Hockey: Ice Flyers attendance surge a boon to local charities, community

By mid-afternoon Thursday, the Ice Flyers celebrated another win without a playing a game.

Their annual $5 ticket weekend, set for Friday and Saturday night against the Peoria Rivermen at the Pensacola Bay Center, had reached near-sellout levels for both games. Only a few hundred tickets remained to fill the arena’s 8,000-plus seats.

This massive response added to an attendance surge this season unlike any other in franchise history. The residual effect has led to unprecedented contributions to a variety of Pensacola area charities that have partnered with the hockey team.

“We have been able to take things to the next level,” said Ice Flyers owner Greg Harris, who maintains a year-round home in Gulf Breeze and stays active in the community each year. “And we are very grateful for that.”

Harris said more than $125,000 has already been donated to local non-profit, chartable organizations in Pensacola. He is hoping to surpass a goal of $200,000 before the regular-season, home schedule ends in late March.

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Through 20 home games prior to this weekend, the Ice Flyers average attendance of 4,329 is the third-highest in the Southern Professional Hockey League behind the Huntsville Havoc and Roanoke (Va.) Rail Yard Dawgs.

The last four Saturday night home games at the Bay Center have each drawn crowds surpassing 5,000, which has filled the entire lower bowl of the arena.

“It is a full circle moment when you have the crowds we have, but then impact our community and provide them with that entertainment value all at the same time,” Harris said. “And you are helping people less fortunate with non-profits that help those people. It is something we are very proud of and taking stride for.

“It’s become a two-fold benefit,” he said. “Now, we’ve been able to bring more people in. And now our organization and our fans are directly impacting these amazing, local non-profit organizations, who in turn further help our community. We are really excited about it. We are all about community and giving back.”

The Ice Flyers created a “Charity of the Month” for each of the six months of home games. The group begins with October and the Making Strides Against Breast Cancer local charity. The others are: USO Northwest Florida, Gulf Coast Kids House, Ronald McDonald House, Canine Companions and Rally Foundation of Pensacola.

In addition, Harris serves on the board of directors for Big Brothers Big Sisters of Northwest Florida where that charity was honored with a night featuring custom-made jerseys.

The team has also been a title or presenting sponsor of six different charity events, most recently the Pensacola Double Bridge Run on Feb. 4.

“I think that is another big step forward we have taken as an organization,” Harris said. “And how much involvement we have now with so many different local charities and to have different elements as part of game that benefit them directly.

But also the things we do to create awareness for (non profit charities) throughout the game. Having big crowds helps them in amazing way.”

The Ice Flyers have six full-time, front office staff members that Harris credits for the massive attendance boost this season. Marketing director Brenden Arney has degrees from Loyola of Chicago and the University of West Florida with specialization in areas that have led to in-game production elements.

“This is really the first year Brenden has been able to do things we could not do the past two seasons because of Covid restrictions and the short season (in 2021),” Harris said. “He has been amazing. The entire staff works together so well and really all of them have contributed to why our attendance is so great.

“They are seeing their hard work pay off in front of their eyes and really setting the tone for things we have never done as an organization.”

A vast majority of fan increase at Ice Flyers games has come from families with children and newcomers to Pensacola. The Ice Flyers have created an energy and fan engagement for play stoppages and between periods intermission activities on the ice.

The game experience has been further enhanced by the high-definition Samsung video boards that were purchased and installed by Escambia County two years ago at the Bay Center to help lure the Sun Belt Conference men’s and women’s basketball tournaments in a five-year agreement.

Those video boards, along with the production engineers and camera operators that Harris has employed for games, have taken the entertainment to a much different level.

“I do reflect back on where we were five or six years ago when we didn’t have (video boards),” Harris said. “To some degree, it’s having the equipment, but it’s also about having the right people.

“You can have all the advancements, all the new upgrades, but if you don’t have the right people to utilize them properly, it doesn’t mean anything.

“I feel we have an amazing staff, who have combined in taking things to the next level.”

With expectation of sellout crowds approaching 8,000 at both Friday and Saturday games, the residual benefit outside the arena will be reflected in restaurants and local bars and clubs on Palafox Street.  Several years ago, the Ice Flyers had an economic impact survey that showed more than $1 million in impact through the two nights of $5 ticket seating.

“We always treat these two games as marketing elements,” Harris said. “We started season ticket renewals (Friday) so we will push that at games. We treat this like one big marketing weekend.

“It’s been so great to see the turnout and the support we’ve had this year and now we just will continue to build off of it.”

Bill Vilona is a retired Pensacola News Journal sports columnist and now senior writer for Pensacola Blue Wahoos. He can be reached at bvilona@bluewahoos.com.

Want to go/Follow?

WHAT: Pensacola Ice Flyers Hockey

WHO: Peoria Rivermen vs. Ice Flyers

WHEN: Friday and Saturday, both games start at 7:05 p.m.

WHERE: Pensacola Bay Center

TICKETS: $5 (Only a few hundred remained Friday).

INFO: www.iceflyers.com

RADIO: Fox Sports Pensacola (101.1 FM and 1450 AM)

TV: YurView (available to Cox Communications subscribers)

ONLINE STREAMING: www.hockeytv.com/league/sphl/upcoming

This article originally appeared on Pensacola News Journal: Ice Flyers attendance surge a boon to local charities, community