Sports stats



WHL Western Hockey League

WHL Announces Nominees for WHL Business Award

April 2, 2024 - Western Hockey League (WHL) News Release


Calgary, Alta. - The Western Hockey League announced today the nominees for the 2023-24 WHL Business Award, presented annually to the WHL Club that best exemplifies giving back to the community and producing an electrifying game-day experience for fans.

All individual WHL Division Award winners will be eligible for the 2024 WHL Awards, which will be announced from Tuesday, April 30 through Thursday, May 9.

WHL Business Award - Division Winners

B.C. Division - Prince George Cougars

Central Division - Edmonton Oil Kings

East Division - Saskatoon Blades

U.S. Division - Portland Winterhawks

WHL Business Award Summaries

Prince George Cougars: The 2023-24 WHL season saw the Cougars enjoy increases in all areas of ticket sales, thanks to a dedicated sales team and much-improved marketing strategy.

The Cougars led the WHL in increased attendance, enjoying a jump of 29 per cent from 2022-23 to 2023-24. Season membership sales have increased 43 per cent from 2022-23 and now exceed pre-COVID levels.

The Cougars specialty loge seating space continues to be highly sought after, with 40 premium seats sold out once again in 2023-24. Suites at CN Centre were completely sold out for 2023-24 with demand resulting in a waiting list for the 2024-25 season.

New game-night experiences have helped to enrich the atmosphere in CN Centre on Cougars game days, including a lineup featuring Benchwarmers, High-5 Tunnel, Fanboni, Three Stars Presentation, and Junior Cougar.

Promotional theme nights in Prince George also served as a significant contributor to the revitalized experience in 2023-24, providing the Cougars with the opportunity to reach new fans. Over the course of the campaign, the Cougars celebrated a number of promotional theme nights, including:

Community Heroes Weekend in support of teachers, healthcare workers, firefighters, RCMP, first responders, wildfire service members, search and rescue, and more.

Teddy Bear Toss

Indigenous Night, which welcomed 12 different First Nations communities and included a speciality uniform and logo designed by local Lheidli T'enneh First Nation artist Kym Gouchie.

Pink in the Rink, which featured specialty uniforms and 50/50 sales of nearly $145,000 with proceeds benefitting the B.C. Cancer Foundation in support of cancer research in Prince George.

Retro Night, which re-introduced fans to a celebrated nostalgic Cougars brand.

Across 34 home games, including the various theme nights, the Cougars managed to increase overall 50/50 ticket sales to nearly $1 million in 2023-24, up from roughly $600,000 in 2022-23. Community groups that benefitted from the Cougars impressive 50/50 include the Prince George Community Foundation, B.C. Cancer Foundation, Salvation Army Foodbank and Spirit of the North Healthcare.

On the merchandise front, the Cougars have diversified their offerings, revamped the team store and taken a different approach to marketing the product, resulting in significant increases in sales.

Corporate sponsors in Northern B.C. have responded, resulting in a 74-per-cent increase in overall corporate sponsorship sales from 2022-23 to 2023-24.

Edmonton Oil Kings: For the second consecutive season, the Edmonton Oil Kings are the WHL Central Division finalist for the WHL Business Award.

The Oil Kings led the WHL in attendance during the 2023-24 season, averaging nearly 7,500 fans per night, up from 6,500 in 2022-23.

Edmonton's business team focused year-long efforts on providing unsurpassed entertainment for families at a world-class facility in Rogers Place. The creation of Kid's Food Combos was a key component on delivering the message of value that goes beyond the initial ticket purchase. The Kid's Food Combo provided families with eight individual food options at an affordable price and fans flocked to the new offering.

The Oil Kings Season Seat Membership pricing model offered dedicated fans a value-based "No Frills" option in addition to a more comprehensive "all-in" model. As a result of this new approach to Season Seat Membership, the Oil Kings have drastically increased the volume of Season Seat Membership and renewed existing members at a much higher rate than previously. Edmonton Oil Kings Season Seat Membership has doubled from what it was three seasons ago, despite the challenges of an on-ice product that is rebuilding after winning the 2022 WHL Championship.

The Oil Kings remain committed to the community and youth hockey in Northern Alberta. Part of a core mandate of the Club, the Oil Kings started the season with two key fundraisers for minor hockey associations when they hosted preseason games in Grande Cache and Enoch First Nation, Alta. Representing the first time WHL hockey was played in each community, these games raised over $30,000 for the Grande Cache Minor Hockey Association and nearly $10,000 for the Enoch Minor Hockey Association.

Throughout the season, the Oil Kings were engaged in various community endeavours, including 10 school visits, a trip to the Stollery Children's Hospital, numerous minor hockey practices, and arranging and participating in blood drives in partnership with Hockey Gives Blood and Canada Blood Services.

Three theme jersey nights brought energy to Rogers Place and helped the Oil Kings raise nearly $45,000 for three different charities.

Oil Kings Teddy Bear Toss Game theme jersey auction raised nearly $18,000 for Santas Anonymous.

Auction of SpongeBob SquarePants theme jerseys for RE/MAX Presents Nickelodeon Night for Children's Miracle Network raised over $15,000 for Stollery Children's Hospital.

