Mayor Lightfoot pushes bid for Chicago to become NHL hub city

The NHL's Return to Play Plan involves two cities being selected as hub cities. These cities will host seeding round-robins, a qualifying round, and the Stanley Cup playoffs.

Chicago's Mayor, Lori Lightfoot, knows that Chicago is one of the ten cities being considered. Lightfoot said that their proposal highlighted the city's ability to accommodate the players. The United Center has four possible dressing rooms in addition to game ice. There are also two ice sheets for practices at the Fifth Third Arena, which is close by, and several other nearby rinks if needed.

“Although I expect the playoffs to be probably fan-less, we're still very well situated to accommodate the league and the players,” Lightfoot said. “We have plenty of hotel space and got a great culture life here. I think everything they would want to put on with a best-in-class playoff experience is here in Chicago.”

Lightfoot pointed out that Chicago has hotels that are connected to restaurants, movie theaters, bowling alleys, and other entertainment outlets. This would be useful in accommodating players and staff who would need to remain in a “community bubble.”

“The biggest upside is announcing to the world that Chicago is back,” said Lightfoot. “We are an international tourist destination, and rightly so. Our business community is aligned with their obligations to provide safe experiences for their employees and their customers. And so, we can provide the kind of safe, and fun experience the NHL is looking for.”

The state of Illinois has had a consistently decreasing rate of confirmed COVID-19 cases. This will certainly play a major role in the NHL's decision. According to the Illinois Department of Public Health, the state had a seven-day rolling average of 2,302 cases as of May 24. As of Saturday, the average was down to 712.

“If I didn't feel like we were on a downward trajectory both in terms of number of cases, new cases reported and all the other public-health metrics, I could not feel comfortable,” Lightfoot said. “But we have worked extraordinarily hard over these last three months to put us in a position, and first and foremost our priority is our residents, that our residents would have confidence that we have engaged in a robust public-health response to this deadly virus.”

source: The Athletic

MUST READ

12 minutes ago  |  By Skyler Walker Rasmus Dahlin faces cheating accusations after controversial moment in Game 4 vs. Montreal

58 minutes ago  |  By Skyler Walker The Edmonton Oilers have reportedly made their decision on a once-beloved member: Kris Knoblauch is gone

1 hour ago  |  By Skyler Walker Arber Xhekaj receives the kind of news that Canadiens fans feared

1 hour ago  |  By Danny Potvin Steve Staios may target goalie many fans have given up on

2 hours ago  |  By Danny Potvin NHL Player Safety faces pressure after controversial Canadiens hit in Game 4

3 hours ago  |  By Danny Potvin Dirty hit on Ryan Poehling leads to major NHL Player Safety decision

4 hours ago  |  By Danny Potvin Insiders are circling a possible date for Kris Knoblauch's firing

5 hours ago  |  By Danny Potvin Breaking: Maple Leafs fire Craig Berube after disaster 78-point season

MORE STORIES