Nov 6, 2012 2 min read

The National Hockey League has canceled all games through the end of November. It’s a distinct possibility the entire season could be wiped out by a labor dispute – for the second time.

It is tempting to dismiss the impasse as a victimless crime: filthy-rich owners battling filthy-rich players over how to divide $3 billion in annual revenue, with fans deprived only of entertainment. But the fact is thousands of people throughout North America suffer financially from this standoff. These victims are all the people who work at the now-empty arenas: the ticket sellers and takers, the concession-stand workers, the maintenance and cleaning crews, the Zamboni drivers and many more. They are the owners of small parking lots and the employees of restaurants and bars that depend on the games, that can stretch from pre-season through playoffs from October through June. These people are not multi-millionaires with investments to live off through the duration.

The Pittsburgh Convention and Visitors Bureau estimates the economic loss from each canceled Penguins home game exceeds $2 million. That means that losing 41 regular-season games and potentially 10 or 12 playoff games would be a $100 million blow to Pittsburgh alone.

It’s not as if Consol Energy Center can instead book concerts and circuses to replace hockey games. These events must be booked many months – even years – in advance.

The time has come for both owners and players to realize the harm they have already caused as a result of their festival of greed, and to concede for the sake of all the people that make their sporting events possible.