AHL Sets Regular Season Attendance Record
April 8, 2002 - American Hockey League (AHL) News Release
SPRINGFIELD, MA . . . The American Hockey League announced today that is has broken its all-time regular season attendance record for the 10th consecutive season, as a total of 6,366,996 fans attended AHL games during the 2001-02 regular season, surpassing the previous record by nearly two million fans.
The AHL also finished with a new average attendance record of 5,895 fans per game, up nearly eight percent compared to last season. Five clubs finished with an average attendance above 8,000, including the Philadelphia Phantoms, who hosted 338,009 fans over 40 games to secure the league's highest attendance for the sixth consecutive season.
The final regular season weekend attracted 258,388 fans to 32 games around the AHL. Manitoba filled Winnipeg Arena with 13,985 fans on Sunday; Philadelphia and Chicago both topped 14,000 fans on Saturday; Providence, Rochester and Hamilton all saw crowds of more than 11,000; and a standing-room-only crowd of 8,147 packed Hersheypark Arena for the building's final regular season game on Sunday.
The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins set a new AHL record for most sell-outs in a season, as the Pens played to 102.2 percent capacity at the First Union Arena at Casey Plaza, selling out all 39 home dates. (The club also played one home game at Mellon Arena in Pittsburgh, drawing 8,605 fans.)
Now in its 66th season, the AHL serves as the top development league for all 30 National Hockey League teams. More than 75 percent of all players to compete in the NHL this season have been AHL graduates, and over 300 players have taken the ice in both leagues in 2001-02. The Calder Cup 2002 Playoffs get underway this week, with 20 teams vying for the honor of hoisting the league's coveted championship trophy.
Team Total Avg.
Philadelphia 338,009 8,450
Wilkes-Barre 335,501 8,337
Manchester 327,964 8,199
Chicago 325,561 8,139
Providence 325,106 8,127
Rochester 307,299 7,682
Grand Rapids 281,867 7,046
Manitoba 281,736 7,043
Hartford 268,598 6,714
Milwaukee 253,168 6,329
Hershey 244,755 6,118
Utah 243,855 6,096
Hamilton 219,571 5,489
Cincinnati 218,384 5,459
Houston 217,123 5,428
Syracuse 212,239 5,305
Worcester 204,784 5,119
Saint John 203,421 5,085
St. John's 202,788 5,069
Quebec 188,824 4,720
Springfield 184,922 4,623
Norfolk 181,651 4,541
Bridgeport 177,935 4,448
Portland 176,000 4,400
Lowell 161,142 4,103
Albany 154,719 3,867
Cleveland 129,074 3,226
6,366,996 5,895
American Hockey League Stories from April 8, 2002
- Phantoms Weekly - Adirondack Phantoms
- Kwiatkowski Added to Ottawa's Blueline - Grand Rapids Griffins
- P-Bruins Face Maple Leafs in Playoffs - Providence Bruins
- Moose Finish as Ninth Seed - Manitoba Moose
- Cincinnati Mighty Ducks Playoff Preview - Cincinnati RailRaiders
- Calder Cup 2002 Playoffs are Ready - AHL
- Brimanis Parssinen Assigned by Anaheim - Cincinnati RailRaiders
- MacLean Named AHL Player of the Week - AHL
- Wolf Pack Announce First Round Playoff Schedule - Connecticut Whale
- AHL Sets Regular Season Attendance Record - AHL
- Historic Regular Season Ends With Win Over Philadelphia - Hershey Bears
- Columbus Recalls Brad Moran - Syracuse Crunch
- Checkers to face Atlantic City in Decisive Game Five on Wednesday - Charlotte Checkers
- Norfolk Claims South Division Title - Norfolk Admirals
- Penguins Recall Kostopoulos - Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins
- Stingy Griffins Trio Earns "Hap" Holmes Award - Grand Rapids Griffins
- Penguins End Disappointing Season With 6-4 Loss to Hershey - Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins
- Penguins Recall Defenceman Mike Wilson - Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins
- Flames Recall Defenceman Steve Montador - Saint John Flames
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