Best Cities for Hockey Fans in 2025 – WalletHub Study

With the 2025 Stanley Cup Finals around the corner and the NHL projected to have a record $6.6 billion in revenue this season, the personal-finance website WalletHub today released its report on 2025’s Best Cities for Hockey Fans, as well as expert commentary.

To determine the best places for hockey spectators, WalletHub compared 76 U.S. cities based on two divisional categories, professional and college hockey, across 21 key metrics. The data set ranges from the performance level of the city’s teams to minimum season ticket prices to stadium capacity.

Best vs. Worst

• The Boston Bruins’ performance level, is 2.2 times better than that of the San Jose Sharks.
• The Denver Pioneers’ performance level, is 3.6 times better than that of the Miami RedHawks.
• Sunrise, Florida, has the lowest average ticket price for an NHL game, which is three times lower than in Las Vegas, the city with the highest.
• Las Vegas has the highest attendance rate for NHL games, which is 1.5 times higher than in Salt Lake City, Utah, the city with the lowest.
• Los Angeles has the highest team franchise value, which is 2.9 times higher than in Columbus, Ohio, the city with the lowest.

To view the full report and your city’s rank, please visit:
https://wallethub.com/edu/best-worst-cities-for-hockey-fans/13283

“Hockey is one of the most underappreciated sports in America, but its popularity is steadily growing, bringing in record-breaking revenue and attendance. The best cities for hockey provide good opportunities to watch high-performing NHL teams in person, and sometimes NCAA teams as well. They also have some of the most dedicated fans in the country.”
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“Boston is the best city for hockey fans, and it’s home to the Boston Bruins, which has the most regular season wins in NHL history. The Bruins are the second-most valuable NHL team in the league, worth $2.7 billion, and have won six Stanley Cups, bringing Boston the third-most of any city. In addition, Boston has three Division 1 teams, the Boston College Eagles, Boston University Terriers, and Northeastern University Huskies, who have collectively brought Boston 10 NCAA championship titles, the most of any city.”

– Chip Lupo, WalletHub Analyst

Expert Commentary

What are the biggest challenges facing the business of professional hockey today?

“Hockey remains the lowest-attended and lowest revenue-generating of America’s professional sports leagues. While hockey fandoms reflect the same passion of any sport fandom, they face these attendance and revenue challenges compared to other sports across the professional sport landscape. This necessitates consistent and creative management that is responsive to its own fanbase. The NHL does a good job of remaining steadfast as a sports culture. Political expression is limited among players and teams, with messaging being immediate to local fandoms and communities. Traditions and rituals are strong among NHL franchises. The challenges of cultivating, retaining, and growing fan engagement are prominent NHL concerns. The league has responded well with its consistency in messaging and the game, and the expansion of the sport into warm-weather regions. Success for teams in the north and south help prove the universality of the message when it is effectively communicated.”
Scott Jensen – Professor, Webster University

“One of the biggest challenges currently facing professional hockey, particularly the National Hockey League (NHL), is declining viewership. Research from SportBusinessJournal (2025) shows that NHL viewership on national broadcasts fell by 12% during the 2024-25 season and has been sporadic over the past decade. This decline may be in part due to down years by large market teams like the Boston Bruins, Chicago Blackhawks, Philadelphia Flyers, Pittsburgh Penguins, and the New York Rangers and Islanders. To boost viewership in the future, the NHL could focus on improving access for watching games and connecting with younger audiences by promoting individual players more effectively, similar to how leagues like the NBA and NFL market their stars.”
Sean Pradhan, Ph.D. – Associate Professor, Menlo College

Do you have any tips for how hockey fans can enjoy the sport without breaking the bank?

“Sit up high. Yeah, it’s a lot of fun to be down on the glass, close enough to flinch when the hometown enforcer lays a heavy check on an opponent. But getting a ticket way in the upper deck helps you to see plays develop, all while allowing you to experience the sights and sounds at a much more-affordable price point. And, if you join me in the 300-level at Amerant Bank Arena in Sunrise for a game with my beloved Florida Panthers, you can get a really good view of the Stanley Cup championship banner hanging from the rafters.”
Ted Curtis – Professor; Hockey Director, Lynn University, Boca Raton, FL

“Like all sports, media access has made hockey more accessible to its fans. While media subscriptions can be expensive, access to hockey (and all sports) is becoming easier to attain. More franchises are also offering special games with premiums and discounted tickets. Similarly, more youth-oriented incentives are bringing in families to the game. My suggestion to fans is to watch games however they can be watched, but focus on playoff or rivalry games. The indoor, generally intimate nature of the hockey experience brings fans to life. Combining the fast-pace of the game, the loud and active nature of the fans on hand, and the physicality on the ice makes any game a fun game to watch. While rules can be difficult to fully understand, the excitement of the game inspires engagement despite maybe not fully understanding the intricacies of the game. Television makes it affordable and a good introduction before spending the money to attend live games. When you do attend live games, weeknight games against non-rivals are often more affordable. Re-selling sites such as SeatGeek or StubHub also offer less expensive tickets, particularly if you are willing to take the risk of buying tickets to less popular games closer to game day.”
Scott Jensen – Professor, Webster University

What are the main issues for the NHL in 2025?

“Labor relations may prove to be a quietly-handled issue in the coming year – or it may provide explosive headlines. The NHL-NHLPA’s current collective bargaining agreement expires on September 15, 2026, and the future of the league will depend on how smoothly (or treacherously) negotiations for a new labor deal proceed. Representatives with management and labor reportedly began meeting last month. We’ll see.”
Ted Curtis – Professor; Hockey Director, Lynn University, Boca Raton, FL

“I think the main issues for the NHL are not unique from other professional sports. Teams must find a way of securing media contracts that make access to the game both affordable and inexpensive. Along the same lines of money, teams in mid-market cities and with limited budgets for securing talent must find ways of retaining talent and providing an exciting experience for their fans. A final issue that may arise as our political climate changes is political messaging across the league. Generally speaking, NHL fans are more conservative than those in other professional sports. Similarly, a high percentage of NHL players are non-American. These factors have made the NHL a league with limited political expression as part of its culture. It will be interesting to see (1) if athlete and team political messaging increases in the next year or two, and (2) if the NHL follows any increase in political expression within sports.”
Scott Jensen – Professor, Webster University

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