NHL Stages Concerts, Fan Fest to Launch Season
The National Hockey League is seeking to pump up fans for the start of its current campaign with a two-day event involving a roster of sponsors supporting a lineup of live events later this week.
Alanis Morrisette and Def Leppard are the featured performers for the NHL Face-Off Rocks in Detroit’s Fox Theatre on Thursday night, with Versus and CBC carrying the performance as part of their coverage of the Red Wings home opener against the Toronto Maple Leafs that night. NHL.com and CBCSports.ca will provide live online coverage of the concert co-sponsored by Bud Light, Honda, Scotiabank, Diet Pepsi Max, Sirius XM Radio, XM Canada and Cisco.
The Bud Light Hockey Challenge, a three-day street festival in downtown Montreal, kicks off on Oct. 9 through 11, featuring live entertainment nightly and activities for hockey fans, including competitions on an 18-meter hockey rink in the middle of Crescent Street.
On Friday, the NHL Powered by Reebok store in Manhattan celebrates its first anniversary with a free NHL Face-Off Fan Festival from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Festivities include a sweepstakes for a 2009 Honda Fit Sport automobile. (Honda was named official vehicle of the NHL this week.) NHL alums in attendance will include Terry O’Reilly, Dave Schultz and Ed Olczyk. Live entertainment will be provided by The Zambonis all-hockey rock band.
“NHL Face-Off 2008 represents a unique opportunity to celebrate the
NHL season and engage our fans and partners through various platforms,” said Brian Jennings, NHL executive vice president of marketing, in a statement.
Fans who can’t attend the Oct. 10 fan fest will be able to enter an online sweepstakes to win a trip for two to the 2009 NHL Winter Classic at Wrigley Field on New Year’s Day by visiting faceoffnyc.com throughout October.
