Columbus to Host 2015 NHL All-Star Weekend

Columbus have been announced as the host of the 2015 NHL All-Star Weekend, two years later than planned.

Commissioner Gary Bettman made the announcement and said the festivities will take place at Nationwide Arena on Jan. 24-25, 2015.

Columbus was originally awarded the 2013 All-Star Weekend but that event was canceled due to the lockout.

“The commissioner made a promise, and that promise has been kept,” Columbus Mayor Michael Coleman said. “As a politician, that’s always something good to hear.”

Bettman said there was never any serious consideration of taking the next available All-Star Game anywhere but Ohio’s capital city.

“The only issues we had to deal with were logistical,” Bettman said. “We had to make sure that the convention center and hotel space were available. We wanted to come back as quickly as possible, but we had to make sure we were able to do it.”

There won’t be an All-Star Game this season because of the Olympics in Sochi, Russia.

Columbus will become the third straight first-time host of the NHL’s big weekend, following Raleigh, N.C., in 2011, and Ottawa in 2012.