Auction of fan-designed jerseys through Superstore Jersey Design Contest raised nearly $10,000 for PC Children's Charity.

A fourth theme jersey auction - the Oil Kings camouflage jersey for military appreciation - is set to raise further funds for Valour Place, a military family support house in Edmonton.

The Oil Kings also introduced a number of new theme nights, including An Afternoon with Elvis, Oil Rumble featuring live professional wrestling matches, and the Ghostbusters Game.

Saskatoon Blades: For the second consecutive season, the Saskatoon Blades are the WHL East Division finalist for the WHL Business Award.

Over the course of the past season, the Blades have seen a jump in attendance, fuelled by a 38 per cent increase to their season ticket holder base from 2022-23. For the first time since hosting the Memorial Cup in 2011, the Blades have averaged over 5,000 fans per game.

Offering affordable family entertainment, the Blades' $40 family packs (two adults, two kids) have been a hit, resulting in an expansion of the sections available to accommodate demand for these packages.

A new partnership with NexGen Energy helped the Blades connect with Indigenous youth from remote communities in northern Saskatchewan, bringing children to Saskatoon for a Blades practice and game, and a presentation with players and staff discussing the importance of sports and healthy living.

The Blades popular "Playoff Pass" was once again a success, with over 3,000 playoff passes sold in 2024, ensuring SaskTel Centre will be packed with an impressive fan base for the 2024 WHL Playoffs presented by Nutrien.

A number of new theme nights graced the Blades schedule throughout 2023-24, including:

Saskatoon Berries Baseball Night featuring jerseys inspired by the WCBL expansion baseball team, berry ice cream and drinks at concessions, and complete with baseball-themed visuals and activities in venue, including a seventh-inning stretch, foul balls and a ceremonial first pitch.

Proceeds from the Saskatoon Berries theme jersey auction were donated to the Children's Hospital Foundation.

$5 Night in September drew nearly 6,000 fans for $5 tickets, $5 concession items and beverages, and $5 cash giveaways at every single stoppage in play.

The Saskatoon Blades Fan Experience Zone, located off-site from SaskTel Centre, has allowed the Club to partner with local clothing brands such as 22Fresh and PLYR to generate substantial growth to merchandise revenue. This interactive space hosts player meet-and-greets, autograph sessions and in-person customer service on a year-round basis.

A new approach to digital marketing has helped the Blades further advance their efforts across a variety of fronts, including a partnership with Team Linkt - a scheduling app for minor and recreational sports leagues, which allows the Club to send offers and reminders to thousands of local users.

Portland Winterhawks: With significant increases across ticket revenue, attendance, merchandise revenue, partnership revenue and concession revenue, the Portland Winterhawks are the 2023-24 WHL U.S. Division finalist for the WHL Business Award.

An innovative approach to business, including various game night promotions and community outreach helped the Winterhawks to boost metrics across all major categories in 2023-24.

In total, 22 of 34 Winterhawks home games featured a promotion or initiative, including the growth of the "Hockey is for Everyone" game day series:

Hawkey For All Night

Black Hockey History

Pride Night

Women of the Rose City Night

Kid's Day Game

The Winterhawks "Hockey is for Everyone" game day series partnered with local organizations such as You Can Play, Boys and Girls Club, Women in Sports and Events (WISE), Portland Women's Hockey League, First Tee, the Oregon Zoo, Sunshine Division, and more.

Theme games helped to drive an 81 per cent increase in revenue generated through VIP Lounge and ticketed social areas, thanks to improvements to ticketing options for both.

A multi-year partnership with the Boys and Girls Club saw Winterhawks players play street hockey with Boys and Girls Club members through an afterschool program. The new partnership also brought about a learn-to-play program called Tom's Tykes, exclusively for Boys and Girls Club members. This new program featured seven on-ice sessions for 40 local members of the Boys and Girls Club.

On a monthly basis, the Winterhawks introduced a new merchandise collection to align with a key promotional night. On four occasions, this merchandise initiative included a theme jersey. This targeted approach to merchandise drops resulted in a 25-per-cent increase to sales from 2022-23.

Throughout the 2023-24 season, the Winterhawks have partnered with Hired Haven Entertainment to capture content for a behind-the-scenes docuseries celebrating the WHL, the success of the Winterhawks franchise, and the on- and off-ice storylines of Winterhawks players and coaching staff.

The implementation of a bi-monthly holistic marketing campaign allowed the Winterhawks to highlight two key promotional nights every month. This approach included TV commercials, digital billboard campaigns, social media campaigns, radio campaigns and a local bar program.

A unique initiative saw Winterhawks players collaborate with a college media professor on curriculum that featured podcast production, preparation for merchandise photoshoots, and social media activation.

The Winterhawks also hosted a charity golf weekend prior to training camp, connecting fans with alumni in an effort to raise proceeds for the Players Education Fund, youth hockey and Tom's Tykes. Funds raised during the event allowed children to attend skating classes and receive an introduction to hockey through free classes, ice time and equipment.

Check out the Western Hockey League Statistics



Western Hockey League Stories from April 2, 2024


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.


Sports Statistics from the Stats Crew
OurSports Central