Team Business Services awards unveiled

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. … American Hockey League President and CEO David Andrews announced today the winners of its annual Team Business Services awards, recognizing outstanding achievements in a variety of categories including ticket sales, community service and fan experience.

As part of its Team Business Services program, the AHL honored one club from each conference for top revenue growth in four areas during this past season: season-ticket sales, group-ticket sales, overall ticket sales and corporate sales. The season-ticket sales winners were the San Antonio Rampage (Western) and the Hershey Bears (Eastern). Winners for group-ticket sales were the San Antonio Rampage (Western) and the Worcester Sharks (Eastern). The San Antonio Rampage (Western) and the Providence Bruins (Eastern) earned the awards for overall ticket sales growth, and the Abbotsford Heat (Western) and Bridgeport Sound Tigers (Eastern) were recognized for their corporate sales growth.

Additionally, teams from each conference were selected for excellence in the areas of community service and fan experience. The Hamilton Bulldogs (Western) and Charlotte Checkers (Eastern) earned the nods for their exceptional community service efforts, while the Lake Erie Monsters (Western) and Hershey Bears (Eastern) were rewarded for their outstanding fan experience at home games.

The AHL also recognized several teams and individuals for their efforts during the 2010-11 season at the league’s Marketing Meeting in Springfield last month, including the Chicago Wolves as the sponsorship sales department of the year, the Grand Rapids Griffins as the ticket sales department of the year, and the Texas Stars for the most unique promotion or sales package, a partnership with the University of Texas’s sports management program in which students developed collateral materials and sold group tickets to a Stars game in November.

In operation since 1936, the AHL continues to serve as the top development league for all 30 National Hockey League teams. More than 87 percent of today’s NHL players are American Hockey League graduates, and for the 10th year in a row, more than 6 million fans attended AHL games across North America in 2010-11.