The Belleville Senators are getting revved up for Season 9 in the AHL with some new happenings at CAA Arena for fans to look forward to.
The B-Sens held a season preview last night to give a sneak peek to media members on what will be in store for the upcoming year.
Just some of the new promotions include new food and beverage items at the rink, six new specialty jerseys to be worn and a revamped take on Winning Wednesdays where fans get a free ticket to the next Wednesday home game if the Sens win that night.
Vice President of Business Operations John Mathers stated all of these things tie into four key pillars game day experience, fan engagement and financial growth.
“That creates another reason to come to these Wednesday games and bring people back into this building to give our players that positive experience,” he told the gathering.
“Playing in front of 1,500 to 2,000 (fans) isn’t as great as playing in front of 4,000 in a sold-out barn.”
Mathers added affordability is also a key factor in flocking the fans to the arena, noting the organization has lowered the entry price by $5 in single-game tickets to $25 to drive further revenue.
Big highlights of the year include another Belleville Bulls throwback night on March 28,
Also new this year is the team’s first-ever School Day Game where students from different school boards across the Quinte region will be in attendance for a day game on November 19.
“The feedback in the community has been 10 out of 10. These schools are on board,” Mathers stated.
New GM Matt Turek spoke at the event and said he’s excited to make a home in the Friendly City.
“It’s been a great summer, bit of a whirlwind with going to a new league and learning the rules,” he said.
“It’s an exciting time for me to be a part of the Belleville Senators.”
Turek said he’s getting used to the new beast that is pro hockey and understanding the differences compared to the junior level.
“I watched a lot of games from last year, talked to the coaches, interviewed the players, and just kind of looked for what’s missing here and how can we take it to another level?”
“We wanted to bring back a lot of the core from last year. It was a good team last year that just missed out on the playoffs by a couple points. Then we wanted that a little bit of skill and some scoring and I think we achieved that.”
Captain Garrett Pilon also made an appearance at the event.
Following the formal portion of the event, media got the opportunity to try some new food items, including Gabriel’s Pizza, an Ottawa staple.
Preseason games are on the way Friday, with the Sens taking on the Laval Rocket at 7 p.m. and Sunday at 3 p.m., when the opponent will be the Toronto Marlies.
In between on Saturday at 3 p.m., the Marlies and Rocket will face off at CAA Arena.
Tickets will be worth $12, with $5 of each going back to the Belleville General Hospital Foundation.
More on the B-Sens can be found by going to their website.
(BROCK ORMOND)
