
Tyler has been named Entertainment Director of the Molson Hockey House for the 2010 Olympic Games in Vancouver! Read the news below courtesy of the Vancouver Sun!
Molson’s Hockey House the place to toast Canada's game in style
VANCOUVER — Molson Canadian Hockey House will have it all during the 2010 Olympics — top-flight entertainment, food catered by renowned chef Wolfgang Puck and a chance to rub shoulders with past and present Canadian hockey heroes.
But you can't just walk in and buy a couple of pints to enjoy while watching live games on one of three, 40-foot, high-definition screens.
It will cost $500 a day to get in — or $8,500 for a 17-day pass that includes a private box. Both prices include all the food, beverage and entertainment you can take in at the Olympic hockey hospitality venue.
"When you look at events like the Super Bowl, Formula One and Ryder Cup, we're cheap," said VisionCo. president Jordan Bitove, a partner in the $15-million venue that will operate on the northeast shore of False Creek during the Games. "We're actually a deal and we're all-inclusive with that price."
He expects the venue will host more than 50,000 fans throughout the Games. At $500 a visitor, that works out to total revenues of more than $25 million.
Bitove expects a strong demand will justify the price, but acknowledged prices could drop if the demand falls off. "It was a bull economy when we planned this and now it's a bear [economy], so we're very sensitive to that."
VisionCo. is an equal partner in the venture with Hockey Canada and the International Ice Hockey Federation. Hockey Canada will have a 15,000-square-foot Hockey Canada House for hockey players and their families, while the IIHF will have a 9,000-square-foot lounge for its special guests.
Construction of the 81,000-square-foot facility — to be the largest temporary freestanding pavilion ever built in Canada — will begin on Oct. 15.
Hockey Canada president Bob Nicholson noted that close to 500 relatives of players from the men's and women's hockey teams will enjoy the facilities of Hockey Canada House, along with the players themselves.
"Everything that we do is focused on winning gold," he said. "To attach a whole entertainment [theme] around it will make it that much better."
Vancouver Canucks icon Stan Smyl will be the venue's "official ambassador," hosting special guests and hockey alumni who visit the facility. Former Canuck Trevor Linden also will help out in a similar role.
Games-time appearances at the venue are expected by former NHL stars Paul Coffey, Cam Neely, Luc Robitaille, Peter Mahovlich, Danny Gare and Russ Courtnall.
The facility also will host daily live concerts, with the Barenaked Ladies and comedian Sean Cullen among the scheduled acts. Barenaked Ladies' drummer Tyler Stewart will serve as the venue's entertainment director.
Bitove said Cullen and fellow comedian Brent Butt will create a lot of original hockey entertainment content for the venue, with Cullen working with the men's and women's team and alumni to create a nightly hockey karaoke show.
The venue will operate from 11 a.m. until 2 a.m. daily during the Olympics; more than 350,000 cans of beer are expected to be consumed there during its operation. Wolfgang Puck Catering will cater for all three venues at the facility.