
At the Rink: Inside the Dallas Stars' Wild Month of March Team played six games in 11 days, 12 games in one month after sudden snowstorm By Kristian Hernandez, Associate Editor
Monday, April 19, 2021 - 3:09 pm
Print This Story | Subscribe
Story Highlights
The National Hockey League was the last of the four major U.S. sports leagues to host a non-bubble regular season. As fans gradually make their return to the seats, how is that affecting in-venue productions and digital content? Similar to At the Ballpark, On the Gridiron, and On the Hardwood, At the Rink looks at the operations of NHL organizations to see how they are coping with the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and adapting to a sense of normalcy.
2021 has been a welcome sign for many in the National Hockey League, but down in the Lone Star State, the new year began with a couple of hiccups. After abnormally-cold weather that turned into a winter storm with a lot of snow and a brief COVID-19 outbreak, the Dallas Stars were forced to postpone many of their early home games. Through the diligent work of Director, Game Presentation Kevin Harp and his staff, the in-venue team were able to produce shows for six games in 11 days and 12 total in the month of March.
I've never worked in baseball and always imagined that it was a lot [to handle] with so many games, but I feel like I got a taste of it, he says. It was definitely a challenge.
MORE AT THE RINK INTERVIEWS:
Tampa Bay Lightning's Stanley Cup Banner Ceremony Serves as Reminder of Normalcy During Unusual Year
Toronto Maple Leafs Follow Production Blueprint From 2020 NHL Bubble at Scotiabank Arena
Los Angeles Kings' Wanton Davis Adjusts to His First NHL Season During the COVID-19 Pandemic
Top-Ranked Colorado Avalanche Revel in the Return of Fans
Philadelphia Flyers Flex Potential of 4K Kinetic Centerhung as Fans Return to Wells Fargo Center
Nearly 20 Years in Manitoba, Winnipeg Jets' Kyle Balharry Reflects on Productions at Bell MTS Place
In NHL's North Division, Calgary Flames Keep Battle of Alberta Alive in Empty Scotiabank Saddledome
Detroit Red Wings Cover Motor City Storylines With Three Digital Shows, Hockeytown Home Ice
During First Two Months on the Road, San Jose Sharks Develop Engaging Content in Different Ways
Carolina Hurricanes Sidestep Water Leak To Welcome Fans Back to PNC Arena
Vegas Golden Knights Offer Fortress At Home, Debut Studio for 2020-21 NHL Season
Nashville Predators Harness the Passion of Smashville' at Bridgestone Arena
A Hot Start: Crew Overcomes Lack of Preparation to Raise Western Conference Banner Elements like the Socially Kiss-tant Cam are being played on the videoboard.
The 2019-20 campaign was definitely one to remember. Aside from the roller coaster ride that occurred after the stoppage and resumption of the season, the duo of Jamie Benn and Joe Pavelski led the Stars to their first Stanley Cup appearance since the turn of the century in 1999-2000. Although the squad was defeated by the Tampa Bay Lightning in six games, the franchise wanted to honor them by raising the Western Conference Championship banner during the first home game of the 2021 schedule on Friday, January 22. At the time, without staffers being present in either bubble of the NHL playoffs and only a couple of preseason games, the team hadn't produced a home game at American Airlines Center since Tuesday, March 10, 2020.
Opening night was a bit different for us, says Harp. We almost had to be in mid-season form, but we just didn't have any of that since we haven't played [at home] in 10 months.
One of the biggest obstacles that needed to be addressed was creating an atmosphere that would draw emotion out of their fans. During any ceremony, music plays a vital role in getting the crowd into the desired mindset. After former DJ, Michael Grubes Gruber, accepted a new role with the nearby Texas Rangers, Harp worked with their new DJ, Music Director Jonathon Shippy Shipman, to get through this special moment in franchise history.
We had a lot on our plate, says Harp. We ended up winning 7-0, and that definitely helped a lot, but it was an opening night like never before. [Shipman] did really well that night and he's done well all season long, so I'm pretty happy with how he's progressed.
An Action-Packed March: Team Hosts Long Stretch of Home Games After Sudden Snowstorm The Stud Finder is one way that the franchise is integrating their sponsors.
The current season's structure accounts for a handful of consecutive home games, but the Stars experienced a situation that can be daunting for any trained production professional. The inclement weather forced many professional and collegiate teams around the Dallas-Fort Worth metropolitan area to reschedule games. The Dallas Mavericks, the other organization that plays in American Airlines Center, were impacted by this same winter pattern. Luckily, the NBA franchise only hosted five games in March, which left the venue's operations team with more breathing room to work with. From a production perspective, the club decided to deliver a more straightforward show that didn't involve themed elements.
We made sure we didn't have any theme nights that were running concurrently in one of these blocks of home games, says Harp. We came together and realized that theme nights take a lot of extra work, so our strategy paid dividends for us.
After the final contest of the month against the Florida Panthers on Sunday, March 28, the hellish stretch of games was finally over. Navigating a hefty number of games became a herculean effort to pull off, but the experience showcased the determination and passion of the entire crew.
Walking out of [the arena] after that last game, we were all worn out, he adds. We're all extremely glad that it
Most recent headlines
23/12/2025
How guilas Cibae as Dominican Winter League Games Are Locally Produced for Glob...
23/12/2025
BitFire's Jim Akimchuk on Supplying Scalability and Customization in the Clo...
