November 6, 2007
NR.143

TICKET PACKAGES ARE 68% OF CAPACITY FOR 2009 IIHF WORLD JUNIOR CHAMPIONSHIP IN OTTAWA AND SPONSORSHIP SALES EXCEED PREVIOUS RECORD

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PLEASE NOTE THAT, AS OF JANUARY 18TH, 2008, ALL TICKET PACKAGES FOR THE 2009 IIHF WORLD JUNIOR CHAMPIONSHIP ARE SOLD OUT.

FOR INFORMATION ON TICKET RE-SALE PROGRAMS, CLICK HERE TO BECOME A 2009 WORLD JUNIOR CHAMPIONSHIP INSIDER
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Le Marché de billet du CMJ 2009 sera lancé en novembre 2008, afin de permettre aux amateurs qui se sont procurés des forfaits, de revendre les billets des matchs dont ils ne seront pas en mesure d’assister. Le marché sera le revendeur officiel des billets pour l’événement et le meilleur endroit pour les personnes qui n’ont pas de forfait, de se procurer des billets.

Il y aura quelques rares billets à l’unité pour les matchs impliquant des formations autres que celle d’Équipe Canada, qui seront émis peu de temps avant le début de ces matchs. Il n’y aura aucun billet à l’unité disponible pour les matchs d’Équipe Canada.

Les amateurs sont invités à s’inscrire en ligne à Branché CMJ 2009 afin  de recevoir toutes les mises à jour et tous les renseignements sur l’événement, incluant les forfaits familiaux, le lancement du marché de billets, la Fête des partisans et d’autres activités communautaires. Les personnes intéressées à devenir bénévoles peuvent aussi s’inscrire en ligne sur le site Web de l’événement.

Ottawa, ON – The 2009 IIHF World Junior Championship host organizing committee provided an update on Tuesday morning, including ticket sales, sponsorship and pre-competition camp bid process.

The 2009 IIHF World Junior Championship will feature the best hockey players under the age of 20 from the top 10 hockey nations. The event will take place in Ottawa at two venues: the home of the NHL’s Ottawa Senators and the home of the OHL’s Ottawa 67’s, and will run from December 26, 2008 to January 6, 2009.

With just under 14 months to go until puck drop of the 2009 IIHF World Junior Championship, the host organizing committee announced that almost 270,000 tickets have been sold, through the exclusive pre-sale to season ticket holders and sponsors. This represents 68% of the target of 397,000 tickets sold for the event.

Ticket packages for the remaining available tickets will go on sale to the general public in mid-November. More details regarding on-sale date for the remaining ticket packages will be announced within the next 10 days.

"We remain on pace to make this event the most attended and most financially successful World Junior Championship ever," said Eugene Melnyk, Chairman of the 2009 IIHF World Junior Championship Host Organizing Committee. "With a little more than a year remaining before the event, hockey fans in Ottawa and the entire region are excited and looking forward to hosting the world."

The host organizing committee is on target to reach, and perhaps exceed its sponsorship target of $5.0 million for the event.

The Ottawa host organizing committee announced that it has exceeded the past record of sponsorship sales at a World Junior event, with a current total of $4.37 million in sponsorship sales to date, beating the $3.0 million record that was achieved at the 2006 IIHF World Juniors that was held in Vancouver, Kelowna and Kamloops, British Columbia.

These sales include commitments made by the five Hockey Canada Premier Sponsors, 10 Hockey Canada International Marketing Partners and 15 Regional Event Marketing Partners secured to-date.

“With ticket sales already at 68% of capacity, and great support from the corporate community, the 2009 World Junior Championship is already off to a great start,” said Bob O’Doherty, General Manager of the 2009 IIHF World Junior Championship. “In less than 14 months, the eyes of the World will be on Ottawa and everyone is in for a great show.”

As part of the preparation for the nine countries, other than Canada, that will participate at the 2009 IIHF World Junior Championship in Ottawa, the host organizing committee is in the midst of finalizing the selection process for the host communities that will host the training camps and exhibition games in the month of December, 2008.

As of the October 31, 2007 submission deadline, 12 potential host communities from Western Quebec and Ontario have submitted bid proposals. These applications will be evaluated by Hockey Canada and the host organizing committee, with final selection and announcements to take place in early 2008.

For more information on the 2009 IIHF World Junior Championship,
visit  www.hockeycanada.ca/ottawa2009.