Grand Prize Winner to be Awarded $150,000 in Arena Upgrades and Opportunity to Host an NHL® Pre-Season Game Broadcast on NBCSN
Communities across the country have shown their local pride and love of
hockey, and now 10 of them are one step closer to being awarded the
title of Kraft Hockeyville™ USA 2017.
The Kraft Heinz search for America’s most passionate hockey community –
in partnership with the National Hockey League (NHL®), National Hockey
League Players’ Association (NHLPA), NBC Sports Group and USA Hockey –
led to almost 1,300 local rink nominations across the United States,
accounting for nearly 73 percent of rinks nationwide, according to USA
Hockey data. With the nominations now narrowed down to 10 finalists, the
first round of public voting will begin April 11 at www.krafthockeyville.com.
Each of the 10 finalists will be awarded funds for arena upgrades from
Kraft Heinz, and the grand prize winner will be awarded $150,000
and the opportunity to host an NHL® Pre-Season game televised live on
NBCSN.
The 10 communities advancing to the first round of public voting are:
East
-
Bill Gray’s Regional Iceplex – Rochester, N.Y.
-
Falmouth Ice Arena – Falmouth, Mass.
-
Ira S. Wilson Ice Arena – Geneseo, N.Y.
-
Louis Astorino Arena – Hamden, Conn.
-
The Rostraver Ice Gardens – Bell Vernon, Penn.
West
-
Bloomington Ice Garden – Bloomington, Minn.
-
Douglas Ice Arena – Douglas, Wyo.
-
MAYSA Arena – Minot, N.D.
-
Pepsi Ice Center – Bloomington, Ill.
-
Riverside Arena – Austin, Minn.
“We’re excited to be one step closer to naming the most passionate
hockey community in America for 2017, and are astonished by the emotion
and spirit depicted in the nearly 1,300 nominations we received,” said
Nina Barton, Senior Vice President of Marketing, Kraft Heinz. “It’s
going to be a great race to the finish, as each of the top 10 rinks
truly embodies the spirit of Kraft Hockeyville™ USA.”
USA Hockey teamed up with Kraft Heinz on Kraft Hockeyville™ USA
to help support and raise awareness for youth hockey across the country.
All 50 states and the District of Columbia were represented among the
individual rinks nominated.
The first of three rounds of voting to determine the Kraft
Hockeyville™ USA 2017 winner will begin on April 11 - online, via text
and via Twitter. Visit www.krafthockeyville.com
for more details. The voting schedule is as follows:
-
Round 1 (April 11-13) – Top four communities chosen to move on to the
next round; remaining six each receive $10,000 toward arena upgrades.
-
Round 2 (April 18-19) – Top two finalists selected; remaining two each
receive $25,000 toward arena upgrades.
-
Round 3 (April 24-25) – One community will emerge as “Kraft
Hockeyville™ USA” 2017; runner-up will receive $75,000 toward arena
upgrades.
The winning community will be announced on April 29 and will receive the
grand prize of $150,000 and the opportunity to host an NHL® Pre-Season
Game broadcast on NBCSN.
For contest rules, information on nominating a community and complete
program details, visit https://www.krafthockeyville.com.
Kraft Hockeyville™ USA 2017 can also be found at Facebook.com/KraftHockeyvilleUSA
and on Twitter
(@HockeyvilleUSA). Fans can join the conversation using
#HockeyvilleUSA.
NHLPA, National Hockey League Players’ Association and the NHLPA logo
are trademarks of the NHLPA. © NHLPA.
NHL and the NHL Shield are registered trademarks, and HOCKEYVILLE
is a trademark of the National Hockey League. All NHL logos and marks
(including HOCKEYVILLE) and NHL team logos and marks are the property of
the NHL and the respective NHL teams and may not be reproduced without
the prior written consent of NHL Enterprises, L.P. © NHL 2017. All
Rights Reserved.
ABOUT THE KRAFT HEINZ COMPANY
The Kraft Heinz Company (NASDAQ:KHC) is the fifth-largest food and
beverage company in the world, with eight $1 billion+ brands. A globally
trusted producer of delicious foods, The Kraft Heinz Company provides
high quality, great taste and nutrition for all eating occasions whether
at home, in restaurants or on the go. The Company’s iconic brands
include Kraft, Heinz, ABC, Capri Sun, Classico, Jell-O, Kool-Aid,
Lunchables, Maxwell House, Ore-Ida, Oscar Mayer, Philadelphia, Planters,
Plasmon, Quero, Weight Watchers Smart Ones and Velveeta. The Kraft Heinz
Company is dedicated to the sustainable health of our people, our planet
and our Company. For more information, visit www.kraftheinzcompany.com.
ABOUT THE NHL
The National Hockey League (NHL®), founded in 1917, will celebrate its
Centennial anniversary in 2017. The year-long celebration will pay
tribute to 100 years of NHL hockey by honoring the past, commemorating
the present, and celebrating its future. In 2017 the League will also
celebrate 125 years of the most revered trophy in professional sports –
the Stanley Cup®. Comprised of 31 Member Clubs, the NHL is represented
by players from more than 20 countries across team rosters. Each year,
the NHL entertains hundreds of millions of fans around the world. The
League broadcasts games in more than 160 countries and territories
through its rightsholders including NBC/NBCSN in the U.S., Sportsnet and
TVA in Canada, and Viasat in the Nordic Region. The NHL reaches fans
worldwide with games available online in every country including via its
live and on-demand streaming service NHL.TV™. Fans are engaged across
the League’s digital assets on mobile devices via the free NHL® App;
across nine social media platforms; on SiriusXM NHL Network Radio™, and
on NHL.com, available in eight languages and featuring an enhanced
statistics platform powered by SAP, providing the definitive destination
for hockey analytics. The NHL is committed to giving back to the
community through programs including: Hockey is for Everyone™ which
supports nonprofit youth hockey organizations across North America;
Hockey Fights Cancer™ which raises money and awareness for hockey’s most
important fight; NHL Green™ which is committed to the pursuit of
sustainable business practices; and a partnership with the You Can Play
Project, which is committed to supporting the LGBT community and
fighting homophobia in sports. For more information, visit NHL.com.
ABOUT THE NHLPA
The National Hockey League Players’ Association (NHLPA), established in
1967, is a labor organization whose members are the players in the
National Hockey League (NHL). The NHLPA works on behalf of the players
in varied disciplines such as labor relations, product licensing,
marketing, international hockey and community relations, all in
furtherance of its efforts to promote its members and the game of
hockey. In 1999, the NHLPA launched the Goals & Dreams fund as a way for
the players to give something back to the game they love. Over the past
17 years, more than 70,000 deserving children in 34 countries have
benefited from the players' donations of hockey equipment. NHLPA Goals &
Dreams has donated more than $23-million to grassroots hockey programs,
making it the largest program of its kind. For more information on the
NHLPA, please visit www.nhlpa.com.
The Kraft Heinz Company
Caroline Krajewski, 847-646-2567
Caroline.Krajewski@kraftheinzcompany.com
or
United Entertainment Group
Lauren Pfeiffer, 917-595-3161
Lauren.Pfeiffer@uegworldwide.com