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Ask yourself this question, because fans certainly do: Spend $96 for a 300-level seat plus $20-$30 for parking (a fan sore point) and $10 for a beer? Or catch the game for free on Elgin Street or the ByWard Market and enjoy a $7 domestic pint in 24C weather?

Nothing beats live playoff hockey. But the add-ons, the nightmare of getting parked and getting out of these suburban parking lots post-game, the higher ticket and parking costs of playoff hockey, are factors.

Photo by Jean Levac / Postmedia News

One of these years, spectators from the nation’s capital will be taking transit down to LeBreton Flats to watch Senators hockey in a new arena. Until that time, this is the reality. Hockey Night in Kanata.

Higher playoff pricing or not, Ottawa is one of the great bargains of the NHL. Of the remaining eight contending teams, the Senators offer the cheapest tickets this side of Anaheim, where the Ducks have to keep their prices down to be attractive in a non-hockey market.

Stubhub had CTC seats Thursday for as little as $46 U.S. ($62.50), meaning a diehard Senators fan could find a reasonable ticket without cashing in an RRSP.

This is no small luxury. Who among us hasn’t been in Montreal or Toronto on the day of a game and fretted over the obscene cost of buying a last-minute ticket, if there is a ticket available at all?

Senators fans have become a discerning bunch. It’s who they are. They didn’t load up on season tickets last summer, and even this compelling push by the local heroes can’t overcome the malaise.

Give fans here credit for not being the sheep who attended Maple Leafs games in the lost years from 2005-15. Empty seats can deliver a powerful message from consumers. But now is not the time.

Community pride is at stake. Ottawa shouldn’t have to rely on Leafs and Habs fans to fill their own building.

The players on the 2016-17 Senators have earned better support at their rink.

Surely it’s coming.

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wscanlan@postmedia.com