ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) -- A campaign to bolster sagging attendance at Anaheim Mighty Ducks hockey games has ruffled the feathers of some local merchants.
Bakeries, car dealerships, balloon vendors and other businesses that supply the Disneyland Resorts were recently sent a letter asking them to buy season's tickets to Mighty Ducks games, warning that unless attendance picks up, "the long-term impact will reach far beyond the Mighty Ducks and have negative consequences for all of us."
The Ducks, a struggling National Hockey League expansion team, are owned by The Walt Disney Co.
Included with the letter was an order form for season tickets at up to $3,307.50 per seat.
"What exactly are they trying to say?" asked Marty Colleary, a Villa Park, Calif., baker who has sold cakes in the past to Disneyland. "Are they trying to scare us? Here's a billion-dollar company that can't get people to watch their sorry hockey team, so they're bullying everybody into buying tickets. It stinks."
A spokesman for Anaheim Sports Inc., the Disney division that also manages Disney's Anaheim Angels baseball team, apologized for the tone of the one-page letter and any misunderstanding. He said such preferred vendor letters are often sent to businesses who supply services to the Ducks. The most recent effort was the first time such a letter was sent to non-Ducks vendors.
"We basically just wanted to cast the net wider, to reach more potential supporters" said Anaheim Sports spokesman Tim Mead. "We're part of a bigger family here and we tried to utilize it. That's all."
Attendance at Ducks games has dropped 21 percent over the past four years.
