This Day in Hockey History – September 27, 1991 – What Happens in Vegas

This time, what happened in Vegas did not stay in Vegas. About quarter of a century before Las Vegas received its own NHL team, it hosted an NHL game. On September 27, 1991, the Los Angeles Kings and New York Rangers met up there for an exhibition match. The trick of it was that, in the middle of the desert, the game was held outside. It was the first outdoor game between two NHL teams.

The crazy idea of setting up an outdoor ice surface in Vegas belonged to the higher-ups of Caesars World Sports. Caesars Palace hotel and casino had been holding large sporting events in their parking lot for years, and shortly after holding an ice-skating show there (in 108-degree heat) in 1988, they decided to import ice hockey. Their president, Rich Rose, commented, “When I went to them with the idea, the only thing they said was, ‘Can it be done?’” Telling them he could make it happen, he proceeded. “I went to the NHL, and once they got over the shock and asked me if I really wanted to do this, they gave their approval.” Rose contacted Kings owner Bruce McNall, who gave his blessing.

So how did they make and keep the ice with temperatures over 80 degrees? They hit the jackpot with Bob May of Ice Systems of America. He had already installed 151 permanent rinks and 14 temporary, including at least one outdoors. May acknowledged, “This was a big challenge.” Still, he took a chance and hedged his bets, installing a rink about 8 feet smaller than normal NHL surfaces at a cost of $135,000.

Rink construction began the week before. First, they laid an “inch-thick Styrofoam insulation atop the concrete of the back lot,” then plastic sheets, and then 300 tons of sand. They cooled 25,000 gallons of water from 88 degrees to 16 in just 2.5 hours by using three times the usual amount of refrigerating equipment, including 22 miles of coiled tubing. Instead of paint, they used fabric to make up the lines showing through the ice. All week they tested for any issues and covered the rink with a protective tent. Upon removing the tent, they used a reflective blanket to protect the ice from the sun.

Unfortunately, the day of the game was almost disastrous. The intermittent rain throughout the morning had already taken its toll on the ice. Then they let the tarp fall to the ice as they were bringing it down around noon. The tarp was about 110 degrees and began melting the ice under it. It took another 90 minutes to remove the tarp from the soupy rink. Fortunately, they had made the ice two inches thick, twice the normal level, so they were able to crank up the refrigeration units. The Zamboni driver, wearing the garb of a Roman soldier, saved the game, which started just 15 minutes late. Despite temperatures in the high 80s, the ice held without any serious issues.

For a sellout crowd of 13,007, the Kings defeated the Rangers 5-2. The Rangers rolled the dice scoring twice in the first period. Throughout the rest of the game, it seemed the Kings held all the cards. After three in a row during the second period, Jari Kurri and Wayne Gretzky cashed in the chips with a goal apiece. It was the debut of Los Angeles’ new Wayne Gretzky-Jari Kurri-Tomas Sandstrom line. Gretzky said later, “We were a little bit in awe and I’m sure [the Rangers] were too. We kept looking at each other and couldn’t believe we were playing hockey in 80-degree weather. But it was real nice.”

The Kings and Rangers intended to meet up again the upcoming Sunday (September 29) for another outdoor exhibition game in Charlotte, North Carolina. The ice there had the opposite problem in that they let it get too cold. When a youth hockey league used the ice that morning, they noticed that it was chipping far too easily. Despite two attempts by the NHL teams to warm up that evening, the chipped sections grew too numerous. Steve Camp, the director there, announced, “We have been advised that the ice does not meet NHL standards. We’re all disappointed.” With the game canceled due to the unsafe ice surface, they sent home about 10,000 fans little more than an hour before the scheduled start time promising refunds would become available midweek. Fan Mark Lange lamented, “They can reimburse my ticket money and they can reimburse my parking, but they can’t reimburse someone’s feelings.” That was the second NHL exhibition in three days canceled due to poor ice conditions.

Additional Sources:

• Mike Commito, Hockey 365: Daily Stories from the Ice (Toronto: Dundurn, 2018), kindle edition.
• Steve Springer, “Sheet of Ice in the Desert? It’s No Mirage,” Los Angeles Times, 27 Sept. 1991, p. C18.
• Steve Springer, “Kings Are Headliners for a Night,” Los Angeles Times, 28 Sept. 1991, pp. C1 and C8.
• “Unsafe Ice Forces Cancellation of Kings’ Game,” and “Notes on a Scorecard,” Los Angeles Times, 30 Sept. 1991, p. C3.