Worcester Business Journal

30 Worcester Business Journal | October 5, 2026 | wbjournal.com You were named president of the Rail- ers after the 2025-26 campaign. What are your top priorities as you enter the new season? I plan to continue to improve upon our 2025-26 record-setting season for revenue – as in, set all revenue records in 2026-27. Re-capture our spot in the ECHL (our league) for the Commu- nity Service Team of the Year Award – an award we have been nominated for every year of our existence (eight straight years), and won the award five times, but have missed out on winning the award the past two seasons. From a performance perspective, our hockey operations team has high expectations for on-ice success this season, especially with a new NHL affiliate for the first time in our team's history (previously with the New York Islanders for the prior eight seasons, but now with the St. Louis Blues). Our team has not made the playoffs since our inaugural 2017-18 season, but we are eager to make the playoffs once again and have a deep playoff run. What did you learn about the Railers and Worcester during your time in ticket sales and corporate partner- ships that shaped your vision as president? Luckily, I spent my entire career prior to joining the team here in Worcester as a ticket sales profession- al. In the 12 years before Worcester, I started in entry-level ticket sales and worked across every part of the ticket sales process, including strategy and people management. My learn- ing curve with joining the Railers was in corporate partnerships – an incredibly important revenue chan- nel for any sports organization, and one I had little experience in. I was fortunate to have great leadership in our former president, Stephanie Ramey. I was tasked with overseeing every aspect of our corporate part- nerships department, where we have had significant growth these past two seasons, culminating with our highest corporate partnerships revenue mark and number of partners (154 total) this past 2025-26 season. How do you grow attendance in a Worcester sports market that also has the WooSox, Bruins and Celtics in Boston, college sports and other entertainment competing for people's time and money? One of the biggest challenges in this market is the competition for entertainment dollars – not only with our sports options, but also so close to the Boston entertainment scene for options not associated with sports. We have to continue to "be different" in comparison to other entertainment options and while we understand our niche – family entertainment – we have to continue to be a great value first. at means we want to take risks with non-traditional theme nights associated with our games, along with making sure that when our market thinks about the Railers, the first word they think of is "fun." What do you think the Railers' role should be in Worcester beyond playing hockey? is is an easy one to answer – we are community first. Everything we do is to be community first. at's why our official name is the Worces- ter Railers HC, with HC standing for hockey club. We are the community's club and our role is to be a reflection of our community. I use a term I learned from another team I was part of: our arena and team are the com- munity's living room. Take pride in having a fun, inviting and welcoming living room for your community! How do you want the team to connect with businesses and organizations in the city? We want to align ourselves with businesses and organizations in our city that share our same vision – to make an impact in our community. Yes, we are an entertainment destination for those in our community, but we also want to make our impact felt by establishing community programming. How do you balance the business side of the organization with the expecta- tion that the team needs to win? I only concern myself with what I can control – which is everything off the ice. I cannot control how our team performs on the ice, but we can only prep to be ready as a business for the playoffs. Playoffs are a bonus and greatly assist with profitability. What is the biggest risk facing the organization over the next few years? And the biggest opportunity? Economic stress is real – gas prices are high, inflation is high, and families are being mindful of their wallets. We need to be an entertainment opportu- nity that families see as the last option to cut – that this is too valuable of an experience to go a season without being part of. If we talk again three years from now, what do you hope you can point to and say, "at's what we accom- plished"? One, our attendance is nearing the 5,720 average. Two, our partnerships base continues at our 150-plus num- ber of partners, many of whom are committed to long-term p. ree, our staff continues to grow in their careers with those on our team either in lead- ership roles with our organization, or are leaders in the sports industry with other clubs. Four, our team is recog- nized by our league as the community service model to follow. Five, a long playoff run with a Kelly Cup Champi- onship. is Q&A was conducted and edited for length and clarity by WBJ Editor Mark Conti. D avid Aitken was named president of the Worcester Railers in April and has set ambitious goals for the hockey team. In addi- tion to helping the team make the playoffs, Aitken aims to grow attendance, break revenue records and ensure that the team objectives are always "community first." Aitken, who was previously the vice president of ticket sales and corporate partnerships for nearly three years, is navigating a crowded entertainment market with cost-conscious consumers. e Rail- ers open the season against the Maine Mariners at 6 p.m. on Oct. 17. Worcester Railers president sets big goals for hockey team W PHOTO | COURTESY OF THE WORCESTER RAILERS David Aitken President Worcester Railers Age: 36 Hometown: Chestertown, N.Y. Residence: Holden Education: Bachelor's degree in sport management, SUNY Cortland '11 Year company was founded: 2016 Number of employees at the company: 24 David Aitken President Worcester Railers

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