Five New York State American Hockey League teams — Rochester Americans, Utica Comets, Albany Devils, Binghamton Senators and Syracuse Crunch — announced a partnership with Empire State Development’s Division of Tourism/I LOVE NEW YORK. The announcement, first made at the Third Tourism Summit held in October, is part of a $50 million commitment to the tourism industry to promote statewide tourism, create jobs and attract more visitors to every region of New York.
“Tourism is vital to New York’s economy – it supports more than 850,000 jobs and creates economic opportunity in every region of the state,” said Empire State Development President, CEO & Commissioner Howard Zemsky. “When people visit New York, they fall in love with all that our state has to offer. We are proud to work with the New York American Hockey League teams to further increase travel throughout the state and support the tourism industry as it continues to grow.”
The five AHL New York Hockey teams will partner with I LOVE NY as they aim to increase the economic impact of spectators at New York winter sporting events and expose sports fans to New York State winter getaway opportunities. New York State tourism destinations will be promoted at team games and events and the AHL schedule will be featured on I LOVE NY platforms.
“Partnering with I LOVE NY is an honor and another example of how their organization greatly impacts our state’s tourism industry. We look forward to growing the sport of hockey in the State of New York while simultaneously having a positive impact on tourism,” said Utica Comets President Robert Esche.