PORTLAND, ME – June 29, 2023 – The ECHL presented its annual Team Awards on Wednesday night in Las Vegas, NV, with the Maine Mariners securing a pair of them. The Mariners were awarded team honors for “Ticket Department of the Year – Growth” and “Team Award of Excellence – Growth,” for the league’s “Rising Star.”
The Mariners led the ECHL in year-over-year attendance increase in 2022-23, averaging 3,789 fans per game – up from 2,851 in 2021-22. They also achieved the first three sellouts in franchise history, filling the Cross Insurance Arena on October 22nd, 2022, January 6th, 2023, and March 11th, 2023. Ticket revenue grew by over 70% year-over-year.
The Mariners share the “Rising Star” award with their division rivals, the Norfolk Admirals, who were named co-winners of the award.
The Mariners were finalists for a total of six awards at the ceremony, which also included “Theme Night of the Year” (Wrestling Night), Group Sales – Year-over-Year Growth, Sales Rookie of the Year (Cavan Weggler), and Media/PR Director of the Year (Michael Keeley). The award ceremony was held in Las Vegas at the ECHL Summer Meetings and the full presentation can be watched on the ECHL Facebook page.
With the addition of their two awards, the Mariners have now achieved a total of three ECHL awards in team history. They captured “Theme Night of the Year” in the inaugural season of 2018-19 for “Wild Blueberries Night.”