Hockey will be played daily at Comerica Park from Friday through New Year's Eve as a centerpiece of the Hockeytown Winter Festival, a prelude to the NHL Winter Classic in Ann Arbor on Jan. 1.
Downtown games will feature four college teams, six minor league teams and alumni from the Wings and Maple Leafs in a Dec. 31 double-header. (Schedule here.)
Music, NHL Hall of Fame exhibit and other Fan Zone activities outside the ballpark are open to ticket holders.
Michael Martinez looks ahead in The Detroit News and quotes Marty Dobek of the Detroit Sports Commission, a subsidiary of the Metro Detroit Convention and Visitors Bureau:
"There’s going to be a whole lot of people staying downtown, going to bars and restaurants.”
The reporter also speaks with manager Katie Sperry of Cheli’s Chili, a ballpark neighbor:
Sperry said the restaurant will boost its staff from 15 to between 35 and 40 during the festival. It will also offer events such as beer pong tournaments and will have drink specials, including $3 drafts, half-off pitchers of beer and half-off selected appetizers.
“Considering we’re going from having no events to pretty much five full days, it’s a very large boost,” she said. “We’re looking forward to it. . . . We have some fun stuff planned.”
Schedule: Nine hockey games at Comerica Park
Tickets: Game seats include Fan Zone access that day
Fan guide: Click for brochure PDF
