St. Louis Blues and Los Angeles Kings To Meet in Kansas City For Pre Season Game

Writers Note: As a Kansas City native, I must first comment that this might be the most exciting moment since my first Kansas City Blades game.

Today at 3:41pm Eastern time, the St. Louis Blues and Los Angeles Kings announced they would meet at the new Sprint Center in Kansas City on Monday, Sept. 22, 2008. The game is expected to be at 7:05pm.

Luc Robitaille, President of the Los Angeles Kings Hockey Club, and Al MacInnIs, St. Louis Blues Hall of Famer, joined General Manager of Sprint Center, Brenda Tinnen, in making the announcement at the Sprint Center today.

“Sprint Center is delighted to host two storied franchises at our first-ever preseason NHL game,” said Brenda Tinnen, “We look forward to welcoming hockey fans from throughout the region -- showcasing both Kansas City and our venue.”

Sprint Center opened on Oct. 10, 2007 and was built as Kansas City's hope in landing the Pittsburgh Penguins. After an agreement was made between the Penguins organization and the city of Pittsburgh, many Kansas City hockey faithfuls figured pro hockey would never again be seen in the City of Fountains.

If Kansas City hockey fans still want to prove to the NHL or AHL they deserve a hockey team, this may well be their only chance. With a packed to the seams Sprint Center for the Kings/Blues game, Kansas City could prove to Gary Bettman and the NHL the city deserves a team.

I have fond memories as a kid going to Kansas City Blades games. They're some of the happiest memories I have of times I shared with my father. I hope this game can be the first step to bringing hockey back to Kansas City, so that maybe one day I can show my son where I was born, and treat him to a hockey game in Kansas City. With this breaking news I'm already looking into a trip to KC for the game!

Image: features a look of the Kansas City Skyline on the left, and Sprint Center on the right. Courtesy of kansascityfrontpage.com

Original Article:

http://blues.nhl.com/team/app/?service=page&page=NewsPage&articleid=364713