WHO WILL BE NO. 4,000,000?

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – A day after celebrating their 500th regular season home game, the Grand Rapids Griffins are expected to welcome the 4 millionth fan in franchise history this Saturday, Dec. 20, when they host the Milwaukee Admirals in a 7 p.m. start at Van Andel Arena.

The Griffins have drawn 3,990,072 fans for their 499 regular season home games over the last 13 seasons, leaving them 9,928 shy of the milestone heading into Friday’s game against Milwaukee – which, barring inclement weather, is expected to draw around 7,000 fans. The magic number should be only a few thousand away when the gates open at 6 p.m. Saturday for the rematch with the Admirals.

The lucky fan will be greeted at the turnstiles in the arena’s main lobby by Griff and Tim Gortsema, the Griffins’ senior vice president of business operations. No. 4 million will then be honored in an on-ice ceremony during the first intermission, where he or she will receive a prize package including:

• A Griffins jersey with the numeral “4” and the nameplate “MILLION” on the back;
• Four lower-bowl tickets to every Griffins home game during the ensuing 4 million seconds;
• Gas card to travel 4 million feet;
• 4 million Zimbabwean dollars;
• 4 million microliters of Pepsi;
• 4 million milligrams of Van Andel Arena popcorn;
• Forty “100 Grand” candy bars;
• Four days of recognition on the griffinshockey.com splash page;
• A four-second standing ovation from Griffins fans during the on-ice ceremony.

The Griffins currently stand fifth in the 29-team American Hockey League with an average attendance of 6,314, a year-to-date increase of 14.8% over the first 14 home contests of 2007-08 (5,501) and 30.5% over the first 14 home games of 2006-07 (4,838). The team’s total attendance of 88,398 is its highest through 14 home games in six years, since the 2002-03 campaign (94,513).