Royals announce home schedule for 20th anniversary season

Home Opener Oct. 17, new family-friendly Saturday start times Watch: Slappy "helps" unveil the home schedule

Reading, PA - The Reading Royals (@ReadingRoyals) announced Monday their 36-game regular season home schedule for 2020-21, which includes the opener on Sat., Oct. 17 at 6:00 p.m. vs. Norfolk to kick off the 20th anniversary season of professional hockey in Berks County. Season, group and flex tickets are available by calling 610-898-7825 and visiting royalshockey.com. The 2020-21 regular season is presented by Tower Health UPMC Health Plan. “We’ve added new Saturday start times at 4:00 p.m. and 6:00 p.m. to ensure families with children will enjoy a fun day at Santander Arena,” General Manager David Farrar said. “Our staff continues to work to provide the best game-day experience in the ECHL. In the coming weeks we look forward to rolling out some of our top promotional nights.” “Our crowds last season created one of the best home-ice advantages in the ECHL,” Head Coach Kirk MacDonald said. “We‘ve started preparing for 2020-21 and look forward to playing off the energy our fans bring to games at Santander Arena.” Quick Facts Family-Friendly Saturdays: Of the 11 Saturday dates at Santander Arena; six start at 6:00 p.m. and the other five feature 4:00 p.m. openings. Sunday contests have been moved up an hour from past seasons and now drop at 3:00 p.m.Opening Weekend: The first game at Santander Arena vs. Norfolk is Sat., Oct. 17 at 6:00 p.m. This season’s Opening Night will take on a deeper importance, paying tribute to health care workers and first responders that have helped our community during the pandemic.Schooling you: The Royals have scheduled two Education Day games for 2020-21, each of which start at 10:30 a.m. (Nov. 18, Jan. 26). This marks consecutive seasons the Royals will host area schools for an educational day at Santander Arena. In the team’s first-ever school-day contest last campaign, 5,920 fans enjoyed a 2-1 win over Maine. Keep on growing: Reading’s average attendance per game increased 9% in 2019-20 under the first-year ownership of the Berks County Convention Center Authority. This included two crowds of 6,000+ and the squads’ best attended game in five seasons (Pink in the Rink). Weekend warriors: Thirty of Reading’s 36 home games are on Friday, Saturday or Sunday. 2020-21 Home Schedule (All Times ET)October 2 home games Sat., Oct. 17 vs. Norfolk, 6:00 p.m.Fri., Oct. 30 vs. Adirondack, 7:00 p.m. November 7 home gamesFri., Nov. 6 vs. Newfoundland, 7:00 p.m.Sat., Nov. 7 vs. Newfoundland, 6:00 p.m. Sun., Nov. 8 vs. Newfoundland, 3:00 p.m.Wed., Nov. 18 vs. Adirondack, 10:30 a.m. (Education Day)Fri., Nov. 20 vs. Maine, 7:00 p.m. Sat., Nov. 21 vs. Maine, 6:00 p.m. Sun., Nov. 22 vs. Maine, 3:00 p.m.December 5 home gamesFri., Dec. 4 vs. Worcester, 7:00 p.m.Sat., Dec. 5 vs. Kalamazoo, 4:00 p.m.Sun., Dec. 6 vs. Kalamazoo, 3:00 p.m.Fri., Dec. 18 vs. Wheeling, 7:00 p.m.Sat., Dec. 19 vs. Wheeling, 4:00 p.m.January 7 home gamesWed., Jan. 6 vs. Worcester, 7:00 p.m. Sat., Jan. 9 vs. Maine, 6:00 p.m.Sun., Jan. 10 vs. Maine, 3:00 p.m.Fri., Jan. 22 vs. Adirondack, 7:00 p.m.Sat., Jan. 23 vs. Worcester, 6:00 p.m.Tues., Jan. 26 vs. Newfoundland, 10:30 a.m. (Education Day)Fri., Jan. 29 vs. Brampton, 7:00 p.m.February 6 home games Fri., Feb. 5 vs. Brampton, 7:00 p.m. Tues., Feb. 9 vs. Adirondack, 7:00 p.m. Fri., Feb. 12 vs. Adirondack, 7:00 p.m. Sat., Feb. 20 vs. Newfoundland, 6:00 p.m.Sun., Feb. 21 vs. Newfoundland, 3:00 p.m.Fri., Feb. 26 vs. Adirondack, 7:00 p.m.March 6 home games Wed., Mar. 10 vs. Maine, 7:00 p.m.Sat., Mar. 13 vs. Atlanta, 4:00 p.m.Fri., Mar. 19 vs. Brampton, 7:00 p.m.Sat., Mar. 20 vs. Brampton, 4:00 p.m.Sun., Mar. 21 vs. Brampton, 3:00 p.m.Wed., Mar. 24 vs. Worcester, 7:00 p.m. April 3 home gamesFri., Apr. 9 vs. Norfolk, 7:00 p.m.Sat., Apr. 10 vs. Norfolk, 4:00 p.m.Sun., Apr. 11 vs. Adirondack, 3:00 p.m.