American Hockey League (AHL) President and CEO Scott Howson has announced the winners of the league’s annual Team Business Services awards, recognizing 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 announced today that the San Diego Gulls have been recognized as the Western Conference club for Outstanding Fan Experience at home games.
In 2019-20, the Gulls hosted numerous promotional and theme nights in 2019-20, including the fifth annual Military Weekend, Star Wars Night, Hockey Fights Cancer, Lucha Libre Wrestling Night, Winter Wonderland, Community Night, 80’s Night, Pink in the Rink, Family Day and Country Night.
On June 18, the AHL awarded the Gulls the title of Most Unique Ticket Sales Promotion or Theme Night for the organization’s 80’s Night, held Jan. 11, 2020 vs. the Ontario Reign at Pechanga Arena San Diego.
The Gulls hosted more than 212,000 fans in the abbreviated 2019-20 season, pushing their all-time regular-season attendance total to 1,432,124 since the inaugural 2015-16 season. San Diego leads the Western Conference in attendance since 2015 with an average of 8,732 fans per game. In five AHL seasons, San Diego has posted a record of 184-114-21-10, leading the Pacific Division in all-time wins, points (399) and points percentage (.606) since 2015.
In operation since 1936, the AHL serves as the top development league for all 31 National Hockey League (NHL) teams. Nearly 90 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.
