VANCOUVER (NEWS1130) – The NHL lockout is going to hurt local businesses like bars and restaurants, but at least one group is rubbing their hands.

The WHL’s Vancouver Giants is expecting a boost in revenue. Owner Ron Toigo is pretty confident they’ll see a bump in attendance like they did during the last NHL lockout. But he admits the stoppage is bad for the game as a whole.

“It could be a bit of a negative if people don’t want to see any level of hockey,” notes Toigo. “For the most part, Vancouver is a pretty solid hockey town and we’re the next best thing and as a result, we’ll benefit from the Canucks not playing.”

Toigo says another bonus for fans is that all of the top junior players ready to make the jump to the NHL will still be around for the start of the season, and they won’t be limited to the the Pacific Coliseum.

“We’ve been put on notice that Sportsnet has identified us as a team that they’d like to cover a lot more. We’ll probably be seen a lot on Friday Night Hockey on Sportsnet over the next month or so.”

Toigo adds the Giants are rolling out special $15 tickets for all red seats for their first three games. The Giants first home game is Friday against the Victoria Royals.

NHL risks turning fans away for good

With the fourth lockout in two decades, the NHL runs the risk of turning off some hockey fans for good.

“You can annoy them, and if you make them upset, they may not be back,” warns SFU Marketing Professor Lindsay Meredith.

He believes league business could suffer some long lasting effects due to this lockout when annoyed fans shift their focus and money to other sports.

“People start paying more attention to b-level hockey. They start looking at soccer or baseball — the list becomes endless. Once the customers leaves, sometimes it’s pretty difficult to pull them back into the fold when everything is settled.”

Meredith adds it won’t take long for people to start looking elsewhere.