AHL TEAMS GARNER BUSINESS AWARDS FOR 2019-20
Jul 23, 2020American Hockey League President and CEO Scott Howson has announced the winners of the league’s 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 has honored one club from each conference for top revenue growth in four areas during this past season: overall ticket sales, season-ticket sales, group-ticket sales and corporate sponsorship sales.
The winners in both overall ticket sales revenue growth and season-ticket sales growth were the Charlotte Checkers (Eastern) and the Iowa Wild (Western). The Belleville Senators (Eastern) and the Milwaukee Admirals (Western) earned the awards for group-ticket sales growth, and the Lehigh Valley Phantoms (Eastern) and Iowa Wild (Western) were recognized for their corporate sponsorship sales growth.
Additionally, teams from each conference have been selected for excellence in the areas of digital media, community relations and fan experience.
The Laval Rocket (Eastern) and Ontario Reign (Western) have been honored for digital media excellence; the Lehigh Valley Phantoms (Eastern) and Chicago Wolves (Western) have earned the nods for exceptional community relations efforts; and the Hershey Bears (Eastern) and San Diego Gulls (Western) have been recognized for outstanding fan experience at home games.
Finally, the Charlotte Checkers have been named the 2019-20 winner of the President’s Award for team of the year.
On the heels of a Calder Cup championship in 2019, the Checkers continued to be a leader on and off the ice in 2019-20. Operating in one of the largest markets in the AHL, the organization set franchise highs in several sales categories, including overall tickets, group tickets and corporate partnerships. The Checkers also remain at the forefront of marketing, digital and social media strategies, and the Checkers Charitable Foundation plays an integral role in the organization’s positive impact in the Charlotte community. On the ice in 2019-20, the Checkers finished with a mark of 34-22-5-0 – including 21 wins in their last 32 games – and saw no fewer than a dozen alumni make contributions in the National Hockey League with the parent Carolina Hurricanes.
Established in 2009, the President’s Award is given to an AHL organization for overall excellence in the past year.
In operation since 1936, the AHL serves as the top development league for all 31 National Hockey League teams. Nearly 90 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.