HOULTON, Maine — In an effort to increase attendance by young people at basketball games, students at Houlton-Middle High School can now enjoy free admission to all Shire home games.
Clay Halliday said he came up with the idea of asking local businesses to sponsor student admission to games as a way to bolster school spirit.
“I have been taking tickets at the door for three years now and much of that time was spent chasing kids who didn’t pay,” Halliday said. “A lot of those kids just didn’t have the money, but wanted to watch the games, so I decided to go out and find some sponsors.”
The student admission fee is $3 for a basketball game. Halliday said they sought $300 from local businesses to help cover one home game. For each game, a different local business is the featured sponsor.
“It really was not a hard sell,” Halliday said. “Most of the businesses in town really love their hometown sports and were willing to do just about anything to help out the kids.”
All of the money from sponsorships goes to the gate admission for the night.
“It really gets a bigger crowd to show up,” Halliday said. “The student section is now the largest I have seen in years.”
Thirteen businesses have signed on thus far, but there is room for a few more to be added. Any business interested in sponsoring a future game can contact the school at 207-532-6551 and speak to the athletic department or call Halliday directly at 207-432-9890.
