NHL cancels Valley stop of Black Hockey History museum tour
Mar 10, 2020, 3:27 PM | Updated: 3:28 pm
(Arizona Coyotes/Courtesy)
(Arizona Coyotes/Courtesy)
The NHL’s Black Hockey History Mobile Tour will not make its scheduled stop in the Valley as they have canceled it due to “health concerns,” the Arizona Coyotes said Tuesday.
The cancellation is the latest in a long list of events across the globe that have been either altered or cancelled entirely because of the outbreak of COVID-19, also known as coronavirus.
The museum was scheduled to make a stop at Tempe Marketplace on March 15 and Gila River Arena on March 16 as part of the journey across 14 NHL cities to celebrate Black History Month 2020.
This is the second year of the NHL Black Hockey History Tour mobile museum, which has already made stops in other cities. The tour was to give fans an opportunity to learn about black achievement in hockey.
Every black player in NHL history was represented in the museum.
“The NHL has a rich history of black and other minority players who have helped shape the game and create memories for fans worldwide,” Kim Davis, an NHL executive, said in the original press release. “We’re proud to share and bring these stories of trailblazers, from Willie O’Ree to today’s superstars, directly to fans in NHL cities coast-to-coast-to-coast.”
O’Ree, the first black player to play in the NHL and ambassador of NHL Diversity and Hockey is For Everyone, was expected to make appearances at select tour stops.
Washington, Detroit, St. Louis, Pittsburgh, Ottawa, Toronto, New Jersey, Nashville, Anaheim, Los Angeles, San Jose, Dallas and Seattle were the other stops slated for the tour.
In the inaugural year, the tour only visited six cities; New York, New Jersey, Nashville, Tampa Bay, Philadelphia and Washington.
