SPRINGFIELD, Mass. … The American Hockey League is holding the 2016 AHL Marketing Meeting presented by ExteNet this week, with more than 200 representatives from the league and its member clubs gathering in Pittsburgh, Pa.
Team and league front-office personnel from throughout the American Hockey League meet each summer to discuss best practices and innovative ideas in several areas, including ticket sales, corporate sales and digital media. Pittsburgh, the site of this year’s meetings, was home to one of the AHL’s founding franchises, the Pittsburgh Hornets, who played 26 seasons in the league between 1936 and 1967.
Keynote speakers and presenters at the event, which will run Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, will include David Andrews, AHL President and CEO; Frank Coonelly, President of the Pittsburgh Pirates; Drew Cloud, Executive Vice President/Chief Sales and Marketing Officer for the Pirates; Don Marinelli, co-founder of the Entertainment Technology Center at Carnegie Mellon University; and other representatives from the Pirates and Pittsburgh Penguins as well as NeuLion, Inc., and PRSPX, among others.
In addition, over 50 merchandise, promotional, ticketing and technology companies will participate in the AHL’s ninth 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 gives members of our teams’ front-office staffs an invaluable opportunity to interact with each other, to share ideas and to gain insight from some of the sports industry’s leading strategists, and ultimately to implement and execute some of those best practices as they prepare for a new AHL season,” said Andrews.
ExteNet, the Pittsburgh Marriott City Center, China Overseas, Ephesus, mySeat, Joyce Julius & Associates, Inc., Essensa and McFadden’s Restaurant and Saloon are hospitality partners of the 2016 AHL Marketing Meeting presented by ExteNet.
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 more than 100 honored members of the Hockey Hall of Fame spent time in the AHL in their careers. In 2015-16, over 7.1 million fans attended AHL regular-season and playoff games across North America, the highest total attendance in league history.
