Why Is Ice Hockey So Expensive? (7 Reasons & Cost Of NHL)
In my recent article, I went through the price ranges of hockey gear and the cost of playing hockey. Now it’s time to discover why ice hockey is such an expensive sport.
Ice hockey is expensive as it requires a lot of expensive equipment, renting ice time has high costs, a full hockey team needs many staff members, and traveling to out-sate or country tournaments is common. Also, hockey teams provide insurance for the players, reflecting on the monthly fees.
That’s a short way of saying but even from those couple of sentences; it starts to make sense why hockey is so expensive. It’s not like the staff members or hockey team owners are reaping all the cash just for the sake of it. There are more expenses to be paid in hockey than in many other sports, which is why it’s also more expensive than many other sports.
To better understand why ice hockey is so pricey, we need to examine each variable individually.
Related: How Much Does Hockey Gear Cost? (Tips For Affordability)
Contents
1. Long List of Equipment
The equipment isn’t the biggest variable on why hockey is expensive, which should say much because the equipment costs a lot of money.
On average, a full set of great new hockey equipment costs $1000, hovering between $800 to $1200. However, you won’t get the best quality with it, and if you want NHL-level gear, it’ll cost you at least $2000, probably closer to $3000.
On the plus side, you can get even new equipment for $400 to $500, but you will need to skimp on quality. You can also buy better quality gear that is slightly used from Facebook Marketplace, Sideline Swap, and more.
Age plays a big role in the equipment as well. If you’re a child’s parent, you will need to buy new equipment every few years as the kid grows. This can result in a big bill consistently, increasing the price of hockey.
However, if you’re a recreational adult hockey player, you don’t need the full set or change equipment all the time without talking about monthly team fees so that it can be affordable. Just be sure to sharpen your hockey skates so your skating performance will be kept good.
2. Staff Requirements
When comparing hockey to sports like table tennis, badminton, softball, and so on, more people are involved in the team’s staff than individual instructors or a few people.
A hockey team and the arena may need;
- Coaches
- Operations manager
- Equipment managers
- Massage/physiotherapists
- Zamboni drivers
Now imagine the salary requirements needed to cover these positions. The hockey team’s staff are humans, too, who have mortgages, bills, and necessities that need to be covered, and if they’re involved in hockey with you, they aren’t doing it for free.
The team staff also has responsibilities within the team that all require money. The equipment managers will take care of needed training equipment that costs money; the operations manager will ensure all the arrangements are made, etc.
All the mentioned needs funds are taken from the monthly fees paid by the players or their parents to keep the team breathing and in business.
3. Renting a Rink Isn’t Free
The ice arena or rink isn’t simply free for the teams to use as they please. In addition, there are fewer rinks than a demand for them, which makes ice time highly sought, at least in most places.
Generally, ice rinks are rented by the hour, costing anywhere between $150 to +$400 per hour, depending on the time of day, whether it’s weekday or weekend, and the particular rink.
It’s time to do some math.
Let’s say a hockey team rents a rink costing $250/hour. They rent the rink for 1.5 hours of ice time four times a week, which is normal for most hockey teams.
So, $250 x 1.5h x 4x/week = $1500/week. That’s $6000 each month just for the ice time. Below you can find a table with different situations and scenarios to give you more perspective.
| Hourly Cost | Ice Time Rented | Training Amount/Week | Cost per Week | Cost per Month |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $150 | 1 hour | 2 | $300 | $1200 |
| $200 | 1 hour | 3 | $600 | $2400 |
| $250 | 1.5 hours | 4 | $1500 | $6000 |
| $300 | 1.5 hours | 5 | $2250 | $9000 |
| $350 | 1.5 hours | 3 | $1575 | $6300 |
| $400 | 2 hours | 4 | $3200 | $12 800 |
| $450 | 2 hours | 5 | $4500 | $18 000 |
As you can see, the hourly cost, ice time rented, and training amount per week drastically affect the cost per week and month. Sometimes, pre-renting may award discounts to the team, but the general idea of what to expect is shown in the data table.
Now you should better understand why hockey is expensive and how renting the ice rink affects it.
4. Hockey Isn’t The Only Skating Sport
As I mentioned, most areas have very few ice rinks, and many hobby activities require ice. This includes hockey teams of different ages and more, but also figure skaters and individual renters wanting to hit the ice.
Naturally, supply and demand may increase and lower the prices, and in the case where there’s less ice time and more need for it, the rent price can be increased by the renters.
This, of course, will be included in the monthly team payment.
5. Game Traveling Is Common
Depending on your own will, the team’s level of play, and norms, traveling costs with the team may be the single most expensive aspect of all hockey costs.
If a hockey team travels to our state or country tournament, the trip will be a four-figured number, if not more.
Let’s say that a team takes two trips per year, each costing $1500 for the traveling, accommodations, food, and other hidden costs the team needs to provide for such an event. This costs $3000 annually, and if your child is 8 years old and pursues hockey for 10 years, it’s $3000 just for the travels.
