A severe storm rolled through the city of Edmonton, Alberta on Thursday, causing some flooding and damage to Rogers Place, home of the National Hockey League's Edmonton Oilers.
In a statement from the Oilers Entertainment Group on Thursday:
Some videos surfaced of the extent of the damage suffered to Ford Hall:
According to TSN hockey insider Darren Dreger, the NHL is not concerned with the potential damage that the building has suffered.
Sportsnet hockey reporter Chris Johnston adds that the hope is to take care of whatever damage that happened before teams arrive to Edmonton on Sunday, July 26 for the start of the league's Return To Play format.
Edmonton was announced as one of two hub city sites for the NHL's Return To Play plan, which officially commences on Saturday, Aug. 1 with the start of the Stanley Cup Qualifying Round. Rogers Place will host the 12 Western Conference teams competing in this summer's playoffs, and will also be the site for the NHL's Conference Final Rounds, as well as the Stanley Cup Final starting on Tuesday, Sept. 22.
The arena was opened in 2016 and seats around 18,400 fans for hockey games. The facility is owned by the City of Edmonton.