Chicago hockey fans are known for being some of the most passionate, but apparently the Windy City isn’t the greatest city for fans of the sport.
Despite the Blackhawks and Tampa Bay Lightning facing off in the 2015 Stanley Cup Final, it appears Chicago isn’t even among the top five best cities for hockey fans, according to a new report from finance website WalletHub. Tampa, however, was.
The website analyzed data from 74 of the largest U.S. cities, using 18 categories ranging from ticket prices to stadium accessibility to team performance in the last three hockey seasons.
Chicago ranked no. 9 on the list. The city was noted for having exceptionally high attendance rates for NHL games and one of the best-performing teams, but fell short when it came to costs and fan engagement.
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania was the top-ranked city for hockey fans, according to the report. It was followed by Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts; St. Louis, Missouri; Tampa, Florida; Boston, Massachusetts; St. Paul, Minnesota; Detroit, Michigan; and Denver, Colorado. Chicago was followed by Anaheim, California.
