Musco Lighting - NCAA Hockey Cold War

Cold War sends shivers
through hockey fans

Spartan Stadium at Michigan State University was transformed into a hockey arena for the faceoff between No. 1 ranked MSU and No. 4 ranked Michigan. Photo courtesy of Fotoworxs, photographer Anthony J. Vassallo.

“I thought I’d seen everything in hockey. This couldn’t have turned out better. I think it’s pretty obvious that (playing outdoors) is something people are going to look at in the future for their big games.”

— Red Berenson
University of Michigan
Hockey Coach

Never underestimate the power of ideas. The recent success of the “Cold War” — the hockey season opener between No. 1 ranked Michigan State and No. 4 Michigan — demonstrates how effective promotion and a fan-pleasing environment can transform a sporting event into an amazing, spectacular experience.

Hockey is traditionally an indoor event at collegiate and professional levels, with attendance limited to the 15,000 to 25,000 seats of an indoor arena. But an assistant coach’s idea for an outdoor clash between the two top-ranked rivals took on a life of its own, and by the time the puck was dropped on Saturday, Oct. 6, over 74,500 people had poured into Spartan Stadium.

Temporary lighting services by Musco Lighting was key to their success. While the unconventional venue made it possible to accommodate more hockey fans at the event, temporary lighting allowed a later, 7 p.m. primetime start so the contest could be broadcast to millions of hockey fans and introduced to new spectators around the globe. Musco used four Musco Light™ trucks to flood television-broadcast quality light on the temporary ice surface in Spartan Stadium.

Musco has lighted events from Super Bowls to the Olympics, and has worked with the major networks on sport and event lighting for telecast in every sport type.

This event — promoted by a host of mass media including live cut-ins on the Weather Channel, and followed by unprecedented regular season highlights on ESPN’s SportsCenter and a spot on NHL’s Cool Shots This Week — lived up to the hype. MSU scored a goal with 47 seconds remaining to tie the match at 3, forcing overtime before the record-breaking crowd.

The theatrical drama of the event built from the beginning of the evening as the players walked to the rink through a smoke-filled tunnel, and continued with fire-works shot into the sky following the tying goal. With country music singer Shannon Brown entertaining the fans in the first intermission and a laser light show during the second, the capacity crowd never had an idle moment.

This crowd shattered the previous record of 55,000 for a hockey game. The new record more than tripled the college record of 21,576.

“It was amazing,” said MSU’s Adam Hall, who scored the game’s first goal. “I couldn’t feel my body because of all the adrenaline. The crowd was going crazy. It was one of the best feelings I’ve ever had.”

“It’s beautiful to be part of this,” stated Hall of Famer Gordie Howe, who dropped the opening puck. “Somebody had a great deal of imagination to come up with this idea.”

“I thought I’d seen everything in hockey,” said UM coach Red Berenson. “This couldn’t have turned out better. For all the people that worked on it, they did a great job.

“I think it’s pretty obvious that (playing outdoors) is something people are going to look at in the future for their big games,” Berenson continued. “My only advice would be to go for it.”

While this game may seem a curiosity in the record books of hockey, ideas like this may be the spark needed to propel sports of all varieties into broad popularity and profitability.

“I think it might change the perception of the game on how it is viewed by the mass media,” UM play-by-play man Al Randall said. “They found out of Saturday that (hockey) is very marketable and popular, things we’ve known for years.”

All it takes is someone with an idea, and technical support from people who can make it happen. •