23/12/2025
CAMB.AI Enables European Athletics to Offer Multi-Language SupportPlan is to eventually offer translation into all languages spoken in EuropeBy Ken Kerschbaumer...
23/12/2025
Analysis: As sports media values trend negative, scarcity and quality are king By Callum McCarthy, Editor-at-Large
Monday, December 22, 2025 - 14:08
Print ...
23/12/2025
ESPN, Disney, and NBA Return to the Animated Altcast Fray With Second Edition of...
23/12/2025
End the Year on a High Note and Donate to the Sports Broadcasting Fund Today! By Ken Kerschbaumer, Editorial Director
Tuesday, December 23, 2025 - 12:25 pm
...
23/12/2025
The year is winding down, the weather outside is frightful, and it's the perfect time to escape into a story that warms the heart. For listeners looking for...
23/12/2025
A Zeus motor is hot fire tested at L3Harris' Camden, Arkansas, solid rocket ...
23/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
23/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
23/12/2025
Lightware will exhibit several major product innovations at ISE 2026, including the new USB-C BOOSTER-V1, Google Meet. integration for various Taurus UCX models...
23/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
23/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
23/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
23/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
23/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
23/12/2025
Taking the Stage at Carnegie Hall-On a Global Scale Boston Conservatory Orchestra students reflect on their epic concert marking the 80th session of the UN Gene...
23/12/2025
Experience the power of WO Automation for Radio's newest service, the System Effectiveness Review. Designed to help you achieve more, a System Effectiveness...
23/12/2025
23 Dec 2025
VEON's Beeline Kazakhstan and Rakuten Symphony Collaborate to A...
23/12/2025
Back to All News
How Steamy Can It Get? Single's Inferno' Season 5 Pre...
23/12/2025
Back to All News
33 Million Global Viewers on Netflix Watched Jake Paul vs. Ant...
23/12/2025
New technique lights up where drugs go in the body, cell by cell Scripps Research scientists developed a technique that maps drug binding in individual cells th...
22/12/2025
SVG New Sponsor Spotlight: Presidio's Neerav Shah on the Role of Its Captiva...
22/12/2025
Hitting the bullseye: Sky Sports readies itself for the biggest PDC World Darts ...
22/12/2025
Unique skillset: Bringing new directors to the world of darts at The Worlds with...
22/12/2025
Gravity Media prepares for a flight of fancy with the PDC World Darts Championsh...
22/12/2025
One hundred and eighty: Gravity Media on hitting the production bullseye at the ...
22/12/2025
The Famous Group's Jon Slusser on Fascinating Fans Through Immersive Content...
22/12/2025
ESPN's Meg Aronowitz on Continuing High-Quality Broadcasts of Collegiate Spo...
22/12/2025
ESPN Takes Data-Driven Storytelling to New Heights with MNF Playbook with Next ...
22/12/2025
For a decade, popular German podcast Fest & Flauschig has hosted an annual Chris...
22/12/2025
Paramount Scores Largest Share Increase Among Distributors as Paramount and CBS...
22/12/2025
New multi-year deal integrates Roku's data to fuel Nielsen's measurement suite
Roku gains access to Nielsen's streaming ratings, showing The Roku C...
22/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
22/12/2025
Berklee Wrapped 2025: Our Top News and Stories A look back at a year highlighted by faculty milestones, major film and television projects, Bob Dylan's ho...
22/12/2025
The works of Plato state that when humans have an experience, some level of change occurs in their brain, which is powered by memory - specifically long-term me...
22/12/2025
Partnership integrates complementary satellite data and AI analytics to enhance security, infrastructure, and environmental monitoring solutions for global cust...
22/12/2025
Workflows allow you to create a sequence of planned events which may be added to your template(s) or inserted directly into your sequential or background playli...
22/12/2025
Monday 22 December 2025
Sky extends PGA TOUR partnership until 2029, as Sky Spo...
22/12/2025
Back to All News
Global Anime Hits and New Releases Take Center Stage at Jump Festa 2026
Entertainment
22 December 2025
GlobalJapan
Link copied to clipboar...
22/12/2025
Siobh n McSweeney, Rory McIlroy, Elon Musk, Catherine Connolly, Jim Gavin, Ivan Yates and Traitor Paudie Moloney lead new characters for Callan Kicks the Year 2...
22/12/2025
Winner announced in the picturesque surroundings of Wicklow's Avondale Tower and Treetop Walk
Andrew Trimble wins the show in his first series as coach
Th...
22/12/2025
The 2025 winners have been announced today, Sunday 21 December, for Ireland's largest choral competition Choirs for Christmas hosted by RT lyric fm.
Ove...
21/12/2025
Back to All News
Legoshi and Haru's Story Reaches Its Finale: BEASTARS Fin...
21/12/2025
John Shortt named Young Sportsperson of the Year Kerry are the Team of the Year
...
20/12/2025
Atomos announced the immediate availability of a new firmware update for its Ninja TX GO and Ninja TX monitor-recorders, unlocking ProRes RAW recording from the...
20/12/2025
CJP Broadcast has completed the digitisation of the European Gymnastics tape archive, converting 328 tapes containing more than forty years of recorded material...
20/12/2025
Bitmovin, the leading provider of video streaming solutions, today announced the launch of the Stream Lab MCP Server, to give AI agents and large language model...
20/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...