5 neutral sites the NHL could play at if the 2019-20 season resumes
By Mary Clarke
The NHL is looking at all options for if and when the league can resume its season. If the NHL does decide to go with neutral sites as an option, where could they play?
The current season pause for many sports leagues across the world has caused many to start thinking outside of the box for ways to resume their seasons when it is safe enough to do so. The NHL is one such league, as for the last month since the league shuttered its doors its been looking at every possible avenue for a potential return.
One such idea that has surfaced — alongside increasing the playoff format to 24 teams and playing the playoffs in the late summer — is the idea of neutral site games. Whether it be regular season or playoffs, the idea has been thrown around of the NHL playing neutral site games in cities and states that have been less impacted by the coronavirus.
The idea does not come without its own host of caveats, which includes sequestering players from their family for possibly months at a time. It’s an operation that would need to be done with the highest level of care in the safest way possible, or else risk infection to many people involved.
The NHL has, for its part, stated it has yet to look into the idea of neutral site playoffs. In a recent interview for ESPN, NHLPA executive director Donald Fehr stated that the NHL has heard about the idea, but has yet to discuss it in full.
“Other than the general understanding that they’re looking at all possibilities, which includes neutral sites — neutral being defined as a place that isn’t a home base for an NHL team,” Fehr told ESPN. “We haven’t had those discussions yet.”
Instead, the league has been getting pitches from cities and venues across North America to possibly host a neutral site playoff, but nothing has been set in stone.
Still, the idea is an intriguing one. A handful of cities have already been talked about, but let’s add a few more to that list. Here are five cities the NHL could host a neutral site playoff at if the season can resume.
Grand Forks, North Dakota
One of the biggest sites mentioned in the neutral site idea is North Dakota. Specifically, Ralph Engelstad Arena in Grand Forks, North Dakota. The arena seats over 11,000 people and is called the “Taj Mahal of hockey” for its unusual design choices that are unlike what is often seen in hockey rinks.
Of course, the seating capacity of a rink does not matter — as no fans would likely be in attendance for neutral site games — but the idea of holding games in a big rink is a curious decision. Hockey games with no fans are going to be weird no matter how you slice it, but playing in a large rink may only exacerbate the problem for those watching on television.
Still, Ralph Engelstad Arena holds a lot of hockey history and — without a NHL team in North Dakota — would no doubt have the in-arena facilities to host teams as needed. The biggest question then would be if Grand Forks has the hotel capacity to hold essential team members, arena workers and broadcast crews.
If the NHL can get the kinks worked out of the logistics of it all, North Dakota may be the most attractive neutral site the league can find.