AHL hosting Marketing Meeting this week

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. … The American Hockey League is holding its annual Marketing Meeting this week, with more than 200 representatives from the league and its member clubs gathering in Scottsdale, Ariz.

Team and league front-office personnel are convening to discuss best practices and innovative ideas in several areas, including ticket sales, corporate sales and digital media.

Keynote speakers and presenters at the event, which will run Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, will include David Andrews, AHL President and CEO; Derrick Hall, President and CEO of the Arizona Diamondbacks; Justin Gurney, Director of NBA Team Marketing & Business Operations; Josh Rawitch, Senior Vice President of the Diamondbacks; Jeff Morander, Executive Vice President of Ticket Sales & Strategy for the Arizona Coyotes; Michael Humes, Executive Vice President of Corporate & Suite Sales for the Coyotes; Bill Makris, Vice President of Ticket Sales & Service for the Coyotes; and representatives from NeuLion, Next Level Sales Consulting and Nielsen Scarborough, among others.

In addition, nearly 50 merchandise, promotional, ticketing and technology companies will participate in the AHL’s eighth annual Vendor Showcase, and the league will recognize accomplishments of team staffs for their business successes in the past year during an Awards Presentation.

“Our annual Marketing Meeting is an invaluable opportunity for front-office personnel from throughout the American Hockey League to interact, share ideas and gain insight from some of the sports industry’s leading strategists, and then bring those ideas back home with them as they prepare for a new season,” said Andrews.

FireSky Resort & Spa, SportsDigita, ExteNet, Hopscotch and Essensa are hospitality partners of the 2015 AHL Marketing Meeting.

In operation since 1936, the AHL continues to serve as the top development league for all 30 National Hockey League teams. More than 88 percent of today’s NHL players are American Hockey League graduates, and for the 14th year in a row, more than 6 million fans attended AHL games across North America in 2014-15.