Hometown Hockey Returns to Hamilton

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Published September 10, 2019 at 1:41 pm

If there’s one thing Hamilton is known for, it’s our dedication to hockey. Well, maybe our devotion to the Ti-Cats, then hockey.

If there’s one thing Hamilton is known for, it’s our dedication to hockey. Well, maybe our devotion to the Ti-Cats, then hockey.

That appreciation for the beloved game is being recognized as Sportsnet announced on Tuesday (Sept. 10) that Hamilton has been picked as one of 25 communities across Canada to host the Rogers Hometown Hockey tour this hockey season.

In its sixth season, the touring hockey festival visits a different Canadian city or town each weekend between Oct and April.

“Hamilton is a proud and passionate sports town with a long hockey heritage, reaching back to the 1920s with our Hamilton Tigers and bragging rights for Canada’s very first Tim Hortons in 1964,” said Mayor Fred Eisenberger in a press release.

“I am delighted that we will once again welcome Rogers Hometown Hockey Tour to our city and celebrate Hamilton’s love of hockey with the entire nation.”

The Tour will arrive at the Morgan Firestone Arena in Ancaster on Saturday, January 18, 2020, and continue through Sunday, January 19.

The festival, which is free to attend, features live entertainment, appearances by NHL alumni, as well as a host of other seasonally appropriate, hockey-themed activities. Local hockey teams can participate in a short parade and two members from local hockey organizations will be chosen to help select and present the 3 Stars of the evening’s NHL game with Ron MacLean and Tara Slone.

The weekend is typically capped off with an outdoor viewing party of an NHL broadcast from the Sportsnet Moblie Studio. MacLean and Slone will chat about local grassroots hockey stories and tales of local players that helped build Hamilton’s hockey community.

Hamilton first hosted the Hockey Tour in 2016. Nearly 20,000 people attended the event.

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