While it’s going to warm up in the next 48 hours, “All-Star Weekend” (even though it’s Thursday) began with a chilly Nashville morning inside and out of the gloriously large Music City Center across from Bridgestone Arena, smack dab in the middle of downtown.
Outside the MCC, the city and Predators organization have teamed up to really throw their weight around with the color gold and have turned the city into a beautiful spectacle for the rest of the hockey world to take in.
Inside the MCC — more importantly, inside the main exhibit hall — the NHL Fan Fair started out with a couple important big wigs, some kids and a boatload of mascots:
Ribbon cutting pic.twitter.com/2Eu4Gz9x6c
— Kristopher Martel (@kmartel_sports) January 28, 2016
The hall itself is huge, over 300,000 square feet of space and each of the booths not too far smashed together. In fact, there is a ton of empty space, making it easy for folks to really stretch their legs and get a good walk through the entire complex.
A look inside the exhibit hall for the NHL Fan Fair pic.twitter.com/r6GEUt9X1d
— Kristopher Martel (@kmartel_sports) January 28, 2016
There is, and I say this with not a joke inside me, something for everyone inside the Fan Fair. Especially this Velveeta fountain, which seems to have been designed specifically for the sports blogger set.
Looking for skills competition tests? They got it. Free Mountain Dew? They got it. Virtual Reality? Check.
Merchandising, merchandising, merchandising? Mark it down.
They even have a cool smoking helmet!
And don’t forget the whole collection of league trophies. They are beautiful. You must check it out if you are here. You can even touch the Stanley Cup!
If you have time, make your way down to Nashville over the course of the next 96 hours and check out what they have inside the MCC at the NHL Fan Fair. You won’t be disappointed, that much is for sure.