Nashville Predators to host 2016 NHL All-Star Game

(photo: predators.nhl.com)

The Nashville Predators announced Friday October 17th that in 2016 the team and city will be hosting the 2016 All-Star Game when Commissioner Gary Bettman held a conference in Bridgestone Arena.  In that conference he also said that the economic impact of the All-Star Game is around $20 million.  The game is scheduled for January 31, 2016.  Due to lockouts and the Olympics, the All-Star Game hasn’t been played since 2012 with the Ottawa Senators in Ottawa.

This years All-Star Game will be held in Columbus, Ohio with the Blue Jackets as hosts scheduled for January 25, 2015.

Prior to that, it hadn’t been held in America since 2011 when it was played in Raleigh, North Carolina with the Carolina Hurricanes.  This means the last 3 American All-Star Games have been or will be held in thriving “non-traditional” hockey markets.  According to the Greater Raleigh Convention and Visitors Bureau, the Hurricanes All-Star Game weekend generated about $11 million in direct visitor spending for Raleigh and Wake County.

“Hosting the 2016 NHL All-Star Game is a huge win for Nashville. We have hosted big sporting events like this, and we know it benefits our city in many ways, particularly our downtown and hospitality businesses. I look forward to showcasing the enthusiastic base of hockey supporters in our region and all that Music City has to offer,” said Nashville Mayor Karl Dean in a prepared statement as seen on SBNation.

Lonely Planet has 97 things you can do in Nashville in case you aren’t already excited for this prospect of having a reason to head to the city to see an All-Star Game in person (my favorite will always be to go see the Parthenon because how slim is the chance that you’d ever get to Greece to see the real one?).