Author: Suzanne K. Taylor
Eighteen years ago, we tried to show Buffalo off when we hosted the NHL Entry Draft, but instead learned more about her shortcomings.
As we lauded the top ten NHL draft prospects at Marine Midland Arena, we also heard stories about difficulty in transportation, media and prospects who had to stay at hotels out at the airport, nothing to do downtown, and slim pickings of places to eat.
Buffalo’s transformation since that NHL Draft is under the spotlight this week, as the Draft arrives again. The Draft itself has become more of a spectacle since then, and Canalside is ready to host the FanFest on Friday night, complete with games, music, a children’s zone, and Sabres players and alumni, and the draft playing out inside the First Niagara Center shown on two large screens.
The closest space we had to Canalside 18 years ago was the parking lot where HarborCenter now stands. HarborCenter has its place in the festivities, hosting a youth clinic put on by the top prospects Thursday morning. And instead of having to find ways to commute in from hotels at the airport (a frequent question in 1998 was why the otherwise-convenient train didn’t actually go to the airport), two major hotels are now in spitting distance of the FNC, one actually connected by a skywalk.
Even before those were built, the now-First Niagara Center already had hosted a successful IIHF World Juniors Hockey Championship tournament in 2011, where some issues of transportation and access to restaurants were solved with a free shuttle looping through downtown. With help from Canada, the event was such a success that we are scheduled to host again in 2018, adding HarborCenter and Ralph Wilson Stadium to the host venues.
Maybe the NHL Draft isn’t on your radar, and maybe the World Juniors aren’t either. But would you perk up for an All-Star Game? Because the NHL is running an important event in Buffalo, and seeing how well their needs can be accommodated, how well the fans can be entertained, and how much Buffalo has changed from the 1998 NHL Draft hosts. This is our audition for the week-long All-Star Game events, and not a bad look at what we could do with another Winter Classic. Even if the Draft doesn’t interest you, make sure you give directions to that lost-looking stranger, and tell them about the many entertainment options available to them in Buffalo. Bigger things are on the horizon, and we want everyone to know that bigger things are welcome here.
Buffalo will be hosting the NHL Draft from Monday, June 20 through Saturday, June 25. According to Visit Buffalo Niagara (VBN), most every hotel room in the region is booked, and restaurants are reporting a huge uptick in dinner reservations. The economic impact generated throughout the course of the five days is expected to reach $9.2 million, with 11,000 hotel room nights booked.
Tickets are sold out, but between the main event at the arena, fan festival at Canalside and restaurants buzzing with business, we anticipate the week of the Draft to be felt throughout the city.
Hosting the NHL Draft is a big deal for cities. One of the reasons that Buffalo landed the auspicious undertaking is the recent increase of visitor accommodations in the city. A combined effort between The Buffalo Sabres, Pegula Sports & Entertainment, First Niagara Center, HARBORCENTER, Niagara Frontier Transit Authority, Buffalo Niagara Sports Commission and Visit Buffalo Niagara will ensure that visitors to Buffalo will be taken care of in myriad ways. Visitors to Buffalo will include “delegates, media, and staff from all 30 NHL teams and NHL headquarters, prospects and their families.”
A number of events are scheduled to take place, including a fan festival at Canalside.