Elliotte Friedman raises concern among Golden Knights fans amid falling attendance: "Don't feel as appreciated"

A longtime Vegas Golden Knights fan has told Elliotte Friedman that the team doesn't make supporters feel as appreciated as it once did. The Sportsnet insider shared the message while discussing the smaller crowds at T-Mobile Arena, with his comments posted by Rinky Report on X.

“I got DM from a Golden Knights fan who said, you're not wrong, but I'll tell you, I don't feel as someone who's been a Golden Knights fan since day one, I don't feel as appreciated as I used to be. And that's important.”

Vegas announced 15,977 fans for its Oct. 8 game against the Toronto Maple Leafs, 1,390 below T-Mobile Arena's listed capacity of 17,367. The announced crowd was 16,768 for the Oct. 10 game against the Los Angeles Kings and 16,433 for the Oct. 15 matchup with the Calgary Flames.

The Toronto game ended the franchise's run of announced sellouts, which dated back to its first season in 2017-18. SinBin.vegas, citing sources, reported that fewer than 13,000 people were inside the arena that night.

Golden Knights ticket policy comes under scrutiny as crowds shrink

Friedman has linked some of the drop in announced attendance to Vegas' decision to crack down on ticket brokers. Fans had sometimes found cheaper tickets through resale sites than through the team's primary market.

“So Vegas had a situation where the brokers were reselling tickets and a lot of people felt that they were getting a better price through the secondary market than they were through the main market,” Friedman said. “And Vegas has decided they're going to crack down on it.”

“And that's one of the reasons their attendance is down,” he added.

Golden Knights president of business operations John Penhollow told The Athletic that the team had cut back sharply on tickets sold directly to brokers. Those tickets had counted toward announced attendance in previous seasons, even when the seats went unused.

Penhollow described the change to the Las Vegas Review-Journal as “a quarter-step backward to make three steps forward.” He also said season-ticket sales were down from last season.

The team has since introduced half-season and 10-game ticket plans and dropped the requirement for season-ticket holders to buy playoff tickets. Penhollow said the changes came after the club listened to fan feedback.

“So we started listening to fans,” he said.

The lower crowds come despite a strong start on the ice. Vegas was 8-2-0 through 10 games in Ryan Craig's first season as head coach, leading the Pacific Division. Craig spent six seasons as a Golden Knights assistant before taking over the job.

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