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Valley Named 25th Best Minor League Sports Market

September 11, 2007 - Central Hockey League (CHL)
Rio Grande Valley Killer Bees News Release


Hidalgo, Texas --- The Rio Grande Valley was named the 25th best minor league sports market in the United States according to a recent study published by Sports Business Journal.

Out of 242 minor league markets, the Valley scored better than Knoxville, Albuquerque, and Austin-Round Rock, among others. The Valley received a total score of 61.05.

"This proves what we've known all along; this is a growing market with a passionate fan base," explained Rio Grande Valley Killer Bees and Dorados General Manager Grant Buckborough. "I think sometimes the region gets overlooked. You watch the weather reports on TV and they stop the map at San Antonio. Well, hopefully this helps show people what a great place this is to be and that they can't ignore us anymore. I want to see us in the top 20 next year."

The Killer Bees, who open their Fifth Anniversary Season at home on Friday, October 19, vs. the Corpus Christi Rayz at 7:30 p.m., have been an important part of the Valley sports landscape. The Central Hockey League franchise has welcomed 665,546 fans to the Dodge Arena during its first four seasons, an average of 5,042 per game.

The team has consistently been among the group ticket sales leaders in the league and has been honored with several year-end awards each season. In June, the team was nominated for eight of 15 awards at the CHL Summer Conference. Buckborough took home the CHL Executive of the Year award, while Jennifer Sides was named the league's Ticketing Executive of the Year. The organization also was nominated for CHL Franchise of the Year.

An additional 172,196 fans (an average of 4,919 per game) have come to watch the arenafootball2 Dorados play. This past season the team cruised to an impressive 15-1 record and won the Southwest Division title. Several Dorados players have made the leap to the Arena Football League, while the organization has been recognized by the af2 league for its efforts. Buckborough took home his second Executive of the Year Award in 2007 at the league's championship banquet in August.

All totaled, 837,742 fans have cheered-on the Killer Bees and Dorados through the first four seasons for each club, an average of 5,016 fans per game in the 5,500-seat Dodge Arena (91.2% capacity).

The Sports Business Journal rankings were based on the following criteria;

-- Overall percent of seats filled indexed against total five-year population (20% of overall score, RGV ranked 48th out of 242).

-- Franchise tenure in the city (66.6% of total score, RGV ranked 14th out of 242).

-- Attendance indexed against the market's unemployment rate, population and total personal income (13.4% of overall score, RGV ranked 9th out of 242).

Killer Bees season tickets are available now for the 2007-08 season, the team's fifth in the Central Hockey League. The team will play a preseason game against the Rayz on Monday, October 15, at 7:30 p.m. Tickets to all games go on sale this Friday at 10 a.m. Visit www.ticketmaster.com for more information.

Every weekend game will be broadcast on KURV 710 AM Talk Radio, with most weekday games on ESPN Radio 1240 AM. Individual tickets will go on sale soon. For season ticket, group ticket and sponsorship information, call 956-843-PUCK (7825).

The Top Minor League Markets

1. Fort Wayne, Ind.

2. Hershey/Harrisburg, Penn.

3. Oklahoma City, Okla.

4. Rochester, NY

5. Reading, Penn.

6. Quad Cities, Iowa-Ill.

7. Boise, Idaho

8. Tulsa, Okla.

9. Sioux Falls, SD.

10. Stockton, Ca.

15. Pawtucket/Providence, RI

25. Rio Grande Valley

38. Austin-Round Rock, Texas

56. Richmond, Va.

81. Louisville, Ky.

169. Fort Worth, Texas.

236. Topeka, Kansas

242. Macon, Ga.

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The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

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