Panthers show Game 5 of the ALCS to lure Bostonians into arena
Oct 18, 2013, 4:48 AM | Updated: 4:49 am
The Florida Panthers are having a hard time getting fans in the seats at the BT&T Center this season.
Kevin Dineen’s squad entered play Thursday with a 2-5 record — good for second worst in the Atlantic Division.
But you’d think a home contest against the defending Eastern Conference Champions, the Boston Bruins, would be enough to bring in a decent crowd.
Apparently not.
In addition to selling a matchup of 2011 Vezina Trophy winner Tim Thomas against his former team, the Panthers went a step further before the game to try and lure Boston transplants inside the arena.
According to Yahoo! Sports’ Puck Daddy blog, the organization promised fans in an advertisement that they’d play the broadcast of Game 5 of the ALCS between the Red Sox and Tigers on televisions in and around the venue during the hockey game.
As it turns out, the arena was only 75 percent full, but Bostonians who did attend got to see both the B’s and Red Sox claim victory. All and all, not a bad night of sports.
