from Curtis Pashelka of Working The Corners,

With a little over three weeks to go before the start of the regular season, the Sharks anticipate a season ticket renewal rate of about 85 percent, said John Tortora, chief operating officer of Sharks Sports & Entertainment, on Monday. Last year after the Sharks’ epic first round playoff loss to the Los Angeles Kings, roughly 89 percent signed on for another season.

Tortora said the team added about 500 new season ticket holders for this year, and should wind up with a season ticket base of between 11,000 to 12,000 subscribers, which includes partial plans. Tortora said the team got a small bump in sales in late May when the team hired Peter DeBoer as the new head coach, and in early July when the team brought in Martin Jones, Joel Ward and Paul Martin as new additions to the roster.

“The fans remain extremely passionate and loyal to the team, which is outstanding,” Tortora said. “We want to reward them this year with a very good product on the ice.”

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