Golden Knights, Las Vegas awarded 2022 NHL All-Star Game

Bill Foley’s stance about the NHL All-Star Game coming to Las Vegas evolved over the years.

The Golden Knights owner initially was against the idea, citing the burden that would be placed on the organization’s staff. By last year, Foley had come around and even advocated for the event to take place at T-Mobile Arena.

On Monday, the Knights were selected to host 2022 NHL All-Star Weekend, commissioner Gary Bettman announced before Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final.

Las Vegas also will host the NFL Pro Bowl on Feb. 6 at Allegiant Stadium.

“We’re in a much different situation than we were three years ago, four years ago,” Foley said. “We’re not a mature team, but we’re certainly well organized. And this will be fun. This will be a lot of fun to have everybody in town.”

The NHL event will be scheduled at its traditional midway point of the regular season. The confirmed dates will be announced when available, the league said in a news release.

Ticketing and broadcast information also will be released at a future date.

“It’s very exciting to have the opportunity to host the 2022 NHL All-Star Weekend at T-Mobile Arena,” Knights president and chief operating officer Kerry Bubolz said in a statement. “This is one of the league’s premier events of the year, and we are thrilled to bring fans from around the world to Las Vegas to celebrate hockey. This event will also help continue our growth of the game in Nevada and our surrounding areas.”

The NHL All-Star Game usually takes place the final weekend of January, but next season’s schedule has not been finalized with participation in the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing yet to be determined.

The league and players’ union continue negotiations with the International Olympic Committee and International Ice Hockey Federation, and Bettman indicated there’s concern whether a deal can be completed in time.

The NHL is hoping to release the 2021-22 schedule between the end of the Stanley Cup Final and the NHL Draft, which begins July 23.

“For us, when these all-stars come to town, they’re going to appreciate just how great a city Vegas is and how hockey-ready it is and how engaged our fans are with the Golden Knights,” Foley said. “There’s going to be all kinds of things going on. Las Vegas is a great host city, and we’re done with COVID at that point. There will be a ton of different events and things to go to, opportunities for individuals to see and be around some of these great hockey players.”

H. Fletch Brunelle, vice president of marketing at the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority, said in a statement the tourism agency is “thrilled” by the announcement and that having the opportunity “to host events of this caliber solidifies our position as the sports capital of the world.”

“The excitement around live sports and events is palpable, and from world-class dining and entertainment to the game itself, we look forward to showing hockey fans the only-in-Vegas experiences they’ve come to expect,” Brunelle said.

LVCVA spokeswoman Maria Phelan said the agency doesn’t have any visitation forecasts for All-Star Weekend.

The All-Star Game will be the first high-profile event the Knights have hosted since the expansion draft in 2017. They participated in the NHL Outdoors event in February at Lake Tahoe, but that was officially a Colorado Avalanche home game on the schedule.

The 2021 All-Star Weekend was originally scheduled for Jan. 29-30 in Sunrise, Florida, but was canceled in October because of the condensed, 56-game schedule that resulted from the coronavirus pandemic.

“This really came to fruition, we agreed to host the game, it’s only been within the last couple of weeks,” Foley said.

Since 2016, the All-Star Game featured the league’s biggest stars competing in a three-on-three tournament with teams from each division competing for a winner-take-all $1 million prize. The format for the 2022 All-Star Game has not been confirmed.

There also is a skills competition the day before the All-Star Game featuring events such as the fastest skater and hardest shot. Past all-star weekends included a Fan Fair area and several other public events as part of the festivities.

“We haven’t gotten into the planning stage of all the events we’re going to have and the things we’re going to do,” Foley said.

Max Pacioretty represented the Knights at the All-Star Game in 2020 in St. Louis and scored in the championship game to help the Pacific Division defeat the Atlantic Division.

Goalie Marc-Andre Fleury won the save streak competition at the NHL All-Star Skills event in 2018 and also was selected to play in 2019. He skipped the 2020 event, which took place two months after his father died.

James Neal was chosen for the 2018 All-Star Game along with Knights coach Gerard Gallant, who also was slated to coach the Pacific Division in 2020 until he was fired less than two weeks before the game.

“It’s a real honor,” general manager Kelly McCrimmon said. “I know the organization and the city will do a great job as host. It will be a lot of fun.”

In addition to all-star weekend, the NHL announced two outdoor events.

The Minnesota Wild will host the St. Louis Blues in the Winter Classic on Jan. 1 at Target Field in Minneapolis. The Nashville Predators and Tampa Bay Lightning meet Feb. 26 at Nissan Stadium in Nashville, Tennessee.

Reporter Eli Segall contributed to this story. Contact David Schoen at dschoen@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-5203. Follow @DavidSchoenLVRJ on Twitter.