Wondering how people think a "Gay Day" would work with an NBA or NHL team, which might be a better league (team) to pursue, and if anyone knows if this has already been done with any local NHL or NBA teams.

scottie, IMO the idea is great, but the community participation would be a lot lower as ticket prices for either NBA or NHL game are considerably higher than baseball. Also, how tough is it to get tickets to the Flyers or 76ers? Whoever has more availablity on tickets will be more receptive to hosting an event.

My own feeling is that this may work more with an NBA Team than an NHL Team. Hockey seems to be such a hyper-masculine sport, that my guess is this would not go over all to well, maybe in some cities more than others though. Just my 2 bits worth.

I know ticket prices will be an issue, and we'd never attract the 1500 we attracted to the Phillies game. As both the Flyers and Sixers share common ownership, at this point I'm not concerned about who is more receptive or who has more tickets available - just which one do you think would be more interesting/popular with the LGBT community - a "gay night" at a basketball or hockey game?

I'd say that even in cities like Philadelphia where hockey has a strong following, overall there's a little more interest in basketball. Hockey is still too much of a niche sport.

As far as the 76ers are concerned, their lower-priced tickets are a bit cheaper than the Flyers.

My heart says hockey, but the brain says basketball. Hot sweaty men... biceps a bulgin'... running, dribbling, shooting..... ok maybe that wasn't my brain talking.... eek! Seriously though, I think basketball would be easier for a casual sports fan to follow.

Some considerations:

Which leagues are more popular in your city: gay hockey or gay basketball?

One might expect a good number of attendees to come from these leagues, as you know those people like and know the sport. In Toronto, there is no gay basketball league (although there's a lesbian one), whereas there are sizeable gay and lesbian hockey leagues. Also, hockey is more popular in Toronto with the general public.

Which team might be more accepting of a gay community day?

In Toronto, the Leafs and Raptors have the same ownership... and neither are gay-positive from what I can tell.

At which team's games are you more able to get group quantities of tickets? And are the prices reasonable?

In Toronto, it's virtually impossible to get any quantity of Leafs tickets. Raptors tickets are possible, and you can get upper level seats for around $27-37 (probably less with a group discount).

I think one would be wise to have very conservative estimates of how many tickets you might sell to a gay hockey/basketball day. I just get the sense that 100-200 would be good turnout. And I myself would only plan for 50-100, with no support from the team (other than having a group name listed with all groups attending the game).

I know minor league hockey would do almost anything to sell tickets....
It's fun, it's far less expensive, and there's more seats available.
I'd go for a night at the Phantoms, or the Atlantic City Boardwalk Bullies in beautiful Boardwalk Hall.

Gay Day at the Phantoms would be a lot more controversial because they heavily market to families, selling discounted tickets for kids, promotions for kids, etc. Not that major league teams don't, but because of the ticket prices major league sports aren't affordable for many families on a regular basis.