CLEVELAND, Ohio \u2013 Cleveland has been named host city for the 2027 AHL All-Star Classic, a multi-day event that will be held at Rocket Arena, the Monsters announced.<\/p>\n
The Classic will be Sunday and Monday, Feb. 7-8. And while the bid went out officially in July, officials said the seeds were actually planted in 2016, when the Monsters won the Calder Cup, the American Hockey League\u2019s championship.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe AHL group was here in 2016,\u201d said Mike Ostrowski, president, franchise properties (Monsters and Cleveland Charge), Rock Entertainment Group, who said 19,665 fans showed up for Game 4 of the finals.<\/p>\n
That game gave league officials a chance to see a high-spirited Cleveland crowd, game presentation, building operations and other amenities.<\/p>\n
\u201cThose are really important components that the league shared with us that went a long way in this decision,\u201d Ostrowski told cleveland.com.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a huge win for us.\u201d<\/p>\n
That victory is a result of collaboration between the Monsters and the league, who \u201care always looking for willing partners and good markets that have the ability to host major events,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Three main criteria are in play: The arena itself, the market and support from connected facilities. And Cleveland checked all three boxes.<\/p>\n
Half the arenas in the league were built after 1994, the year Rocket Arena opened as Gund Arena. But of the 32 arenas in the league, Cleveland\u2019s is the second largest, seating just under 19,000 fans. Only the Calgary Wranglers\u2019 Scotiabank Saddledome holds more, by a few hundred.<\/p>\n
Hotel Cleveland will serve as host hotel connected via the Tower City walkway, the short pathway serving as the \u201cRoad to the All-Star Classic.\u201d<\/p>\n
Also, the market supports minor-league hockey in Cleveland. The Monsters are averaging just more than 11,000 fans per game, Ostrowski said.<\/p>\n
Many of those die-hard and casual fans will get a chance to see the AHL\u2019s best when the puck drops more than a year from now.<\/p>\n
In the old days, an all-star game was just that \u2013 one game, one day, showcase the league\u2019s stars. But the modern format has been around since 1995-96, Ostrowski said. That\u2019s when the game took on \u201cits modern form.\u201d<\/p>\n
It\u2019s known as the all-encompassing \u201cAll-Star Classic.\u201d A committee of league officials and coaches select the players, as they will be doing for the 2026 game, which will be in Rockford, Illinois, Tuesday and Wednesday, Feb 10-11.<\/p>\n
For the classic in Cleveland, here is the schedule so far:<\/p>\n
On Sunday night, Feb. 7, a skills competition composed of seven events is set – fastest skater, hardest shot, accuracy challenge and other tests. A ticketed postgame party for players and fans also is scheduled.<\/p>\n
On Monday, Feb. 8, the challenge will be played. The game is actually a round-robin tournament composed of four divisions with 12 players from each. Also, AHL Hall of Fame induction ceremonies are scheduled.<\/p>\n
AHL Board of Governors traditionally uses the All Star Classic to meet. Other events will be announced, including some sort of fan fest, Ostrowski said.<\/p>\n
Cleveland officials expect the Classic to offer a financial boost in the winter.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe anticipate this could be a major economic impact for the city,\u201d he said. \u201cWe\u2019re anticipating a multiple, seven-figure impact for the event, really a three-day period.\u201d<\/p>\n
If based on attendance, Ostrowski\u2019s prediction might not be far off. Attendance this season is averaging over 11,000, with big weekend games in the 13,000 to 14,000 range.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe think there\u2019s going to be tremendous interest. We expect to have crowds in that range,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
This Saturday, Dec. 20, a teddy-bear toss promotion looks to draw \u201cone of the largest crowds ever for that event, and one of our larger regular-season crowds in franchise history.\u201d<\/p>\n
