SABRES: NEW BUILDING, NEW UNIFORMS ... SLOW SALES?

     The Sabres have sold out all 18,500 seats for their home
opener at Marine Midland Arena Saturday night, but none of the
other 40 games are sell-outs and club officials figure there will
be "about" 4,500 tickets available for each game, according to
Rick Maloney in BUSINESS FIRST OF BUFFALO.  The team has
approximately 10,200 season ticket subscribers, which is an
increase of "more than a thousand" from '95, but "short" of the
organization's goal of 12,000.  D. Rovell Jones, Sabres Dir/Club
& Season Ticket Sales, said of the sales and goal: "It was
ambitious, but our level is higher than it has been in recent
history."  Around 3,500 of the 4,500 club level seats have been
sold and 77 of 80 luxury boxes have been leased. The Sabres have
increased marketing efforts in Southern Ontario and have
advertised in one Toronto newspaper (BUSINESS FIRST OF BUFFALO,
10/10).