After one-year hike, Hawks freeze season-ticket prices

After raising their ticket prices by an average of 16 percent before this season, the Chicago Blackhawks will hold the line on season ticket prices for the 2009-10 season.

"Chicago Blackhawks fans are unique in that they have remained loyal to our team through many seasons of challenge," Blackhawks Chairman W. Rockwell "Rocky" Wirtz said in a statement released Thursday morning. "We are incredibly grateful of this support and recognize that during these challenging times, we are acting in the best interests of our fans and our community by keeping our season ticket prices flat for the 2009-10 season."

The price increases for this season were the first since the 1997-98 season, and carried the added bonus of the Winter Classic game on Jan. 1 at Wrigley Field.

This season the Blackhawks have hosted 30 capacity crowds in 30 home dates and 33 consecutive dating back to the end of last season. Chicago, which has hosted 11 crowds of over 22,000 fans this season, leads the NHL with an average of 22,395 fans per game. The Blackhawks are currently on pace to surpass the all-time franchise record of 835,977 fans that attended games during the 1995-96 season.

Fans wishing to purchase season tickets for the 2009-10 season may join the priority waiting list by contacting the Chicago Blackhawks at (312) 455-7000.