GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – The Grand Rapids Griffins on Wednesday announced a new 50/50 raffle system for home games that features larger jackpots for the winners and provides larger donations to the Griffins Youth Foundation and other charities.

The transition to the new 50/50 Central system, which debuted at last weekend’s games, was prompted by newer technology, specifically Van Andel Arena’s LED ribbon under the center-ice scoreboard, where real-time updates of the prize money are now displayed throughout games. To accommodate the resulting greater demand for tickets, the 50/50 raffle is staffed with more concourse-roaming ticket sellers, each of whom is equipped with an electronic handheld terminal for quick sales.

During the first game on Dec. 31, raffle ticket sales reached $5,510, for charitable donation and winning jackpot amounts of $2,755. The following night sales amounted to $2,570, for a prize and donation of $1,285.

“After Van Andel Arena completed the installation of the full LED ribbon this past fall, we immediately started brainstorming a host of ideas regarding how this capital improvement could be leveraged to improve the overall fan experience,” said the Griffins’ senior vice president of business operations, Tim Gortsema. “One of the ideas that quickly surfaced was the investment in technology created by 50/50 Central, which automates the previously manual process of selling 50/50 tickets.

“The Griffins would like to thank the tireless efforts put forth by our Griffins Booster Club, who managed the 50/50 ticket sales prior to this investment. However, the tremendous results of our first weekend of automated 50/50 sales have validated the decision to move forward with this process. As expected, our top seller for this program is the LED ribbon at the base of the center-hung scoreboard. Simply, our fans’ ability to know in real-time the current 50/50 jackpot total has made all the difference in the world.

“Beyond the improved sales capabilities, the 50/50 Central system provides great reporting, which facilitates simple and easy reconciliations at the end of each game,” added Gortsema.

Raffle tickets are sold during each Griffins home game through the conclusion of the second intermission, in increments of 3 for $5, 10 for $10, or 30 for $20. Winners and jackpot numbers for each game are displayed on the 50/50 Raffle page at griffinshockey.com, located under the Community tab.