SAN DIEGO, Calif – American Hockey League President and Gulls CEO David Andrews has announced that the league has named the San Diego Gulls the 2016-17 winners of the President’s Award as the AHL team of the year. San Diego was recognized Wednesday evening at a gala reception during the Board of Governors’ Annual Meeting at Hilton Head Island, S.C.
In addition, the team was also recognized for outstanding achievements in a variety of categories including ticket sales, community service and fan experience.
As part of its Team Business Services program, the AHL honored one club from each conference for top revenue growth in four areas during this past season: overall ticket sales, season-ticket sales, group-ticket sales and corporate sponsorship sales. The winners in overall ticket sales revenue growth were the Springfield Thunderbirds (Eastern) and the Cleveland Monsters (Western). Winners for season-ticket sales growth were the Springfield Thunderbirds (Eastern) and the Milwaukee Admirals (Western). The Springfield Thunderbirds (Eastern) and the San Diego Gulls (Western) earned the awards for group-ticket sales growth, and the Springfield Thunderbirds (Eastern) and Texas Stars (Western) were recognized for their corporate sponsorship sales growth.
Additionally, teams from each conference were selected for excellence in the areas of digital media, community relations and fan experience. The Syracuse Crunch (Eastern) and Iowa Wild (Western) were honored for digital media excellence; the Hartford Wolf Pack (Eastern) and Ontario Reign (Western) earned the nods for exceptional community relations efforts; and the Utica Comets (Eastern) and Cleveland Monsters (Western) were recognized for outstanding fan experience at home games.
The AHL also honored several teams and individuals for their efforts during the 2016-17 season at the league’s Marketing Meeting in Phoenix, Ariz., last month, including the Iowa Wild as the sponsorship sales department of the year and the San Diego Gulls as the ticket sales department of the year.
Following up an impressive inaugural season, the Gulls continued to excel in year two, ranking third in the league in attendance during the regular season (8,876 avg.) while experiencing an increase of 2.3 percent over 2015-16. The organization also placed among the league sales leaders in several categories, including ticket and corporate partnership revenues, and has made a strong and positive impact in the San Diego community. On the ice, the Gulls reached the second round of the Calder Cup Playoffs for the second consecutive season, and proudly developed many players who helped the Anaheim Ducks advance all the way to the NHL’s Western Conference final.
Established in 2009, the President’s Awards are given to an AHL organization and/or player for overall excellence in the past year.
In operation since 1936, the AHL serves as the top development league for all 31 National Hockey League teams. More than 88 percent of today’s NHL players are American Hockey League graduates, and more than 100 honored members of the Hockey Hall of Fame spent time in the AHL in their careers.
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