North Country at Work: Selling hockey tickets in Glens Falls

Sean Driscoll is 34. Like many kids in the North Country, he grew up on the ice.

Driscoll started playing hockey when he was four. He always knew he wanted to work in the sport. Just before college, he got a job at the hockey arena in Glens Falls, where he took out trash and swept during weekend games.

Driscoll went on to study sports management and business administration. He graduated in 2013 and moved back to Glens Falls.

It was perfect timing. Driscoll recalls how “the following spring, the Adirondack Flames moved from the AHL to Glens Falls. And I brought my resume and I was one of the first employees for the team.”

Ana Williams-BergenNorth Country at Work: Selling hockey tickets in Glens Falls

Today, Driscoll is director of ticket sales for the Adirondack Thunder, the minor league hockey team now based in Glens Falls.

He mainly focuses on season ticket holders, ensuring they are satisfied and recruiting new season ticket holders.

Driscoll says many have been there as long as he has, and they've gotten to know each other. They see each other around town or at the grocery store. It's just part of a really fun job.

Driscoll says the atmosphere at Adirondack Thunder games is great, with a friendly, local feel. He says it draws a lot of people who aren’t big hockey fans but still come to their games because “they want to be part of a Friday or Saturday night.”

“We're having a big party and then there's also a hockey game.”

The work is still going on: Driscoll is on duty during the games, solving problems and selling tickets.

But, he says, “I've gotten most of my work done in the third period. The first and second period is a little bit more running around to make sure the game, you know, goes well on the ticket side.”

Sean Driscoll (right) with NHL Hall of Famer Martin Brodeur. Photo courtesy of Sean Driscoll

When you go to a hockey game, you're probably trying to find good seats or looking around for a pretzel stand. For Driscoll, it's not quite the same, even if he's not technically to work.

He says that “I see from the business side of what goes into making the game.” So even when he's just playing a game with friends, “I'm still looking out of the corner of my eye and seeing what's happening in the game to replicate it for us.”

Driscoll says his schedule is a bit like that of a teacher. The arena staff works like crazy from October through April or May, putting in long hours and weekend shifts, sometimes hosting multiple games a week.

In the summers, it’s a bit quieter — half days on Fridays, time for vacation. Driscoll says that while it’s not your typical nine-to-five, it’s worth it.

“You're going to be working on the weekends. You're going to have 10-hour days, but at the end of the day you're working in sports, and if you're into sports, it's definitely fun.”

Driscoll Certainly loves sports. He played hockey as a youth, football in college, and has season tickets to the Boston Red Sox.

He always knew he wanted to be involved in sports, but he knew nothing about sales. But Driscoll says he doesn't “really consider himself a salesperson. I just work in sports and sell a product that people enjoy.”

That product is pretty unique: it's the only minor-league hockey experience you can get in the North Country.