By Alan Snel of LVSportsBiz.com
From the photos and video, Saturday’s setting for the NHL outdoor game matching the Vegas Golden Knights and the Colorado Avalanche looks like a lovely backdrop. It’s hard to beat snow-covered mountains, pines and a sheet of ice in the shape of an NHL rink.
Naturally, it’s a promotional opportunity for the National Hockey League. The league, which relies so much on game-related revenues, is celebrating hockey’s pastoral and romantic roots of players learning the sport on frozen lakes but is also trying to grow a sport that is exciting to see in person yet difficult to sell through the medium of TV.
Unfortunately during this COVID-19 pandemic, no fans will be on the par-five 18th hole at the Edgewood Tahoe Resort to see the VGK vs Avalanche game in person. NHL Chief Content Officer Steve Mayer said Wednesday afternoon that the made-for-TV hockey event is one of the most unique covered games in NHL history and that it is being marketed to appeal to all sports fans — not just hockey fans. There will be drones capturing video footage from above the rink.
Mayer also said there will be a feature on VGK forward Ryan Reaves during one of the Saturday game intermissions about his work in the Las Vegas community
The Vegas Golden Knights are also selling licensed Golden Knights gear displaying the “Outdoors at Lake Tahoe” patch at the team store at City National Arena.
The Golden Knights had Wednesday off. Tomorrow, the team will practice tomorrow at around 11AM at the team training center in Downtown Summerlin before taking off for Stateline.
The outdoor game is going over much better than the gold helmets that the Golden Knights players have worn during losses to Anaheim last week and Colorado last night.
In fact, one fan went online with a petition campaign to try and convince Golden Knights majority owner Bill Foley to dump the shiny, chrome golden head buckets. Here’s the petition.
The Vegas Golden Knights are also looking to have fans back in T-Mobile Arena in March. Under Gov. Steve Sisolak’s directive, the Knights can seek up to 20 percent capacity of the Big Ice Box by the Strip, which is 3,700 fans plus. They are asking local health and state officials for the green light to have some masked, socially-distanced fans back at the arena. And the Knights would like fans at Orleans Arena, the temporary home ice of the Henderson Silver Knights.