GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. - The big win has die hard Griffins fans all riled up as the team makes their way to the Western Conference Semifinals, although ticket sales are not what they've been during the regular season.
Van Andel Arena holds about 10,000 fans, and only half of the arena was filled during Sunday night's game, but that didn't stop hardcore fans from enjoying game five of the winner-take-all series against against the Toronto Marlies.
Senior Director of Griffins Public Relations, Randy Cleves, believes the lack of ticket sales is attributed to the inability to sell bulk tickets in such a short amount of time during the playoffs.
"It’s just a tough sell early on, you don’t have a lot of lead time letting people know when the games are gonna happen," said Cleves.
Forcing Griffins fans to wait until the last minute to get tickets.
"We were waiting last night to see the final score and right when we found out we logged on and bought tickets for today, but there should be more people here," said Griffins fan, Phil Baciak. "I’m kind of disappointed in the city of Grand Rapids, there’s a lot of empty seats."
Leaving all the glory to the 5,000 fans in attendance of Sunday night's game.
"Ya know this is really a hardcore crowd, it’s the hockey diehards that come out here," said Cleves.
The last time the Griffins won the Calder Cup was back in 2013, giving fans a chance to enjoy the ice until mid-June. Now, the Griffins are looking to take on the Rockford Icehogs in the Western Conference Semifinals.
It's not too late to support the Griffins in their quest for the cup by purchasing tickets to any future game. See you on the ice.
