Kansas City sports fans pack arena for KC Mavericks’ New Year’s Eve Game

INDEPENDENCE, Mo. (KCTV) -- A New Year’s Eve tradition continued in Independence this year as nearly 6,000 fans packed Cable Dahmer Arena. The KC Mavericks faced the Wichita Thunder on the ice for the team’s annual New Year’s Eve game.

“Loud, very loud,” Jerry Sepulveda, Mavericks fan, said. “New Year’s Eve has always been one of the biggest games of the year.”

“The game is always excellent on New Year’s Eve. It’s usually a sold-out crowd,” Danielle Jenkerson, Mavericks fan, said. “Usually, it’s one of our rivals that we are playing, so you have to get into it a whole lot.”

It’s not just the fans that feel the energy; the players do, too. The Mavericks say the crowd is like an extra man on the ice.

“To be able to get out here, play in front of our fans, they’re loud. I think we have the best fans in the league in Mavs Country,” Tad O’Had, Mavericks Head Coach and General Manager, said. “Even away players, over the years, have mentioned to me in recruiting, they have said, ‘We love playing at Cable Dahmer Arena.’”

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The Mavericks said Tuesday’s crowd was one of the biggest in franchise history. Attendance is up 15% from last season – when the team finished second in the league.

“There is nothing better than hockey live. You see how fast the guys are, how physical they are, the toughness,” O’Had said. “This is tomorrow’s superstars. You are going to see players matriculate onwards and upwards to the NHL.”

KCTV5 is operating as a broadcast partner for the Mavericks this season by broadcast select home games on KSMO. A full broadcast schedule can be found here: KSMO-TV partners with Kansas City Mavericks to broadcast 15 games this season

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