Senators players yesterday "stepped up in a big way to
do their part" to help keep the team in Ottawa when they
purchased more than 50 season tickets worth more than
[C]$100,000 which will be distributed to local children's
charities, according to Bruce Garrioch of the OTTAWA SUN.
Players spent "more than [C]$5,000 each" to be part of the
plan to create a special kids section at the Corel Centre
called the "Sens Den," and the players will be "personally
involved in deciding" how the tickets are distributed.
Garrioch writes this "might be just the kickstart the
Senators need" to meet team Chair Rod Bryden's ticket sales
goal. Garrioch: "It's a message to the community that the
team is willing to assist and there shouldn't be any
hesitation to get involved" (OTTAWA SUN, 2/16). Senators
President Roy Mlakar: "This type of gesture is magnanimous
because of the circumstances. I'm not quite certain if it
would happen elsewhere." The OTTAWA CITIZEN's Caroline
Murray writes that the announcement "brought a much-welcomed
boost to the drive, which had been stagnating over the past
few days." Ticket renewals increased 2.8% to reach 80.4%
yesterday, "nearing" Bryden's goal of 90%. With 1,317 total
new tickets sold, the campaign "is only a couple of hundred
sales away" from its 1,500 target (OTTAWA SUN, 2/16).
