CLEVELAND (WJW) — History is set to be made at FirstEnergy Stadium this weekend when the puck drops for an outdoor hockey series at the home of the Cleveland Browns.
Faceoff on the Lake is at 4 p.m. Saturday, February 18.
“Oh, it’s going to be a blast,” Director of Stadium Operations Brad Mohr said. “The Muni Lot is going to be open. Yeah, It’ll be like a Browns game. It’s gonna be fun.”
Final preparations are underway for a building process that started at the beginning of February. Mohr said it’s a massive challenge to transform the football field into a hockey rink, especially with rising temperatures this week.
“The rink we started building on about February 2,” Mohr said. “So that’s the better part of three weeks to getting the rink up. It’s a Herculean effort, but I think it’s going to pay off. This is going to be cool.”
Two games will be featured this weekend, but the main attraction is Faceoff on the Lake — a showdown between the Ohio State Buckeyes‘ and Michigan Wolverines‘ hockey programs.
“We’re really looking at this as something for the citizens of Northeast Ohio to come down, enjoy it, in this incredible environment,” Mohr said. “I mean how often do you get to do this? It’s cool.”
The ice is currently covered with tarps to make sure the ice doesn’t melt, and the chiller is running around the clock.
Mohr said the Browns are hopeful that these events can become mainstays, hopefully creating new hockey fans in the process.
“How big this sport can be, how fun this sport can be in this kind of environment,” he said.
The OSU vs. Michigan rivalry also features two brothers from Strongsville who will be facing off on the ice. Dylan Duke is a sophomore forward for the Wolverines and Tyler Duke is a freshman defenseman for the Buckeyes.
Mohr said tickets are moving fast.
“We’re at about 50,000 distributed number at this point,” he said. “So, if you want to get here get going, move quick.”
Tickets can be purchased through Ticketmaster. There is also a community skating event planned for Feb. 22, and Monsters Hockey on March 4.
TRAFFIC:
Vehicles commuting into Downtown Cleveland are recommended to use alternate traffic routes and minimize usage of the Shoreway’s E 9th Street, Lakeside Avenue/W 6th Street and W 3rd Street.
Similar to Browns home games in 2022, road closures of East 9th and West 3rd Streets will be implemented between Lakeside Avenue and FirstEnergy Stadium, including Shoreway/State Route 2 exits around the stadium. Rolling road closures will begin approximately two hours prior to kickoff and end after postgame egress is complete.
Recommended entry points to Downtown Cleveland are W 25th Street off Eastbound Route 2 when approaching from the west side of Cleveland and Superior Avenue off 90 W when coming from the east side. Additionally, this recommendation to use W 25th Street off Eastbound Route 2 is notable as W 6th Street will be closed as part of the rolling pregame road closures.
The North Coast Harbor Lot, Great Lakes Science Center Garage and Orange Lot are reserved for individuals who secure passes prior to the event (no cash parking), except for ADA parking needs.
Parking passes can be purchased via Ticketmaster ahead of the event, as quantities remain available, since cash parking will not be available on gameday.
During the road closures that begin approximately 120 minutes prior to the event’s start (see above), all parking pass holders and guests with disability drop-offs will only be able to reach FirstEnergy Stadium by use of North Marginal Road from East 55th Street (Exit 175 on I-90).
Please note that RTA service on the Waterfront Line remains suspended due to safety concerns related to the Waterfront Line Bridge. RTA will not be able to provide alternate service due to normal gameday congestion and street closures. Fans riding the Red, Green or Blue Lines to Tower City are directed to walk north on West 3rd Street to FirstEnergy Stadium.