Below you’ll find a data table showing different costs, depending on the trip costs trips done per year.
| Trip Cost | Trips Done per Year | Annual Cost |
|---|---|---|
| $1500 | 1 | $1500 |
| $2000 | 2 | $4000 |
| $2500 | 3 | $7500 |
| $2000 | 4 | $8000 |
| $2500 | 5 | $12 500 |
| $3000 | 6 | $18 000 |
Imagine spending $18,000 just for the travel costs for traveling hockey. Now, this may seem like it isn’t the reality, but even Utah State University states that an American family can expect to pay $7000 for youth ice hockey, on average, up to $19,000 per year.
If this feels like your world will collapse because you want to pursue hockey but don’t have that kind of money, don’t worry. Most hockey teams aren’t certainly traveling with +$10,000 each year, and if they were, you aren’t forced to participate.
Although missing such events isn’t great, that’s too much money to spend on a hobby if you ask most people.
6. Hockey Teams Provide Insurance
One of the most overlooked factors in the cost of hockey is the insurance teams provide for their players. It’s needless to say that ice hockey is extremely dangerous, resulting in all sorts of injuries like head & neck injuries, concussions, internal organ injuries, broken bones, and lost teeth.
Think about your insurance or them in general; it probably isn’t cheap. Now, thin about providing that to 20 people with an increased cost because the players are at risk of injury more than regularly, increasing the insurance price.
There are other ways to do this as well. For example, USA Hockey Association gives insurance automatically to all members of the USA Hockey Association. So, if your team is registered in the program, they will cover insurance. However, being a member costs money as well.
7. Hockey Has an Expensive Reputation
Last but not least, hockey has been on the expensive end for a long, long time. This isn’t a problem for the ones on the money receiving end, and as the reputation is expensive, it’s better to keep it that way.
Many things in life are expensive not because every dime will be used for the cause, but because of profit margins, status symbols, great feelings, and many other things. I’m not saying a big part of hockey costs is its costly reputation, but it’s still there.
Why are NHL Games So Expensive?
Hockey can and is expensive in other ways than being a player or providing the opportunity to pursue it for your children. Hockey isn’t cheap as a fan if you want to watch live professional hockey in decent seats. NHL is the highest level of hockey, so why it’s so expensive? Let’s find out.
1. World Class Athletes
We all have heard and seen those massive million-dollar contracts individual NHL players sign. That’s incredible for them, but have you ever thought about where that money comes from? Yes, the teams and franchises, but where does their money come from?
Most of the money comes from you and me when we go and watch the game, drink beverages, eat the food served at the arena, and park our cars in their parking lots. A large portion of this money will be for the players and their salaries.
2. Gate-Revenue Driven League
Another reason NHL tickets are expensive is that it’s a gate-revenue-driven league, which means that the NHL relies on ticket sales and items sold inside the stadium like drinks, food, jerseys, fan products, and more. The majority of the revenue comes from this.
3. Arena Seats are Limited
An average NHL stadium holds over 18,000 seats, whereas it’s over 42,000 in MLB and over 60,000 up to +80,000 in NFL. However, all three sports are included in the “Big Five Sports”; Ice Hockey, Baseball, Football, Soccer, and Basketball.
So, there are fewer seats for the audience than in other sports, which is why the tickers are generally more expensive.
4. Supply and Demand
Last but not least, the popular rule of supply and demand is a t play in NHL ticket costs. The seats, food, drinks, or even parking wouldn’t be as expensive as they are if there wouldn’t be people willing to pay for them.
In addition, more people are willing to pay for them than there are seats so the prices can be comfortably increased.
These four main reasons affect why NHL tickets are expensive and will likely remain.
Related: Why Are Hockey Jerseys Expensive? (& How To Find Cheap Ones)
Is Ice Hockey Too Expensive?
So playing and even watching hockey can be expensive, but the question is, is it too expensive?
According to a 2021 Canadian survey among respondents with youth hockey experience, 88% reported that hockey is too expensive for everyone to play, whereas only 9% disagreed, and 3% weren’t sure. Thus, ice hockey is too expensive for everyone to play.
However, what’s expensive is relative. For others, $1000 equipment, $500 monthly payments, and two $2000 trips per year are many times too expensive one could pay, whereas it’s something easily achievable for others. That’s why it’s difficult to say whether hockey is too expensive.
However, what can easily be said is that hockey is too expensive for everyone to play. Personally, I feel that hockey organized hockey is too expensive because $7000 to $19,000 annually isn’t something I consider pocket change but an extremely substantial sum.
When determining whether hockey is too expensive, it’s something each one of us needs to do individually. What is your income, what about your spending habits, are you willing to decrease travel hockey and buy used equipment, and how much do you like hockey?
Hockey can also be extremely expensive, or it can be inexpensive. It all comes down to you and your needs and desires.
