St. Louis Blues Slammed for Holding ‘Diversity’ Event on the Road

St. Louis Blues
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Warner Todd Huston

The St. Louis Blues have taken criticism for scheduling a “diversity day” event during an away game, instead of scheduling it during a home game.

The team has announced that its “Hockey Is For Everyone” event is scheduled for March 24, when the Blues go to D.C. to play the Washington Capitals. The scheduling makes the Blues the only NHL team to schedule its diversity night during an away game, ESPN reported.

The Buffalo Sabres is the only other team not holding a diversity night or a gay pride event at home. The Sabers, though, canceled its diversity night in favor of celebrating its 50th anniversary.

The “Hockey Is For Everyone” events are suggested by the league and meant to support “a safe, positive and inclusive environment for players and families regardless of race, color, religion, national origin, gender identity or expression, disability, sexual orientation and socio-economic status,” the leagues says.

The Blues did hold a “Hockey Is For Everyone” event at home last season. And this season, the team has a dozen theme nights including, a “Star Wars Night,” “Teacher Appreciation Night,” “’90s Night,” a “Scouts Night,” among others.

The team took criticism on social media:

LGBTQ advocacy group, Pride St. Louis, blasted the team for holding its diversity day during an away game.

“Pride St. Louis is saddened to hear that the St. Louis Blues have again decided not to openly welcome and support LGBTQIA+ fans in a home game for a Pride Night with the Blues. We ask of the St. Louis Blues a chance to be seen, heard, and supported,” Pride St. Louis said in a statement. “Other NHL teams still have a Pride night in addition to ‘Hockey is for Everyone.’ These teams are using their voice to support the diversity between LGBTQIA+, people of color, physical disabilities, and gender diversity, which is inspiring.”

For its part, the team says that demand for tickets guided the decision to hold a watch party during an away game for its diversity night.

“Due to unprecedented ticket demand and sales following last season’s success, we weren’t able to execute as many ticket promotions as we have in the past. However, instead of forgoing ‘Hockey Is For Everyone’ completely, we wanted to brainstorm ways to continue its application,” Blues vice president of media and brand communications, Mike Caruso, told USA Today.

Caruso went on:

That is where the idea of a watch party came in. This allows us to open the entire building — over 18,000 seats — for the event, instead of having just a couple hundred available for a home game. In addition, it afforded us the opportunity to introduce a charitable element where groups can sell tickets as a fundraiser and get $5 of each sale donated back to their organization. We also have the flexibility to completely tailor our game presentation and in-game activations to the HIFE initiative — something we couldn’t do at a normal home game due to pre-sold sponsorship/partner elements. Our watch parties garnered national acclaim during the playoffs last season, and we are hoping to duplicate that atmosphere with this year’s HIFE event.

Tickets for the diversity night game are set at $10 per seat. Proceeds will benefit “participating organizations and Blues for Kids,” the team said, and the Blues Special Hockey Club and a 3-on-3 girls’ hockey showcase will perform during intermission.

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