Sellout Crowd Of 10,117 Makes Stockton Home Opener Resounding Success

December 13, 2005 - ECHL (ECHL) News Release

PRINCETON, N.J. - The Stockton Thunder opened the brand-new Stockton Arena with a sellout crowd of 10,117 on Saturday and had almost 6,000 on Sunday to move atop the ECHL in average attendance with 8,013 per game.

The 10,117 on Saturday brings the total attendance for the 25 season openers to 154,101 which is an average of 6,164 per game.

Charlotte had its third sellout in six games with 6,977 on Friday and ranks second in the league with 6,408 per game. The listed capacity for Checkers games at the new Bobcats Arena is 6,800, but additional sections can be opened to accommodate larger crowds.

Bakersfield has welcomed two of the four largest crowds in its history this season and ranks third with 6,188 per game while perennial ECHL attendance leader Florida is fourth at 6,008 per game.

On Friday the ECHL surpassed the one million mark in attendance for the 15th season in a row. The league reached one million in 245 games, the fastest it has achieved the milestone since 2000-01 when it also accomplished it in 245 games. The crowds on Friday included 6,977 in Charlotte, 6,674 in Gwinnett, 5,877 in Bakersfield and 5,299 in Florida.

In the first eight weeks the league drew 1,109,027 for 268 games which is an average of 4,138 per game. The per-game average is up over five percent from last season and up almost 13 percent from 2003-04 and over 16 percent from 2002-03.

ECHL Stories from December 13, 2005

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• Bolduc Called Up to American Hockey League - Bakersfield Condors
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• Nailers Jump Back into First Place - Wheeling Nailers
• ECHL Recognizes Thunder - Stockton Thunder
• RoadRunners Spread Some Holiday Cheer - Phoenix RoadRunners
• Ice Pilots Ready for Final Home Game Before Christmas - Pensacola Ice Pilots
• Sellout Crowd Of 10,117 Makes Stockton Home Opener Resounding Success - ECHL
• MagliarditI named ECHL Goaltender of the Week - Las Vegas Wranglers
• ECHL Transactions - ECHL
• Wranglers' Magliarditi Named Reebok Hockey ECHL Goaltender Of The Week - ECHL
• Three Assigned to Wheeling - Wheeling Nailers
• Desbiens Named ECHL Player Of The Week - Atlanta Gladiators
• Gladiators' Desbiens Named In Glas Co ECHL Player Of The Week - ECHL
• Ice Dogs Weekly - Long Beach Ice Dogs
• 'Blades juggle roster before road trip - Florida Everblades
• Grizzlies Weekly News and Notes - Utah Grizzlies
• Titans Sign Henkel; Thompson and Lee Return - Trenton Devils
• ECHL Update - ECHL
• Ice Pilots End Week With Win vs Charlotte - Pensacola Ice Pilots

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