Greg Wyshynski, ESPN
The NHL has Mexico Town on a cut listing of places for date global video games.
Steve Mayer, leading content material officer for the NHL, instructed ESPN’s “The Drop” podcast this year that “Mexico City is on a short list because our teams are very interested in going there and exploring that market.”
The NHL restarted its International Layout excursions in 2017, enjoying preseason and regular-season video games in conventional hockey markets reminiscent of Sweden and Finland but additionally venturing into extra untested markets. Terminating week, the Arizona Coyotes and Los Angeles Kings performed two preseason video games in Melbourne, Australia, which marked the primary hour the NHL held an match on that continent.
“Our international department and our events department get so many inquiries from all over the world, and we’ve heard from so many people that have done major events in big cities, and they love the fact that hockey can be viable in their countries,” Mayer mentioned.
NHL groups have made inquiries about enjoying video games in markets reminiscent of Mexico Town as smartly.
“There are teams that would really love to go to Mexico,” Mayer mentioned.
The Coyotes particularly have made a push, as a staff that has advertised to Latino lovers in the neighborhood for years.
“I keep telling [the NHL], ‘Guys, I don’t think you understand. If you think there’s a rabid fan base in Australia, any American sport event in Mexico is a massive deal for the country,” mentioned Xavier A. Gutierrez, the Coyotes’ staff president.
Groups such because the Dallas Stars and the Kings have held hockey camps in Mexico Town. One of the crucial NHL’s greatest stars, Auston Matthews of the Toronto Maple Leafs, is of Mexican heritage and has supported the speculation of enjoying video games in that society.
“It’d be awesome to literally play a hockey game in Mexico and just see what happens,” he mentioned in 2021.
As with all NHL video games performed the world over, venue logistics are a number one fear. The video games in Australia, as an example, have been staged inside of Rod Laver Enviornment, which is basically old for tennis fits.
There was hypothesis that the league may walk massive with a sport held inside of Azteca Stadium in Mexico Town, which seats 105,000 lovers. However Mayer mentioned the league may be having a look at indoor sport choices.
“Mexico City, because of climate, might be a little more difficult to go with an outdoor game. But those things are challenges for us that we love to take on,” he mentioned.
The NBA has performed video games in Mexico Town over 30 occasions since 1992. In November, the Atlanta Hawks and the Orlando Magic are enjoying a regular-season sport there on the Enviornment CDMX, which seats over 20,000 lovers.