And when it comes to history, Cleveland has had a nice run with marquee sports events recently.<\/p>\n
In 2019, Progressive Field hosted the Major League All-Star Game. In 2021, the NFL Draft took place downtown over three days, with bands playing and other activities. In 2022, the NBA All-Star Game was held in Rocket Arena. Two years later, the NCAA Women\u2019s Final Four came in, and last month the Women\u2019s National Team USA defeated Team Canada in the opener of a four-game Hockey Rivalry Series.<\/p>\n
The Monsters started in 2007, but Cleveland has had a storied history with hockey, covering multiple teams and leagues, minor and major, over the years.<\/p>\n
On Feb. 3, 1942, the city hosted the first AHL All-Star Game at Cleveland Arena, which had opened in 1937. The East won, 5-4. All-Star Classics also were held here in 1954 and 1957, when the Cleveland Barons faced the AHL All-Stars.<\/p>\n
The AHL has been around since 1936. It is the top development league for the National Hockey League, akin to Class AAA baseball. It currently has six teams based in Canada and 26 in the United States, from California to Connecticut. All are affiliated with NHL teams. The Monsters\u2019 parent club is the Columbus Blue Jackets.<\/p>\n
The league said nearly 90 percent of today\u2019s NHL players competed in the AHL, and more than 100 members of the Hockey Hall of Fame spent time in the AHL.<\/p>\n
Since 1995, more than 94 percent of AHL All-Star Classic players have gone on to compete in the NHL.<\/p>\n
\u201cCleveland stands as a pillar among historic American Hockey League cities, and the Monsters organization is one of our most successful franchises today,\u201d Scott Howson, AHL president and chief executive officer, said in a press release. <\/p>\n
An All-Star ticket pack is on sale, starting at $49, Ostrowski said, and includes tickets for both events, the skills competition and challenge, along with a knit hat. Rocket Entertainment Sports Network will air coverage of the classic and hall of fame ceremony. Individual tickets for the skills competition and challenge will go on sale at a later date. Go to clevelandmonsters.com\/allstar<\/a>.<\/p>\n American Hockey LeagueAtlantic Division<\/p>\n \u2022 Bridgeport Islanders<\/p>\n \u2022 Charlotte Checkers<\/p>\n \u2022 Hartford Wolf Pack<\/p>\n \u2022 Hershey Bears<\/p>\n \u2022 Lehigh Valley Phantoms<\/p>\n \u2022 Providence Bruins<\/p>\n \u2022 Springfield Thunderbirds<\/p>\n \u2022 Wilkes-Barre\/Scranton Penguins<\/p>\n North Division<\/p>\n \u2022 Belleville Senators*<\/p>\n \u2022 Cleveland Monsters<\/p>\n \u2022 Laval Rocket*<\/p>\n \u2022 Rochester Americans<\/p>\n \u2022 Syracuse Crunch<\/p>\n \u2022 Toronto Marlies*<\/p>\n \u2022 Utica Comets<\/p>\n Central Division<\/p>\n \u2022 Chicago Wolves<\/p>\n \u2022 Grand Rapids Griffins<\/p>\n \u2022 Iowa Wild<\/p>\n \u2022 Manitoba Moose*<\/p>\n \u2022 Milwaukee Admirals<\/p>\n \u2022 Rockford IceHogs<\/p>\n \u2022 Texas Stars<\/p>\n Pacific Division<\/p>\n \u2022 Abbotsford Canucks*<\/p>\n \u2022 Bakersfield Condors<\/p>\n \u2022 Calgary Wranglers*<\/p>\n \u2022 Coachella Valley Firebirds<\/p>\n \u2022 Colorado Eagles<\/p>\n \u2022 Henderson Silver Knights<\/p>\n \u2022 Ontario Reign<\/p>\n \u2022 San Diego Gulls<\/p>\n \u2022 San Jose Barracuda<\/p>\n \u2022 Tucson Roadrunners<\/p>\n * indicates Canadian teams.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"CLEVELAND, Ohio \u2013 Cleveland has been named host city for the 2027 AHL All-Star Classic, a multi-day event…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":356311,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[66],"tags":[176632,176633,385,99],"class_list":{"0":"post-356310","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-nhl","8":"tag-cleveland-monsters-2025","9":"tag-laval-rocket-2025","10":"tag-nhl","11":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/356310","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=356310"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/356310\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/356311"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=356310"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=356310"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=356310"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}