Beach Volleyball At The NHL Stadium Series
An artist rendering of The NHL Stadium Series at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles. What is that in left field? It's a beach volleyball court. Photo: NHL.com
I attended The NHL Winter Classic in Ann Arbor, Michigan. It was the best sporting event I have ever been to. I got to see my Toronto Maple Leafs defeat the Detroit Red Wings in a shootout in the snow-filled open air with 105 000 other hockey fans. It was amazing.
The NHL is gaining serious popularity in the USA. Last week, an article over at Yahoo sports broke down the attendance stats to show that The NHL is selling out more arenas than the NBA. Also amazing.
Cameron this is a volleyball site. Get to the point. When I was at The Winter Classic, I posted the following photo with the caption:
When are we gonna get a showing like this to one of national team matches? If you build it, they will come. Right?
It might not be one of our national team matches, but volleyball is getting a little showcase at another outdoor NHL hockey game. From NHL.com
The stage in right field will feature special pre-game and first intermission performances from legendary rock band and 2014 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Inductees KISS. Local beach volleyball players will play throughout the game on the beach volleyball sand court located in left field. Centerfield will feature palm streets in a nod to the game's Southern California setting.
It would've been pretty cold for a volleyball match in Ann Arbor. The NHL Stadium Series in Los Angeles on the other hand, seems to be perfect. Beach volleyball will have a court in left field for local beach players to play on during the hockey game. I don't know who they plan on bringing in when they say "local players" but some of the best players in the world train out of Los Angeles at this time of year, so I'm hoping for some big names. I did hear from some of my SoCal friends that The NHL had been poking around Manhattan and Hermosa looking for some people to play. Sign me up.
Canadian volleyball player and Michigan Wolverine Jen Cross. Photo: Jen's Brother, I forget his name, it was New Years Eve.
I did have a little volleyball run in at The Winter Classic. I ran into fellow Canadian Jen Cross. Jen is a member of the Michigan women's volleyball program and, like me, a hockey fan. If you haven't seen it already, check out The Volleyball Source Podcast #69, where we speak with Jen about her season.