Nashville is planning to make changes to tonight's pregame tailgate party for Game 4 of the Stanley Cup Final as a "result of safety and security concerns that arose downtown during Game 3," according to Ebert & Bliss of the Nashville TENNESSEAN. More than 50,000 people descended on Broadway Street in downtown Nashville Saturday night for the "first-ever Stanley Cup Final game held" in the city. There were "multiple entertainment and viewing areas set up outside for fans who came to take part in the excitement of the game." However, complications "arose with a portion of Lower Broadway blocked off with metal guardrails for the free Alan Jackson concert." A free pregame concert featuring Rodney Atkins is scheduled tonight as part of a "pregame tailgate party" from 1:00-6:00pm CT. Tonight's game will be "shown on large screens" starting at 7:00pm. Security checks for Game 3 being "performed to enter the blocked off area caused extra congestion." Nashville Metro Police spokesperson Don Aaron said that "instead of going in, people opted to stand on the sidewalk to watch Jackson's performance." Ebert & Bliss noted fans without tickets to Game 3 arrived at Preds Plaza outside Bridgestone Arena "several hours early with folding chairs to set up outside and watch the big screen." As the crowd swelled, the Bridgestone Arena Public Safety Department "deemed the plaza to be too crowded and an announcement came over the loudspeaker that the plaza needed to be cleared" (Nashville TENNESSEAN, 6/4).
ROCKIN' ATMOSPHERE: TSN.ca's Frank Seravalli wrote the Game 3 scene was a "party the likes of which the NHL had never before seen." Nashville is a city with a "raucous reputation," but the Stanley Cup Final has "ratcheted it up to a whole new level." Nashville is "on the board now, no longer just a novelty, or a non-traditional city proud to host." The Predators have "officially arrived on hockey’s biggest stage" (TSN.ca, 6/3). In Calgary, Eric Francis writes, "I’ve been to a lot of rinks in my life, but never have I had as much fun at a hockey game as I did Saturday at Bridgestone Arena." Anyone who "wondered if it was bad for the NHL to have a small market team housed in a non-traditional market in the Stanley Cup final need only look at the spectacle Music City has made of it for an answer." Francis: "Simply put, the NHL has never seen anything like this." There "couldn’t possibly have been a better place to be in North America Saturday, giving the NHL a spotlight it has rarely enjoyed" (CALGARY HERALD, 6/5). SPORTSNET.ca's Chris Johnston wrote Saturday "will be a day they talk about" in Nashville for a generation, or "maybe longer." Johnston: "Take a bow, Nashville" (SPORTSNET.ca, 6/3). In Pittsburgh, Sean Gentille wrote Game 3 was "wholly positive" for the NHL. The league "needs a Nashville or two -- and not a replica, either." The city, as a hockey market, is "already a success." It "didn’t need this run to prove that." However, the last few weeks have "felt a little different." Gentille: "Validation and recognition count for something, and Nashville (the hockey town) has gotten a whole bunch of it" (POST-GAZETTE.com, 6/4).
CRANK IT UP: In Nashville, Joe Rexrode in a front-page piece writes Bridgestone Arena "created an atmosphere unlike anything the Stanley Cup Final has seen." Game 3 was a "culmination and a showcase of the Nashville fans." Rexrode: "They were noticed" (Nashville TENNESSEAN, 6/5). In Buffalo, Mike Harrington wrote Predators fans "were in epic form" for Game 3. Longtime NHL observers were "wondering how the noise might have matched old Chicago Stadium during some of its halcyon days." Harrington: "As far as NHL arenas go, you'd be hard-pressed to find any like this" (BUFFALO NEWS, 6/4).
