ECHL Surpasses Three-Million Mark In Attendance
March 28, 2010 - ECHL (ECHL) News Release
PRINCETON, N.J. - For the 16th consecutive season the ECHL has surpassed the three-million mark in attendance.
Through 683 games this season, the league has attracted a total of 3,043,717 fans, for an average of 4,456 per game. This year's average attendance is on pace to be the highest single-season total for the league since 1999-2000 when the average attendance was 4,774 fans per game. This year marks the third consecutive season in which the league has raised its average attendance.
Ontario closed out its home schedule on Saturday with a sellout of 9,644, and leads the ECHL with an average of 6,451, an increase of 10.2 percent from last season. Toledo is second in the league with an average of 6,282 in its first season at Lucas County Arena. The Walleye have welcomed 219,862 fans this season, and close their home schedule today. Stockton, which has led the league in attendance in its first four seasons in the league, is third with an average attendance of 5,982.
Five other returning teams are ahead of their average attendance from 2008-09 led by Cincinnati with 19.1 percent. The Cyclones led minor professional hockey with a 36 percent increase in 2007-08 and ranked second a year ago with a 23 percent increase. Utah has raised its average 12.7 percent to 4,119, while Elmira has raised its average 10.1 percent to 3,668. Following Elmira is Kalamazoo, which has raised its average attendance by 9.0 percent to 3,477. Charlotte had an ECHL season high crowd of 12,044 on Saturday to raise its average to 5,535, an increase of 4.2 percent from last season.
The third-longest tenured professional hockey league, behind only the National Hockey League and the American Hockey League, the Premier 'AA' Hockey League has grown from five teams in four states in 1988-89 into a coast-to-coast league with 20 teams in 15 states and British Columbia in 2009-10.
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