May 26--Joe Kenny has owned Finley Dunne's, a "hockey bar" on Lincoln Avenue in West Lakeview, for about 20 years. Then last week something unusual happened.
Nearly two dozen patrons actually wanted to watch a Stanley Cup playoff game that did not involve the Blackhawks.
"That doesn't sound like a lot," Kenny said. But normally when the Hawks are out of the playoffs, interest in the NHL plummets. It marked, he argued, a significant shift in Chicago's sports landscape.
"(Hockey fans) now know they can go to their neighborhood bar ... and say, 'Hey, can you put the hockey game on?' People will say, 'Oh, sure,' whereas five, six years ago, it would be, 'Why do you want to watch hockey?' " Kenny said. "People are coming out because of the Hawks fan base but also because of the (growing) acceptance of hockey among the sports fans here in Chicago."
Numbers back that up. The research firm Scarborough reports 51 percent of people in the Chicago area in 2015 said they were "very," "somewhat" or a "little bit" interested in the NHL. Compare that with 2007, when only 23 percent reported the same. In 2015, 20 percent of people reported being "very" interested in the NHL compared with just 3 percent in 2007.
But Chicago has a long way to go from being Hawkeytown to a hockey town.
Television ratings for NHL playoff games in Chicago nearly vanish when the Hawks are not playing and lag far behind local ratings for NBA playoff games when the Bulls aren't participating -- as is the case this month.
Take the ratings for the leagues' respective conference finals.
For Game 1 of the NHL's Western Conference finals between the Sharks and Blues, the rating in Chicago was 1.88 -- with one rating point equaling about 35,000 households. Game 1 of the NBA's Western Conference finals between the Warriors and Thunder drew a 6.0 rating in the Chicago market, according to the NBA.
You can also measure the impact of the Hawks being out of the playoffs at local bars. Just ask owners and managers such as Kenny, who see their bottom lines take a hit when the Hawks are eliminated early in the postseason. This year marked the first time since 2012 the Hawks did not advance at least to the conference finals.
Kenny said the Hawks being in the playoffs can add 30 to 40 percent more revenue in May and June. Meanwhile, at the Pony Inn on Belmont Avenue, another Hawks bar, the bar doesn't see the big spikes in business it sees on nights the Hawks are playing in the playoffs.
"You just have to find other ways (to generate revenue)," said Matt Hayes, director of operations for Pioneer Tavern Group, which includes the Pony Inn. "You can't cry about it. They can't win the Stanley Cup every year. It's a gift. That's how we look at it. ... It's awesome when they're in it, but when they're not, what can you do?"
