Bucky is Back

Published on May 16, 2005 under Central Hockey League (CHL)
Rio Grande Valley Killer Bees News Release


HIDALGO, TX: May 16, 2005 – The Rio Grande Valley Killer Bees of the Central Hockey League and the Rio Grande Valley Dorados of the arenafootball2 are announcing the return of Grant Buckborough to the organization to serve as the General Manger for both clubs.

"I'm excited to be back," said Buckborough. "I thank the ownership for the opportunity to return to the organization to serve at this capacity. There are some big shoes to fill with Trey Medlock moving on, because of the tremendous foundation he has built here. I look forward to reuniting myself with the Valley and especially our season ticket holders and corporate sponsors."

Buckborough, a 33 year-old native of Niagara Falls, Ontario, leaves the CHL expansion Youngstown Steelhounds for the opportunity to return to the Rio Grande Valley, where he served as the Assistant GM and Director of Ticket Operations. "Bucky" has served over seven years in professional sports and mainly with the Central Hockey League and the former Western Professional Hockey League. He is a five-time nominee for the league's Ticket Director of the Year Award. His guidance of the Bees ticket department in 2003/2004 helped the Killer Bees averaged 5,114 fans in each of their 32 home games and saw over 163-thousand fans go through the turnstiles in the inaugural season. The attendance figure ranked fourth in the CHL, beating several large markets including Indianapolis, Fort Worth and Memphis, and ranked fourth amongst the 12 professional hockey teams in Texas (Texas has more professional hockey teams than any other state or Canadian province), finishing behind Dallas, Laredo and Houston. The Killer Bees had 12 sellouts that season (finished the season with 6 consecutive) and filled up the 5,500-seat Dodge Arena to an average of 93% capacity per game, which ranked second in Texas behind the Dallas Stars (99%). Through the 13 home games prior to his departure in the recently completed Killer Bees season, the Bees had increased their season ticket revenue and ranked third in the CHL at the time (second amongst all pro hockey teams in Texas) with an average attendance of 5,389 through 13 home games. The success also followed in arena football, with the Rio Grande Valley Dorados holding more than 3,500 season tickets in their inaugural campaign last summer. The Dorados averaged 5,459 fans per game, which was an average of 99.3% of the arena's capacity, and six of the eight home games were sold out.

"Bucky" originally joined the Bees after spending five of six seasons with the Amarillo Rattlers/Gorillas hockey teams and also spent a season with the New Mexico Scorpions hockey club. He arrived back to the Dodge Arena offices today and will oversee the overall day-to-day operations of the Bees and Dorados effective immediately.

"Grant is the top man for this position," said departing General Partner Trey Medlock. "He knows the people and the organization, so it should be an easy fit. This should also let our season ticket holders understand that the operations of the organization are not changing with my departure and that the club will continue to strive to excel in customer service and to provide quality entertainment to the fans."

The Killer Bees will swarm the Dodge Arena again in October, as the Killer Bees are currently preparing for their third season. Season tickets and corporate opportunities are now available by calling the Killer Bees office at (956) 843-7825. For more information concerning Killer Bees hockey, please visit their website at www.killerbeehockey.com.

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Central Hockey League Stories from May 16, 2005


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