BY: Kelly Masse, Hockey Hall-Of-Fame
TORONTO (July 10, 2020) – Lanny McDonald, Chairman of the Hockey Hall of Fame announced today that the Hockey Hall of Fame will re-open to the public on Wednesday, July 15th after closing on Saturday, March 14th due to the unprecedented circumstances resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We are fortunate that all of our staff are healthy and Ontarians have followed the governmental guidelines and principals, which will allow the Hockey Hall of Fame to officially re-open on July 15th,” said McDonald. “The Hall’s top priority is the health and safety of our guests and staff. To that end, we have worked on stringent protocols that adhere to the Province of Ontario’s stage 2 re-opening guidelines.”
All guests are required to wear a mask when entering Brookfield Place and the Hockey Hall of Fame (the Hall will provide complimentary disposable masks and gloves); the Hall will implement physical distancing; complimentary stylus pens will be given out to use on the touch screens and hand sanitizers are available throughout the facility. All Hockey Hall of Fame front-line staff will wear face shields and gloves and will have their temperature taken prior to each shift.
Popular exhibits – “9 & 99” Howe and Gretzky and “The Changing Face of Hockey: Diversity in our Game” will be extended to December 31, 2020. The newly renovated “Lord Stanley’s Vault”, which houses the original Stanley Cup bowl dating back to 1893 and the magnificent Stanley Cup Championship ring display housed within the Esso Great Hall, is the highlight of any visit. Guests visiting during this time will have access to most areas, but due to the Government of Ontario’s Stage 2 re-opening guidelines guests will not be allowed to touch the Stanley Cup or access some interactive exhibits until further notice.
To kick off the re-opening, senior staff members will be on the museum floor to assist with the guests’ experience; as a special offer for our re-opening, Phil Pritchard, Hockey Hall of Fame Vice-President, Resource Centre and Curator, and “Keeper of the Cup” will be on-hand for photo ops alongside the Stanley Cup in the Esso Great Hall (its permanent location) on Wednesday, July 15th and Thursday, July 16th to enhance the guest experience.
To help regulate physical distancing and related capacity limitations, the Hall is offering “Priority Admission Tickets” and “Live Attendance Tracker”, which will be available via HHOF.com. “We look forward to welcoming our guests back to experience the best that hockey has to offer and its greatest and largest collection of hockey artifacts in the world,” said Pritchard.
About the Hockey Hall of Fame
The Hockey Hall of Fame (“HHOF”) was established in 1943 to honor and memorialize individuals who have brought special distinction to the game of hockey and those who made outstanding contributions to the development and advancement of hockey anywhere in the world and to collect, research, preserve, exhibit and promote objects, images and other historical materials connected with the game at all levels. As a not-for-profit corporation and registered charity, HHOF owns and operates a museum and place of entertainment offering state-of-the-art exhibits, theatrical presentations, and educational programming from its premises at Brookfield Place, Toronto, Canada.
