The Chicago Wolves visited the Downers Grove home of Wolves fan Paul Leddy on Thursday afternoon and surprised him with the news he had been randomly selected as the grand-prize winner in the season-long Sprint Power Play Payday contest.
Leddy and his 12-year-old son, Grady, were stunned when they walked out of their front door to find Skates, the Wolves mascot, holding an oversized check for $5,000. Leddy also received a congratulatory phone call from Wolves general manager Wendell Young, who welcomed Leddy to the organization and detailed all of the other prizes he won as part of the Sprint Power Play Payday sweepstakes.
“I’ve been furloughed from work, so this comes at a great time. Thank you,” said Leddy, who attends roughly 15 Wolves games per year with his son. “The thing that we really like about the Wolves games is that with the seats we had this year, you can see people who have been there from the beginning. There’s this sense of community and they’re into it — and you can see the players just love to play.”
Now Leddy gets to be alongside the Wolves players. The contest called for the winner to sign a one-day contract with the Wolves on March 28. Instead, due to the postponement and eventual cancellation of the 2019-20 season in order to fight the spread of COVID-19, Leddy will join the organization for a day during the 2020-21 season.
His Grand Prize experience features the $5,000 signing bonus that he received Thursday, a meet-and-greet with Wolves executives and players, a suite for a Wolves home game that includes tickets, parking and hospitality, Wolves merchandise and a VIP tour of Allstate Arena.
Chicagoans entered the Sprint Power Play Payday sweepstakes during the 2019-20 season by visiting specific Sprint retail stores at events hosted by the Wolves. No purchase was necessary to participate in the Sprint Power Play Payday contest — and store visitors also had opportunities to win raffles that featured Wolves merchandise and ticket vouchers.
“Thank you to Sprint for bringing this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to our fans!” said Greg Sprott, Wolves senior director of partnerships. “The Sprint Power Play Payday is unlike anything the Wolves have done and we look forward to having Paul Leddy experience what it’s like to be a Chicago Wolves player when the Wolves return to the ice.”