The NHL unveiled details about the "secure area" in its Toronto bubble, including four practice rinks and 14 "on-site restaurants, bars, pubs and coffee shops only accessible to team personnel," according to Samantha Pell of the WASHINGTON POST. Players also "will have access to tennis courts, golf suites, movie theaters and fitness studios." BMO Field, a "short walk from Hotel X, will be used as an outdoor space for recreational activities, in addition to game viewing and dining options." All practices in Toronto "will take place at Ford Performance Centre, the Maple Leafs' training facility." The NHL "created a concierge system to allow anyone in the bubble to get food, pharmaceutical needs and goods delivered from outside vendors." Meanwhile, in Edmonton's secure zone, the teams "will stay at the Sutton Place Hotel or the JW Marriott" and also "will have access to bars, restaurants, entertainment options and activity spaces." For practices in Edmonton, the NHL is using Rogers Place and Terwillegar Arena, which "has four rinks." As of Friday, there were 150 NHL league office employees and "well over 1,000 people on the ground" in Toronto and Edmonton "working to make the hub cities up to par" before teams arrived yesterday. NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daily said that there were "no positive tests this week." The league, working with LifeLabs in Toronto and DynaLIFE in Edmonton, has been "encouraged by the test results thus far" (WASHINGTON POST, 7/26).
KEEP TO YOURSELVES: In Detroit, Ted Kulfan writes in the secure zones, "don't expect any mixing among teams, and players, at all." NHL Senior Exec VP/Events & Entertainment Steve Mayer said, "It's their interest to be separated. The players' feedback is their interest to be separated throughout. We'll see how that evolves as the tournament moves on." Kulfan noted players "expressed in interviews this week that they cannot imagine mingling going on with friends on other teams." Kulfan also wrote that NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman and Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly "will not be in either Toronto or Edmonton when games begin" (DETROIT NEWS, 7/25). NHL Network’s Ken Daneyko said the “leadership from the top” of the NHL has been “impeccable, and nothing’s perfect but they have made sure and certain that they are going to cover all of their bases, first and foremost with the safety of everybody going into the bubble.” NHL Network's Jamison Croyle said the “safe zone” in Edmonton for the bubble includes fencing along the route from the arena and hotels “that separates the general public from the NHL players, personnel, those that are allowed inside this bubble and extensive testing is going to be required to get inside of this” (NHL Tonight,” NHL Network, 7/24).
VIP LIST: In Las Vegas, David Schoen reported the NHL is "putting the finishing touches on a plan that would grant" Golden Knights Owner Bill Foley and other team owners "access inside arenas to watch the 24-team postseason tournament." Daily in an email wrote, "Not finally resolved yet, but we do expect to be in a position to allow limited attendance by Club owners/executives for their own team's games" (LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL, 7/25). The POST's Pell reported the league is partnering with CLEAR, a "privately run trusted-traveler program that uses fingerprint and iris identification technology to confirm a traveler's identity in airports, to assist in tracking daily player health requirements." In addition to a "mobile app team personnel will use, more than 60 fully integrated CLEAR kiosks also will be deployed across both cities" (WASHINGTON POST, 7/25).
MAKING THE BEST OF IT: NHL execs on Friday said that the league will be "using LED screens, teams' goal songs and play lists and other technology." In L.A., Helene Elliott noted crowd noise "will be piped in from EA Sports' recordings." Mayer said of fans watching at home, "We want to educate, entertain, and visually excite them. We're going to bring these arenas to life through the art of video, audio and lighting" (L.A. TIMES, 7/25). Islanders GM Lou Lamoriello said, "The NHL has worked very hard to try and create some kind of atmosphere. I think the experience is going to be great for the players and for all of us, particularly the fans, because they're going to see live hockey that's going to be televised" (NEWSDAY, 7/26).
SO FAR, SO GOOD: In N.Y., Larry Brooks wrote the two weeks of the NHL's Phase 3 training camp "went so well, it is almost miraculous." Brooks: "That is a credit to the leadership of the NHL and the NHLPA, which worked methodically for months in collaboration with infectious disease experts and health officials across the U.S. and Canada to develop safety protocols" (N.Y. POST, 7/26).
