Islanders Honor One Millionth Fan at UBS Arena

When Jennifer Belechto and her family took their first trip to UBS Arena on Tuesday night, they did not expect to be holding the golden ticket as the one millionth Islanders fan to enter the arena.
With horns blaring and confetti scattering the Grand Hall, Belechto walked into UBS Arena with her husband and their two daughters, surrounded by the Islanders hype team excited for their arrival.
"I'm a little bit in shock. It's our first time here," Belechto said moments after being named the millionth fan. "We're longtime Islanders fans, the kids too. We're so excited. And then we walked into this so it's even more exciting."

Islanders Co-Owner Jon Ledecky was also part of the welcoming committee.
"It's their first time walking through as a family," said Ledecky. "That means more and more fans are hearing about how great UBS Arena is and they're coming in droves."
Jennifer and her husband, Randy, wanted to make a special trip to the Islanders' new home with their two daughters, Annaleigh and Ashylnn. For the young girls, they were most excited to see Sparky, so Ledecky waved Sparky over to meet the girls, as the mascot gave the family a round of hugs.
"They're at the age where they want to hang out with Nyisles and Sparky," Ledecky said. "As long as they're going to have fun tonight and have a great hot dog, I think they'll have a lovely evening."

The family was showered with gifts - but not just any selection of arbitrary items - the prizes had intentions of the Islanders core values.
To celebrate the Islanders 50th season, the special number 50 was highlighted through a prize of 50 single-game tickets to be donated to the charity of Belechto's choice, a $500 Arctix gift card, along with a shopping spree at Isles Lab up to $5,000. Jennifer had limited time in the store to pick up as much merchandise as she could, prioritizing grabbing jerseys, hats, and swag for her daughters.
If all goes well, the millionth could win a billion as the family also received 1,000 Mega Millions lottery tickets for the night's 1.1-billion-dollar drawing, courtesy of Jackpocket.
Along with Belechto's custom one millionth fan jersey, a team-signed jersey was also given to the family, as well as four premium club tickets to use at a later game. Belechto was also given the legendary chance to celebrate this year's Alumni Weekend, with two invitations to the Alumni Dinner on January 20th.
Tweet from @NYIslanders: Jennifer Belechto is the��#Isles��MILLIONTH fan to come to��@UBSArena!��👏��Thank you��#IslesNation��for bringing the energy night after night and making Islanders games the best party around. pic.twitter.com/dANGyO4kQC
Heineken donated free beer for a year for the millionth fan. In the same vein, Jennifer will also receive a bartender tool kit from Pernod Ricard, as well as prize packs from Ilegal Mezcal and Clyde May's Whisky. Also included in the slew of prizes was a Bose speaker, courtesy of Verizon.
Following the excitement of their entrance, Jennifer was upgraded to the best seat in the house, as the Belechto family was able to cheer on the Islanders from the owners' suite.
"The fact that we got a family is so indicative of the strength of our fanbase," Ledecky said. "It's great that four folks showed up from Islip. We're all about family here at UBS Arena, and the Islanders are a family."
The Islanders honored the Belechto family on Tuesday night as the millionth fan, but also honored the fanbase at large with surprise moments, seat upgrades and more.
"It's a fabulous night for the Islanders and their fan base," Ledecky said. "To know that we have a million strong fans coming through."