Pegula Sports and Entertainment launched the One Buffalo campaign in October 2014 in what owner Kim Pegula described as a symbol that their professional sports teams, the Bills and Sabres, were “all moving in the same direction.”
Almost eight years later, the franchises have little in common, including their ticket bases.
During the “Future of the Fan” panel at the MIT Sloan Sports Analytics Conference on Friday, Pegula told the audience that there’s little overlap between their season ticket holders.
“For us, I have a hard job,” said Pegula, the president of both teams. “I’ve got one team that’s building and one team that’s peaking. You have to adapt for two different groups. We don’t have a ton of crossover, actually, believe it or not. We have a few, not as many as you would think, living in the same market that is a ticket buyer to both."
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The comments were in response to a question about the differences between Bills and Sabres fans.
“I would say the NFL has the platforms, the modern data, the league engagement and clubs all do in the national games and broadcasts and eyeballs on it, amplifies that engagement so much more than I think hockey does," she continued. "Hockey did a great job of going with ESPN and adding streaming and taking those steps. The NFL just has the larger audience and encompasses a bigger fan base.”
In an interview with ESPN after the panel, she put the figure at about 10%.
Here is the full question and answer from Kim Pegula.Her answer was about tickets.Pegula: "We don't have a ton of crossover, actually, believe it or not. We have a few, but not as many as you would think that, living in the same market, they would be a ticket-buyer to both." pic.twitter.com/5LkKH5O8aD
— Nick Veronica (@NickVeronica) March 4, 2022
The Bills have reached the playoffs in four of the past five seasons since snapping a 17-year playoff drought in 2017. They’ve won at least one playoff game in each of the past two seasons and lost to the Kansas City Chiefs in the AFC Championship game to finish the 2020 season. The Bills posted a 34-15 record between 2019-21.
The Sabres, meanwhile, are on their way to missing the playoffs for an 11th consecutive season, which will set the record for the longest postseason drought in NHL history. They’ve had seven coaches and four general managers since Terry and Kim Pegula purchased the team in 2011. Another roster rebuild began last summer with the departures of Rasmus Ristolainen and Sam Reinhart, and continued with the trade of Jack Eichel, the former face of the franchise and team captain.
Asked in the ESPN interview about the Sabres, she said the franchise has a plan for success. "It's just going to take a little longer," she said.
