DETROIT – The Detroit Red Wings have played six regular-season home games since moving to Little Caesars Arena, and while all of them have been announced as sellouts, there have been plenty of empty seats in the arena.
Officials are now trying to do something about the attendance issue. There's a new policy to try to get fans to stay in their seats during the games.
As hockey fans know, you can't move around when the puck is in play, but starting Wednesday night while the Red Wings battle the Flames, that's changing.
It's clear on television that there are several empty red seats at the LCA.
"Especially for basketball games," Red Wings fan John Nantais said. "I find that very disturbing, but that's the way it is."
The Red Wings hope a change to the code of conduct will help put more bodies in the seats.
"You're not allowed to go to your seats until a break in the action," said hockey fan Robert Kimmel.
That's how it is now, and it's the same for most NHL games. But a letter went out to Red Wings staff members Tuesday night with a policy change.
"We are going to allow guests to go to their seats during the first few minutes of the first, second and third periods while the puck is in play just until the initial rush at the beginning of the game and after the intermissions end," the letter said.
After the rush, rules will go back to normal, and fans will have to wait for a whistle to get to their seats. Many fans said they don't like the idea, even if it's only for a few minutes per period.
"I don't think this is a good idea," a fan said. "I came here to watch hockey, not watch people walk in front of me. Not a good idea at all."
"The traditional regular fans may be turned off," said Jamila Taylor, of Detroit. "Stick to the old (rules) and be patient. This is something new."
According to the letter, this is a trial run for Wednesday's game against the Flames, Friday against the Sabres and Sunday against the Avalanche.
We contacted the team for a response and they tell Local 4:
"The organization is experimenting with a number of adjustments in regards to the operation of the arena including bowl access, escalator flow, parking and more because we learn something new every night and we're focused on delivering the fans a top-level guest experience."