Austin, Bloomington In The Running For 'Hockeyville, USA' Competition
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) – Two communities in the "State of Hockey" are in the running for the 2017 title of "Hockeyville, USA."
Austin and Bloomington are the two Minnesota finalists in the annual competition put on Kraft foods. The communities compete for online votes, and the winner of the grand prize receives $150,000 for local ice rink upgrades.
Minnesota Hockey President Dave Margenau said that both Austin and Bloomington are great examples of hockey communities in Minnesota.
"Both of these communities and arenas are very deserving of this honor, and I hope the entire State of Hockey works to get Austin and Bloomington into the next round," he said, in a statement.
The two Minnesota communities are currently in competition with eight other hockey towns across the country. Voting in the round of 10 begins Tuesday and ends Thursday night. (For information on how to vote, click here).
The Minnesota arenas to benefit from the votes are Riverside Area, home to the Austin Packers, and Bloomington Ice Garden, home to several south metro teams and the training ice for multiple hockey stars, including the Wild's Zach Parise.
Austin and Bloomington were two of more than 7,500 communities nominated in this year's Hockeyville USA competition. In the last few years, Minnetonka and St. Michael-Albertville have also been in the running for the grand prize.
Additional prizes for rinks in the competition include a $75,000 runner-up prize, and two $25,000 first place prizes. All communities in the group of 10 automatically receive $10,000.
How To Vote
There are three ways to vote in the Hockeyville USA competition: via the Kraft Hockeyville website, via Twitter, and via text message to 35350. Each voter can vote 50 times using each method every day the competition is open.
