EDMONTON -- The Edmonton Oilers and Alberta Premier Jason Kenney continued their push Monday to make Edmonton one of the two hub cities that host the NHL playoffs this summer.
Over the weekend the NHL narrowed its potential hub cities from 10 to six: Edmonton, Vancouver, Toronto, Las Vegas, Los Angeles and Chicago.
If the NHL chooses Edmonton, players on all 12 teams would stay at the JW Marriott connected to Rogers Place. The Oilers Entertainment Group would turn the Ice District into an "Olympic village" which will have golf simulators, basketball courts, ping pong and pool tables, video games, movie nights, live entertainment, lounge areas and rooftop patios.
OEG is also working with local golf courses and restaurants to have NHL personnel golf without the public on certain days and have food delivered to the bubble.
Every team will have access to the Oilers training facility, as well as a 50,000-sq. ft. facility inside the hotel.
The NHL is expected to choose the two hub cities later this week or early next week.
KENNEY CAMPAIGNS FOR ALBERTA
To entertain family members while the players finish out the season, the Oilers have coordinated with Alberta Tourism to create vacation experiences in Banff, Canmore, Jasper and Lake Louise.
In a tweet that has drawn some criticism because the video only shows Edmonton for four seconds out of one minute, Premier Kenney said the capital city is the "obvious choice" before he focused on Alberta as a whole.
TSN Edmonton reporter Ryan Rishaug explained the video showcasing Alberta's mountain towns and rocky landscapes are "part of the pitch to families."
Edmontonians that wanted to see more of their city in the pitch to the NHL complained or made jokes to Kenney on Twitter.
