Hockey will be played again in the post-COVID-19 world and the Prince George Spruce Kings are preparing for that eventuality.
The community-owned B.C. Hockey League team has launched a ticket voucher promotion which rewards front-line workers for their efforts to promote safety and minimize the threat of the coronavirus pandemic.
Kings fans can buy vouchers at a discounted rate of $10 each, good for any regular season game next season and the club will match that by setting aside a voucher to be distributed later to essential workers.
“Just seeing what was being done around the community, with the nightly parades around the hospital (to salute health-care workers), there’s a lot of thanks going around on some social media for some front-line workers and the Spruce Kings thought of putting a program in place to thank those people when we play hockey again,” said Kyle Anderson, the Spruce Kings’ business operations manager.
“This initiative will run from now through the end of August to show thanks to those who are working during these times, and we will honour them each time they attend our games as well.”
The vouchers can be purchased online at https://bit.ly/2V9bp4w or by calling Anderson at 778-675-3489. Ticket buyers can request who will get to use the vouchers, whether it’s grocery store employees, pharmacy and hospital workers or first responders.
The May 1st draw date for the Spruce Kings Show Home Lottery is rapidly approaching and the deadline to buy tickets is April 27 at 10 p.m. Valued at $730,000, the fully-furnished 3,135 square-foot home at 2738 Links Dr., in the Aberdeen Glen subdivision was built by Hopson Construction.
As of Friday, about 7,800 of the 11,000 tickets printed for the show home draw had been sold. Each ticket costs $125 and the revenue generated annually provides at least half the team’s operating expenses. Last year, close to 9,700 tickets were sold.
COVID-19 has closed the show home for tours and all ticket sales are now being done online at sprucekingsshowhome.ca or by phone at 250-962-4946. For those who haven’t seen the house, a virtual tour is available on the show home website.
“We’re still short of where we were last year and we’re hoping that the community is going to come together and continue to support the team,” said Anderson. “We have about 3,200 show home tickets remaining and that’s obviously a substantial number. Last year we saw about 1,400 sold in the last five days and that’s fairly normal over the last couple years, everything happening at the last minute. However, this year, with everything being online or over the phone, it’s been more of a challenge with people not going through the house.”
Anderson said it takes 2,850 show home tickets sold to cover the team’s equipment costs (sticks, gloves, pants, helmets), ice rental fees, and road trip expenses (hotels, meals, bus transportation).
“The show home lottery is the main driving force behind our operating budget every season and gives our organization the opportunity to give the kids the best chance to succeed on and off the ice here in Prince George and moving on to their goals of playing college hockey,” Anderson said.
The club has sold about 1,000 tickets for its Period 3 Mega 50-50 draw, about 3,000 short of sellout. The deadline to buy tickets for that draw, at $25 each, is also April 27.
