3,000 fans, $3,000: Cape Breton Eagles offer bold giveaway to boost attendance

When word of the Cape Breton Eagles’ latest fan promotion dropped on the team’s social media channels, it got fans of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League team talking pretty quickly.

"We're looking to give away some money," said team ambassador and former player Joey Haddad.

It’s a bold new promotion called, “Ticket To Win It – 3,000 In The Stands, Three Grand In Your Hand.”

The team launched the money giveaway in a social media video in which Eagles’ captain Zach Biggar and team mascot Screech explained how it works.

"For every game with an attendance over 3,000 fans, one lucky ticket holder in the audience will win $3,000,” Biggar said in the recording.

It's been no secret that many QMJHL teams - the Eagles included - have been struggling to get people in the seats.

With ticket sales languishing since the COVID-19 pandemic, the promotion is a Hail Mary attempt to get people to the box office.

"If we ask the community, our fanbase, to come out and support us night in and night out and they do so - we want to be able to reward them with a giveaway," Haddad said.

The concept has already appealed to local fan Jason Dawe.

Dawe used to be a diehard fan of the team, but estimated he hasn’t been to an Eagles’ game in a year-and-a-half to two years.

Now, the chance to win some money has him thinking about buying a ticket.

"$3,000 around this time of year at Christmas when everybody's struggling and everything's so expensive, that will definitely come in handy," Dawe said. “And it would be nice to win it."

The Eagles' average attendance so far this season has been below 2,000, so the team admits that on some nights, getting all the way to 3,000 - and having to pay up - is unlikely.

However, they say their next home game, against the rival Halifax Mooseheads, might be a different story.

"I think that we can hit this marker," Haddad said. “We have a big night coming Friday. We're very close to that 3,000 (tickets sold) mark already."

If nothing else, the promotion has been getting points for creativity; the team says it has gotten plenty of positive feedback.

Now, it's a matter of whether people will show up to the rink as a result of the enticement.

"Attend the game, enjoy the show, and have a chance of winning $3,000," Haddad said.

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