono, ME	19.91	24	3
26	Houghton, MI	19.80	24	4
27	Lewiston, NY	19.80	24	5
28	Ann Arbor, MI	19.75	24	6
29	Hamilton, NY	19.18	24	7
30	Hanover, NH	18.94	24	8
31	Potsdam, NY	18.39	24	9
32	West Point, NY	18.31	24	10
33	East Lansing, MI	17.31	24	11
34	Big Rapids, MI	16.35	24	12
35	Colorado Springs, CO	16.08	24	13
36	Bowling Green, OH	15.93	24	14
37	Storrs, CT	15.92	24	15
38	Ithaca, NY	15.91	24	16
39	Durham, NH	15.90	24	17
40	Madison, WI	15.59	24	18
41	Sault Ste. Marie, MI	15.54	24	20
42	State College, PA	15.54	24	21
43	Providence, RI	14.91	24	22
44	Canton, NY	14.52	24	23
45	Bemidji, MN	13.94	24	24
46	Fairfield, CT	13.67	24	25
47	Schenectady, NY	13.50	24	26
48	Amherst, MA	13.47	24	27
49	Springfield, MA	13.37	24	28
50	Erie, PA	13.27	24	29
51	Minneapolis, MN	13.20	24	30
52	New Haven, CT	13.00	24	31
53	Marquette, MI	12.85	24	32
54	Duluth, MN	12.73	24	33
55	Cambridge, MA	12.65	24	34
56	South Bend, IN	12.46	24	35
57	Rochester, NY	12.29	24	36
58	St. Cloud, MN	12.01	24	37
59	Worcester, MA	11.61	24	40
60	Waltham, MA	11.47	24	41
61	Mankato, MN	11.10	24	43
62	Lowell, MA	11.08	24	44
63	Princeton, NJ	10.91	24	45
64	Oxford, OH	10.60	24	46
65	Omaha, NE	10.59	24	47
66	Troy, NY	10.43	24	49
67	Tempe, AZ	10.01	24	50
68	North Andover, MA	9.63	24	51
69	Kalamazoo, MI	9.56	24	48
70	Fairbanks, AK	9.30	24	52
71	Anchorage, AK	7.96	24	53
72	Burlington, VT	7.76	24	54
73	Huntsville, AL	6.80	24	56

Note: With the exception of “Total Score,” all of the columns in the table above depict the relative rank of that city, where a rank of 1 represents the best conditions for that metric category.

artwork 2021 best worst cities for hockey fans

Ask the Experts

The COVID-19 pandemic has brought a new set of challenges for hockey stakeholders. For additional insight about the business side of the sport, hockey fandom and more, we asked a panel of sports experts to share their thoughts on the following key questions:

What are the biggest challenges facing the business of professional hockey today?
Do you have any tips for how hockey fans can enjoy the sport without breaking the bank?
How does the NHL compare to other major league sports in terms of ensuring the safety and health of their players in the short and long term?
In evaluating the best cities for hockey fans, what are the top five indicators?
How has the pandemic impacted the hockey industry?
With sports betting now federally legal, how will the Stanley Cup finals be affected?

Ask the Experts

: Chris Glionna
Men’s Ice Hockey Head Coach – Suffolk University
Read More

: Wade Gilbert
Ph.D. – Professor, Department of Kinesiology – California State University – Fresno
Read More

: Peter Smolianov
Ph.D. – Professor, Sport and Movement Science Department – Salem State University
Read More

: Greg Greenhalgh
Ph.D. – Visiting Instructor, Vinik Sport & Entertainment Management, Muma College of Business – University of South Florida
Read More

: Kristen D. Dieffenbach
Ph.D. – Associate Professor, Athletic Coaching Education, College of Physical Activity and Sport Sciences – West Virginia University
Read More

: Alex Traugutt
Ph.D. – Assistant Professor of Sports Management; Chair, Business Department; Director, Graduate Business Programs; Eckelkamp College of Global Business & Professional Studies – Fontbonne University
Read More

More Experts

Methodology

In order to determine the best cities for hockey fans, WalletHub compared 73 U.S. cities across two divisional categories, NHL (Division I Men’s) and NCAA (Division I Men’s). For our sample, we chose cities with at least one college or professional hockey team.

We evaluated each divisional category using 21 relevant metrics, which are listed below with their corresponding weights. Each metric was graded on a 100-point scale, with a score of 100 representing the most favorable conditions for hockey fans. The weight for each divisional category is based on its popularity, which we determined by summing the number of “Likes” for all the teams in each category and calculating the proportion that each league represents in total.

We then determined each city’s weighted average across all metrics to calculate its overall score and used the resulting scores to construct our final ranking.

Due to the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on the NCAA schedule for the 2019-2020 season, for some metrics we considered the values up to the 2018-2019 season. This helps ensure a level comparison field among the teams.

NHL – Total Points: 80

Number of NHL Team(s): Full Weight (~9.41 Points)
Performance Level of NHL Team(s): Full Weight (~9.41 Points)
Note: This metric was calculated by dividing the number of wins by the total games played. We used the past three seasons’ average for this calculation.
Number of Stanley Cup Wins: Full Weight (~9.41 Points)
Number of NHL Division Championship Wins: Half Weight (~4.71 Points)
Number of Hall of Fame Head Coaches: Half Weight (~4.71 Points)
Franchise Value: Half Weight (~4.71 Points)
Note: This metric measures the team’s estimated value in millions of dollars.
Average Ticket Price for NHL Game: Full Weight (~9.41 Points)
NHL Fan Engagement: Full Weight (~9.41 Points)
Note: This metric was calculated by adding the number of Twitter followers to the number of Facebook “Likes” per capita.
Number of Coaches in Past 10 Seasons (Seasons 2011-12 to 2020-21): Half Weight (~4.71 Points)
NHL Stadium Capacity: Half Weight (~4.71 Points)
Note: This metric was calculated by dividing stadium capacity by city population.
Attendance: Half Weight (~4.71 Points)
Note: This metric was calculated by dividing average home-fan attendance by stadium capacity.
Popularity Ranking: Half Weight (~4.71 Points)

NCAA (Division I Men’s) – Total Points: 20

Number of NCAA (Division 1) Team(s): Full Weight (~2.86 Points)
Performance Level of NCAA (Division 1) Team(s): Full Weight (~2.86 Points)
Note: This metric was calculated by dividing the number of wins by the total games played. The past three seasons’ average was used for this calculation.
Number of NCAA (Division 1) Championship Wins: Full Weight (~2.86 Points)
Number of NCAA (Division 1) Conference Regular Season Championship Wins: Half Weight (~1.43 Points)
Number of Hall of Fame Head Coaches: Half Weight (~1.43 Points)
Minimum Season-Ticket Price for NCAA (Division 1) Game: Full Weight (~2.86 Points)
College-Hockey Fan Engagement: Full Weight (~2.86 Points)
Note: This metric was calculated by adding the number of Twitter followers to the number of Facebook “Likes” per capita.
Number of Coaches in Past 10 Seasons (Seasons 2011-12 to 2020-21): Half Weight (~1.43 Points)
College-Hockey Stadium Capacity: Half Weight (~1.43 Points)
Note: This metric was calculated by dividing stadium capacity by city population.

Sources: Data used to create this ranking were collected from the U.S. Census Bureau, ESPN, NCAA.org, NHL.com, U.S. College Hockey Online, Forbes, Ranker.com, Facebook, Twitter, U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame, Team Marketing Report and each team’s website.

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Questions & Answers (1 question)

Where are the real top teams like Montreal and Toronto?

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