Carolina to Host 2011 All-Star Game

by FanHouse Newswire

Filed under: Hurricanes, NHL All Star Game

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) -- The NHL awarded the 2011 All-Star game to the Carolina Hurricanes on Thursday, coming through on a pledge commissioner Gary Bettman once made to the franchise.

"You have all been asking me for years when the All-Star game was coming to Raleigh," Bettman told a crowd of about 1,000 Hurricanes fans who packed the RBC Center's lawn. "I did make a promise a number of years ago. So, today, I will fulfill that promise."

Next year's game originally was to be played in Phoenix, but when the Coyotes filed for bankruptcy, the league re-opened its options. Bettman estimated that 14 teams applied either to host All-Star games from 2011-13 or upcoming NHL drafts.

Telling the other franchises that "your time will come," Bettman said awarding the game to Carolina "is a testimony to the strength of this franchise."

 

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