What better way to celebrate the weekend than by attending a Magic basketball game at the dazzling Amway Center. And fans can do just that this upcoming season with nearly half of the 41 home games falling on Friday or Sunday nights.
And for those fans who just can’t wait for the weekend, another 14 Magic home games will fall in the middle of the week on Wednesday nights.
A whopping 34 of the Magic’s 41 home games this upcoming season will be on Wednesday, Friday or Sunday nights. The Magic are hoping that Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays will become synonymous with Magic basketball, and the franchise will be offering up fan specials to correspond with the appropriate night of the week.
The regular-season home opener at the Amway Center – Nov. 1 against the New Orleans Pelicans – is on a Friday night. The first five home games – Nov. 1 vs. New Orleans; Nov. 3 vs. Brooklyn; Nov. 6 vs. the Los Angeles Clippers; Nov. 8 vs. Boston; and Nov. 13 against Milwaukee – all fall on either a Wednesday, Friday or Sunday. In fact, 11 of the first 13 times that the Magic play at the Amway Center during the regular season, it will be on a Wednesday, Friday or Sunday night.
The Magic opens their season on Oct. 29 in Indiana when they take on the Pacers with tip off set for 7 p.m. Optimism is high following a 2012-13 season in which young players Nikola Vucevic, Tobias Harris and Maurice Harkless blossomed into key building blocks for the future. Orlando added guard Victor Oladipo, the No. 2 overall draft pick, to that young core for this season. Meanwhile, veterans Jameer Nelson, Glen “Big Baby” Davis and Arron Afflalo return to provide leadership and direction.
To ensure that Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays will become synonymous with Magic basketball, here are some of the specials that will be introduced this season:
· Wednesday nights (14 home games): With the “Midweek Magic” plan fans can jump-start their weekends with one game ticket, one beer or soda, and one food item (hot dog or pretzel) for as low as $25. All fans are invited to a pregame “Happy Hour” from 5:30-6:30 p.m.featuring drink specials and music.
· Friday nights (13 home games): With the “Friday Night Magic’’ plan fans get dinner and a game. Starting at $29 per game the “Concessions Dinner & A Game Package” gets fans a ticket, dinner (burger and fries or chicken tenders and fries) and one domestic draft beer or soda. Starting at $59 per game at select Magic games the “Dinner & A Game Package at Magic Grill” features a ticket, choice of entrée from a select menu at Magic Grill, one domestic beer or soda and an open-face warm ice cream sandwich. Friday nights will also be the nights that the franchise will bring back Magic legends throughout the season as part of the 25th anniversary celebration. The Fri., Nov. 1home opener will feature former Magic All-Star Tracy McGrady.
· Sunday nights (7 home games): The “Sunday Family Magic’’ plan will feature an $89 package – a play off the Magic’s inaugural season of 1989. For $89, fans will get four game tickets, four Pepsi drinks and four Papa John’s personal pizzas. Fans will also get in the front of the layup line for kids’ layups on the Magic parquet floor after the game.
The Magic’s home sellout streak ended at 156 straight games last season, but Orlando still had impressive attendance numbers. The Magic ranked 15th in the 30-team NBA in attendance, and they had more fans attend games on average than six teams that qualified for the postseason. Last season also featured the largest crowd to ever see a basketball game in Orlando when 19,311 fans were at the Amway Center to see the Magic face the Miami Heat on Dec. 31.
Tickets are available for purchase online at www.orlandomagic.com , at the Amway Center box office (located on Church St.), and at all TicketMaster outlets.
By John Denton, orlandomagic.com
