Wednesday, March 2, 2005 | 9:27 a.m.
When the Las Vegas Wranglers drew a capacity crowd of 7,773 in January for the first time in the team's nearly two-year history, more than a few eyebrows were raised.
But when the team drew nearly 6,000 the following Monday, and continued to draw crowds of more than 5,000 for all but one game in February, a one-night spillover turned into a month-long surprise.
And with at least one more date this year likely to sell out, the Wranglers are poised to average more than 5,000 fans per game this season, a slight increase over last year's 4,981 fans per game but still notable for a few reasons.
Mostly, unlike last year's team that went 26-9-1 at home, this year's Wranglers have yet to win 26 games at all this season, and are 11-13-2 at the Orleans Arena.
The team is on a three-week road trip, but for the Wranglers front office, the hiatus is actually good news, vice president Billy Johnson said.
"We love the two-to-three-week break," he said. "We get to refocus as a sales staff. People don't just come to sporting events. We have to spend time hitting up places, selling groups, and reloading the queue of the next attendance numbers down the pike."
Johnson doesn't like the term sellout, preferring instead to call the Jan. 29 event a "near-capacity crowd." But he couldn't help but notice the exuberance the entire Wranglers staff had at 5:45 p.m. that day, when the last ticket was sold and there was still a line of people at the ticket office waiting to get in.
And, those were all paid admissions. The Wranglers have had a policy of no comped admissions, something that confused and dismayed some observers, including Orleans Arena boss Steve Stallworth.
"They started out with a strategy I didn't agree with," Stallworth said. "Now, I'm a believer. I kept thinking, let's get some bodies in the building, because that's where we make money. They said this is the best thing to do in the long term, and I think they were right."
Johnson said it's a state of mind that blocked the team from giveaways.
"At the end of the day, we have to get paid for what we produce," he said. "If an empty seat's filled with someone who didn't pay for it, it does more damage in the long term. That's a trap we can't get into. ... People won't pay for anything they've ever gotten for free once."
A former minor league baseball general manager, Johnson talks in numbers. Sell 200 more season tickets a night, and 200 more group tickets a night, and the team is turning a profit. Buy advertising time, the team probably loses money on weekend games but does better on weeknights.
And he's realistic about the lack of media attention his team has received. Where television journalists sing and dance for the Gladiators and at least report the scores from road games during the Las Vegas 51s' season, the Wranglers are lucky to get a mention.
Johnson said better newspaper coverage or television reporting might get his team an extra 100 tickets a game.
"Those are one of maybe 10 mosquito bites," he said, saying that he understands that the press has been burned before by minor league teams folding, sometimes in the middle of a season. He understands that attention will come with credibility.
"If we draw 5,500 fans a game, if we get a couple of guys to the NHL -- if there ever is another NHL season -- what's not in our control is talking the media into taking us seriously," he said.
The team ranks sixth in attendance among the 28 teams in the ECHL, and closer to second or third in actual tickets sold.
As for personnel, no Wranglers alumni made it to the NHL last season, although some of this year's players, including former forward Dana Lattery and current rookie forward Dustin Johner, seem well on their way.
Even with the talent, this year's team has been unable to pull off a winning record. That's come as a surprise to Stallworth.
"For their record to be where it is, we're thrilled," he said.
Johnson said the team's mediocre record has a bigger impact on the lack of playoff dates than on disappointed fans. The team will have to credit season-ticket holders who bought playoff tickets for next year, or offer refunds.
"It might matter deeply to a low percentage of season ticket holders. We may lose some season ticket holders," Johnson said. "It does have a bigger effect of not being on the top of the newscasts or on the front of the newspaper."
The Wranglers return home March 11, with the Saturday night game on March 12 nearing the team's second-ever sellout.
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