Opened in 2016, there is little argument that Rogers Place ranks as one of the very best arenas in the NHL. In fact, you can even make a strong case for the Edmonton Oilers' home being the crown jewel of the entire league.
Of course it's one thing for any sports arena (or stadium) to look the part, but what about actually being able to attend a game? Well, Freebets.com recently put together a survey, which compared how affordable all 32 NHL arenas are for a family of four to attend a game.
In order to complete the survey, Freebets.com considered six categories. These included four non-premium tickets, four hot dogs, two beers, two sodas, two team hats, and parking.
When it was all said and done, the Ottawa Senators came out number one in value for money at an all inclusive cost of $348.34 USD, which converts to around $483.57 CAD. The Calgary Flames were also in the top five at number four, with their total cost of $382.24 working out to roughly be $530.63 CAD.
Oilers above average in a good way
So how about the Oilers? They ended up ranking 14th overall, with an all inclusive cost of $448.75 USD which calculates to about $622.96 CAD.
All things considered this isn't too bad of a total cost. Especially when you consider the combination of the Oilers' prestigious history and playing in -- as already mentioned -- one of the premier hockey arenas in the NHL.
In this respect, perhaps it is no surprise that the category where the Oilers rank the lowest, is the ticket cost. At $85.12 USD ($118.16 CAD), this is only the 17th-cheapest price in the NHL.
Ticket price aside though, once you're actually at Rogers Place, the cost begins to become more reasonable. Best of all, parking will set you back just $10.15 USD ($14.09 CAD), which is the Oilers' best ranking in this survey at third-cheapest.
Not too bad inside the arena either
Once inside the arena, you'll also be pretty pleased with the competitive cost for liquid refreshment. A $5.37 USD ($7.45 CAD) soft drink is eighth-cheapest in the NHL, while a $9.26 USD (12.85 CAD) beer ranks reasonably enough at 10th.
It does cost $6.11 USD ($8.48 CAD) for a hot dog, making it only 16th-cheapest. However, you do get the option to leave with a piece of merchandise in the form of a team hat, which at $22.21 USD ($30.83 CAD) is ranked fourth-cheapest. (Interestingly, along with four of the other Canadian NHL teams.)
In respect of the seven NHL Canadian teams, the Oilers come in at fifth-most expensive. Unsurprisingly, the Toronto Maple Leafs are the most expensive team to go and watch anywhere in North America at $748.30 USD overall, which converts to $1,038.79 CAD.
Overall, Oilers supporters should be fairly please with the results of this survey. Not that we're saying it's great in the current economic climate, but at least the fans aren't having to fork out as much as the folks in Toronto ...