ROANOKE, Va. – The City of Roanoke and Roanoke City Mayor Sherman P. Lea announced on Monday that May 8, 2023 has officially been declared “Roanoke Rail Yard Dawgs Day.”
In the proclamation released from the office of the Mayor, some of the details included note that “the Rail Yard Dawgs name and logo pay tribute to the region’s railroad heritage…”, “on October 20, 2015, an ownership group launched a new franchise team, the Rail Yard Dawgs, in Roanoke for the 2016-17 season…”, “the Roanoke Rail Yard Dawgs drew the highest average attendance by a Southern Professional Hockey League team for a single playoff run with 4,436 fans…”, “the Roanoke Rail Yard Dawgs played for the Southern Professional Hockey League President’s Cup in a best-of-five series against the Birmingham Bulls, and won the President’s Cup in Game Four of the series on Tuesday, May 2, 2023.”
The proclamation ends with the following statement: “Now, therefore, I, Sherman P. Lea Sr., Mayor of the City of Roanoke, Virginia, along with the citizens of Roanoke celebrate this victorious achievement and do hereby proclaim May 8, throughout this great seven-time All-America City, as Roanoke Rail Yard Dawgs Day.”
Rail Yard Dawgs team President Mickey Gray, Vice President Alexandra Crutchfield, head coach Dan Bremner, captain Mac Jansen, Berglund Center General Manager Robyn Schon, Berglund Center’s Operations staff, members of the Roanoke City Facilities staff, members of City Council, and City Manager Bob Cowell were all among those in attendance for the ceremony today at the City Municipal Building.
“We appreciate the outpouring of support that we’ve received from our community and the City of Roanoke,” said Gray. “It’s been an incredible tribute to our organization, and we cannot thank everyone enough. We look forward to continued growth and success for this franchise in the Roanoke Valley.”
Season tickets for the 2023-2024 campaign are on sale now by contacting the Rail Yard Dawgs office, and President’s Cup championship merchandise is available at our Berglund Center offices or online on our website.