NHL Draft 2018: 15 first-hand takeaways from a weekend in Dallas
By Josh Clark
6. Denny’s Fan Fest
You can’t expect hockey fans to attend a draft solely for the purpose of sitting and listening to names get called for a few hours, right? There has to be some entertainment value added to it in order to gauge fan interest.
That entertainment value turned out to be the Denny’s Fan Fest. The festival took place just outside of the American Airlines Center in the plaza. It began a few hours before round one on Friday evening and went into the late hours of Friday before kickstarting again early on Saturday morning.
It gave fans both from Texas and outside the state a chance to experience an authentic Texas party.
Everyone with a ticket to the draft had access to the festival, though separate tickets for the festival only were also available in the weeks leading up to the draft.
The Fan Fest took a shot at building a Texas-themed party in an effort to give visiting fans a taste of life in The Lone Star State. The plaza opened at noon on Friday and offered a variety of concerts throughout the afternoon. In addition, there was Texas BBQ, a live longhorn to take photos with, a mechanical bull, the Stanley Cup and a Hockey Hall of Fame display, hockey games with the Dallas Stars Street Squad, and a special autograph session with Dallas Stars players and alumni.
The festival halted for the first round of the draft but opened up shortly after when fans flooded out of the doors following the 31st pick. Country singer Chase Rice served as the main headline artist and performed following the first round in front of a raucous and rowdy crowd.
The same events continued into Saturday and ran all day as fans made their way in and out of the building throughout the afternoon.
The Denny’s Fan Fest gave hockey fans a taste of Texas and provided exceptional entertainment for the NHL community throughout the weekend.