Capacity crowd urged to arrive early
BRAMPTON, Ont. – With a capacity crowd expected, the Brampton Battalion is encouraging fans to arrive early for its Ontario Hockey League game against the London Knights at 7 p.m. Thursday.
The Powerade Centre’s spectator bowl is sold out, and no tickets will be available for purchase. More than 4,800 are expected, threatening the single-game attendance record of 4,835 to see the Knights on Feb. 17, 2005.
“It became apparent in mid-January that online and telephone ticket sales would result in capacity attendance for the London game,” Battalion president Mike Griffin said Wednesday. “Our priority was to make plans with building staff to ensure our fans can enjoy the experience.”
Griffin said roadwork on Kennedy Road will create some challenges for access.
“As a result, we’ve arranged for paid-duty police officers to be stationed at both the north and south entrances off Kennedy Road starting at 6 p.m. to help move traffic into the parking complex, and they’ll be directing traffic after the game. The City of Brampton has provided parking attendants to direct vehicles to available parking spots.”
The doors and concession stands are to open at 5:30 p.m. instead of the usual 6 p.m.
“We’re doing that with the expectation that early arrivals will help alleviate traffic congestion,” said Griffin, who noted that more than 1,500 tickets were purchased online or via telephone.
“That would normally cause a significant challenge for our ticketing staff, because we’d have to coordinate will-call traffic with people arriving to purchase tickets on game day.
“That problem was avoided when we sold out the spectator bowl tickets. Our box office staff at the Kennedy entrance will be distributing online and telephone orders in advance of the game and processing ticket purchases for future games until the end of the second period.”
Fans at the London game will have the opportunity to purchase the Battalion’s March to the Playoffs ticket package. In addition, tickets for the Belleville Bulls’ visit at 3 p.m. Sunday, a meeting of the Eastern Conference’s division leaders, can be purchased Thursday night at the Quartermaster Retail Store until 30 minutes after the game.
