Setup Begins For Labatt Blue Street Hockey Tournament
Work is underway down at the Erie Basin Marina in Buffalo for the 5th annual Labatt Blue Street Hockey Tournament. As YNN's Jon Dougherty reports, it's not the setup crews are used to since there's no ice on Lake Erie.
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BUFFALO, N.Y. -- City of Buffalo crews spent Wednesday morning putting more than 1,000 hay bales into place in the parking lot of the Erie Basin Marina in Buffalo. They will become the barriers for this weekend's Labatt Blue Street Hockey Tournament.
The process is very new to the group because it's the first time in the tournament's five year history it will be played on pavement instead of ice.
"This is our first year doing this so it's a learning process for us," Brett Carlsen, Labatt Blue Associate Brand Manager said.
The call was made about a month ago to move from a pond hockey tournament to a street hockey event and organizers are pretty glad they did. There are very little signs of ice on Lake Erie, especially at the marina where 10 or more inches was needed to skate on.
The 3-day tournament will also be a little lighter than in past years. After announcing the move, nearly half of the teams scheduled to compete stepped away. Now, instead of 144 teams, 64 teams and more than 500 players will compete on the parking lot of the marina.
"Disappointed we're not on the ice? A little bit. Thrilled we're still having a tournament," Carlsen said.
The move is actually having a positive impact on city crews and dollars. If the tournament were to be held on ice, crews would need about two weeks worth of work, but now setting up the rinks with about 1,000 hay bales took less than a day. The move saved work time, as well as fuel costs.
Tournament organizers say players and spectators won't notice much of a difference because of the change.
Carlsen said, "In terms of anything we were going to provide as an amenity to the tournament, it's still the same. We didn't want to lessen the experience for our loyal participants that did sign up for street hockey."
The tournament runs Friday through Sunday at the Erie Basin Marina and the public is invited to come down and enjoy some hockey, street hockey that is.
For more information go to www.labattbluepondhockey.com .