Tampa to hosts 2018 NHL All-Star Game in January

by Erik Erlendsson | @Erik_Erlendsson | Like us on Facebook
May 29, 2017

The Stars of winter will fly south to Tampa.

The NHL officially announced that 2018 All-Star weekend will be held at on Jan. 27-28 at Amalie Arena. The skills competition will be held on the 27th while the All-Star Game, a 3-on-3 tournament format, will take place the afternoon on Jan. 28.

This will be the second time Tampa will serve as host for the NHL All-Star Weekend; the first was in 1999.

The news was first reported two weeks ago but was made official by the league on Monday just prior to puck drop of Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final.

{mprestriction ids=”1,2″}

Landing a signature league event has been a goal of Lightning owner Jeff Vinik since the early days of his tenure. Since purchasing the team in 2010, Vinik has poured nearly $90 million in to upgrades at Amalie Arena, including the signature organ located on the upper deck, the video scoreboard that spans blue line to blue line, replacing all the seats and including cup holders, inserting the tesla coils, upgrading the HVAC system and most recently adding the new loge area. And there is more to come inside the building.

Vinik has lobbied NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman continuously over the past few years. On Monday, it paid off.

”We’ve worked hard over the past several years to transform Tampa Bay into a hockey market,’’ Vinik said in a release. “The honor of hosting the All-Star game validates that work, but it’s not the end of our efforts. We pledge to work alongside the NHL as well as leaders across Tampa Bay to deliver a world class experience for All-Star players, fans and partners.’’

All-Star weekend will coincide with the annual Gasparilla festivities in and around downtown Tampa, making for a busy weekend that the league is already embracing.

”In addition to the events on the ice, we’re planning outside activities which will embrace the Tampa Bay community and Gasparilla events — as well as the Florida sunshine,’’ Bettman said in the release. “We know Jeff Vinik, the Lightning and AMALIE Arena will be outstanding hosts as the NHL family gathers for our mid-season showcase.’’

With Monday’s announcement of holding an All-Star game for the 2017-18 season, it all but closes the door on the league sending its players to the 2018 Olympics in South Korea, ending a run of five consecutive Winter Olympics in which the league has gone on hiatus for nearly a month in order for players to represent their countries in the hockey tournament on the global stage.

Instead the league will shut down for the weekend and assemble in Tampa with the league’s biggest and brightest stars sharing the same ice. It marks the second time All-Star weekend will be held in Tampa, the last coming in 1999, which proved to be the final All-Star Game for Wayne Gretzky.

{/mprestriction}