Columbus is a frontrunner to host return of the NHL in proposed plan

With some teams telling players to report for workouts on May 15, the future of the current NHL season is still anything but certain. For now, it seems hockey commissioner Gary Bettman is eyeing a a plan to finish out regular season play by centralizing games at four locations. According to a report from the New York Post, Columbus and the facilities at Nationwide Arena are among the frontrunners being considered to host one of these proposed “quadrants,” should the NHL resume play this summer.

BROUGHT TO YOU BY

Hockey blog thehockeywriters.com offers a deep-dive into the many factors that have put Columbus on the short list of candidates for this modified NHL season, including the abundance of hotels in the area of Nationwide Arena, the more-than-adequate facilities of the arena itself, and the encouragingly low number of Covid cases in Franklin County.

While it’s still way, way too early to say whether or not this plan will move forward, it’s encouraging nonetheless to see Columbus recognized as a frontrunner for the return of national televised sports. Just don’t count on sitting in the stands with 80k of your fellow fans anytime soon.

BROUGHT TO YOU BY