East Grand Forks, Minn., made a strong run, but in the end finished runner-up to El Paso, Texas, in the Hockeyville USA contest for 2020.
The NHL, the NHL Players Association and Kraft Heinz announced Sunday night that El Paso won the online competition and will receive $150,000 in upgrades to the El Paso Community Center, plus $10,000 in new equipment from the NHL Goals & Dreams Fund.
The East Grand Forks Civic Center will receive $30,000 in arena upgrades as runner-up, while the other two finalists – River Falls, Wis., and Wichita, Kan. – will receive $10,000 each in arena upgrades. In addition, each will receive $10,000 in new equipment.
East Grand Forks is in the planning stages of upgrades for its Civic Center and VFW Memorial Arena, which needs ice plants to be replaced. For River Falls, upgrades will go to the Wildcat Centre.
The Hockeyville contest began in 2006 with Canadian entries and expanded to include a U.S. competition beginning in 2015. No Minnesota community has won the title. East Grand Forks joins Bloomington (2017) as a runner-up, and Sartell made the final four in 2019.
As the contest winner, El Paso also will be host to a community celebration, which in the past has included an NHL exhibition game. Details on the celebration will be announced later.
