Philadelphia awarded 2014 NHL Entry Draft by Staff Writer / Philadelphia Flyers

The National Hockey League announced today that the Philadelphia Flyers will host the 2014 NHL Entry Draft at the Wells Fargo Center in June of 2014.





"We are truly excited to host the 2014 National Hockey League Entry Draft at the Wells Fargo Center," said Comcast-Spectacor President Peter Luukko. "This is further testament that Philadelphia truly is a hockey town. We just hosted a wonderful Winter Classic last season and, in addition to hosting the 2014 NHL Entry Draft, we soon will be preparing to also host the 2014 NCAA Frozen Four at Wells Fargo Center. What a thrill for not just hockey fans in our region, but for the entire City of Philadelphia. We would like to thank the NHL for selecting Philadelphia as the host city for the 2014 NHL Entry Draft."



The 2014 NHL Entry Draft will be the first draft to be held in Philadelphia. Most recently, the Flyers organization has hosted major successful NHL events including the 2010 NHL Stanley Cup Final and the 2012 Bridgestone NHL Winter Classic, which drew record crowds to the NHL event.



The Wells Fargo Center, one of the busiest arenas in the world, is the home of the Flyers, the Philadelphia 76ers of the National Basketball Association, the Philadelphia Wings of the National Lacrosse League, and the Philadelphia Soul of the Arena Football League.



Operated by Global Spectrum, the public assembly facility management subsidiary of the Flyers' parent company Comcast-Spectacor, the Wells Fargo Center, the 21,000-seat home of the Flyers, has hosted the 1996 World Cup of Hockey, the 1997 and 2010 NHL Stanley Cup Final, the 1998 U.S. Figure Skating Championships, the 1999 American Hockey League All-Star Game, WrestleMania XV (1999), the 2000 Republican National Convention, the 2000 NCAA Women's Final Four, the 2001 NCAA Men's East Regional, the 2001 and 2002 ESPN X Games, the 2001 NBA Finals, the 2002 NBA All Star Weekend, the 2006 and 2009 NCAA Men's Basketball First and Second Round Games, the 2008 U.S. Gymnastics Championships, the 2011 NCAA Wrestling Championships and will host the 2013 NCAA Men's Basketball Second and Third Round Games, the 2014 NCAA Frozen Four and the 2014 NHL Entry Draft.



The NHL Entry Draft has grown significantly since the first such event was held in a hotel ballroom in Montreal in 1963. After 17 years of being conducted in various Montreal hotels and the League office in that city, the Draft sported a new look as the historic Montreal Forum played host to the event in 1980 in front of more than 2,000 spectators.



In 1985, the NHL Entry Draft was held outside Montreal for the first time as a crowd of 7,000 filled the Metro Toronto Convention Centre. Montreal again hosted the Draft in 1986, 1988, 1992 and 2009, and Toronto did the honors in 2002. NHL Draft events have been given an enthusiastic welcome in other cities across North America – including Detroit (1987), Bloomington, Minn. (1989), Vancouver (1990, 2006), Buffalo (1991, 1998), Quebec City (1993), Hartford (1994), Edmonton (1995), St. Louis (1996), Pittsburgh (1997, 2012), Boston (1999), Calgary (2000), Sunrise, Fla. (2001), Nashville (2003), Raleigh (2004), Ottawa (2005, 2008), Columbus (2007), Los Angeles (2010) and St. Paul (2011).



For more information, please visit the official team website, PhiladelphiaFlyers.com.



Comcast-Spectacor (comcast-spectacor.com) is the Philadelphia-based sports and entertainment company which owns the Philadelphia Flyers (NHL), the home arena for both the Flyers and the NBA’s Philadelphia 76ers, the Wells Fargo Center, and four Flyers Skate Zone community ice skating and hockey rinks. In addition, Comcast-Spectacor is also the principal owner of Global Spectrum, the fastest growing firm in the public assembly management field with more than 100 facilities throughout the United States and Canada; Ovations Food Services, a food and beverage service provider; New Era Tickets, a ticketing and marketing company for public assembly facilities; Front Row Marketing Services, a commercial rights sales company; FanOne, a digital fan marketing company; and Paciolan, the leading provider of venue enablement, ticketing, fundraising and marketing technology solutions.

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