In Orlando, Paul Tenorio reported Orlando City SC "has been pushing ticket sales for Saturday's game" against the Impact. The goal "is to reach 45,000 for the game, which "holds massive stakes for Orlando City." The marketing campaign "centers around a promise" that Orlando City coach Adrian Heath "made to players ahead of last week's game" against the Red Bulls. He said that if the team secured a victory for that game, 45,000 people "would pack into the Citrus Bowl for the must-win showdown" against the Impact. A team spokesperson said that ticket sales as of yesterday afternoon "were in the 'high 20s' approaching 30,000 'very quickly.'" Orlando City "has surpassed 40,000 in ticket sales twice this season" (ORLANDOSENTINEL.com, 9/30).
MAIN ATTRACTION: The CP's John Chidley-Hill cited StubHub data in noting that the Oilers' "addition of the top draft pick," C Connor McDavid, has seen the team's ticket sales climb 131% compared to last year on the secondary market. McDavid’s arrival "has catapulted Edmonton from 16th to sixth-best selling team" on the site. StubHub Canada Country Manager Jeff Poirier said, "There’s not just renewed hope around that, but there’s also this sort of nostalgic thing going on around Rexall Place and the fact that that’s going to be replaced by Rogers Place." Chidley-Hill noted McDavid's impact "extends beyond northern Alberta, with the Oilers becoming the seventh-best selling road team in the NHL. Poirier: "In terms of the NHL, I’m not sure that we’ve seen, at least in recent history, a jump like this due to one player" (CP, 9/30).
NAME CALLING: The Eagles' weekly media guide handed out for their game this Sunday "made an effort to not use the name 'Redskins' -- instead simply calling this week's opponent 'Washington.'" The term Redskins is not used on the cover and "doesn't appear until the 52nd page," when the players' bios begin (NJ.com, 10/1).
