Host City
The 37th All-Star Game marked the first time the event was held in Calgary. The game was held in the two-year old Olympic Saddledome, which had been built following the Flames arrival in Calgary, and in anticipation of the 1988 Winter Olympics. A sell-out crowd of 16,825 attended the game, and the gala also sold out. In total, $100,000 was raised by the Flames which was donated to charity. The traditional black-tie nature of the banquet and gala were eschewed for this game as the hosts asked attendees to dress up in western wear.
Campbell Conference and Edmonton Oilers head coach Glen Sather expressed displeasure that the fans in Calgary did not let go of the Battle of Alberta for the game. He took issue with the fans booing Edmonton's Wayne Gretzky during the player introductions and the game itself. "It's embarrassing when they boo Wayne when he touches the puck. They booed him once before when he was hurt so..." For his part, Gretzky downplayed Sather's concerns: "I've certainly got nothing against them booing me. I kind of get a kick out of it."
Read more about this topic: 37th National Hockey League All-Star Game
Famous quotes containing the words host and/or city:
“A host is like a general: calamities often reveal his genius.”
—Horace [Quintus Horatius Flaccus] (65–8 B.C.)
“The city is a fact in nature, like a cave, a run of mackerel or an ant-heap. But it is also a conscious work of art, and it holds within its communal framework many simpler and more personal forms of art. Mind takes form in the city; and in turn, urban forms condition mind.”
—Lewis Mumford (1895–1990)