Sudbury Five season tickets sales near top of league

The Sudbury Five's front office says it was a bit of a surprise when season ticket sales for the basketball team ramped up.

Miranda Swain, marketing manager for SWSE, which owns the Five, the Sudbury Spartans and the Sudbury Wolves, said they've already sold over 700 season ticket packages for the season.

That's compared to approximately 1,500 for the Sudbury Wolves.

Not bad for a hockey town, Swain said.

"It's very exciting for our second year," Swain said. "I believe we're probably one of the higher ones in the NBLC [National Basketball League of Canada] so it's a great start to the season."

Others in the 8-team league told CBC News they have just started to sell season tickets.

Swain said the team drew over an average of over 2,000 fans in its inaugural season. In part, she said, because of the success of the Toronto Raptors.

She said the quality of basketball likely made an impression on first-time attendees, as well.

"They were impressed with the type of basketball, so even just that itself helped... it was better than what they thought it was going to be."

"And I think [some] who hadn't been to a basketball game before didn't really know what to expect," Swain said. "So as the season went on it became increasingly popular and everybody seems to be talking about it around town."

Head coach and general manager of the Five, Logan Stutz, said he was also surprised at the reception the team has gotten.

"I knew we did well. I know we did things right,"Stutz said."And it just kind of provides some proof or some validation from the community."

Stutz said fans were likely excited by the team's "run and gun" approach.

"Almost anything can happen, any shot can go in, any play can be made," he said. "Anybody can go in and have an impact."

"So it's always something different every night. It's not always one player or this player or that player. You show up, it's going to be unexpected, but you know it's going to be exciting."

Stutz added that the team is planning on adding new players, some with a more defensive approach to the game. He also hired a new defensive coach, Elliot Etherington, who hopes to limit the opposition's chances.

But fans can still expect to see plenty of the team's high-scoring attack.

"At the end of the day the support from the community has always been great," Stutz said. "They're excited that we're back for another year. We're getting ready to get on the court and they want to be a part of it."