Severe storm causes flooding and damage to Rogers Place in Edmonton

“A significant storm came through Edmonton earlier this evening. As a result, Rogers Place has suffered some water damage to the terminus of Ford Hall, along with some smaller leaks in other parts of the building."

“We are assessing the damage and at this time are confident that it will not hamper our planning and preparation and we will be ready to host the return of NHL hockey as [a> hub city.”

Some videos surfaced of the extent of the damage suffered to Ford Hall:

The supposed Rogers Place flooding video has been deleted from /r/EdmontonOilers but I saved a backup (sound not stitched, unfortunately - Reddit's system is kinda weird) pic.twitter.com/E3r8AFyIz2

— Jeff Veillette (@JeffVeillette) July 16, 2020

Ruh roh @ctvedmonton #yegstorm pic.twitter.com/5sMzFPeu24

— Steph Del Alba (@StephDelAlba) July 17, 2020

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.

The initial hope is there will be plenty of time to clean this up before the NHL's planned restart in the building. The first scheduled event there is a CGY/EDM exhibition game on July 28.

— Chris Johnston (@reporterchris) July 17, 2020

On Friday, the folks at Rogers Place released a statement on Twitter regarding the damage sustained to the building during the storm. The cause of the damage was due to "significant water flow mixed with hail, which led to excess pressure on the facility's storm drainage system causing two pipe couplings to fail." However, they say that crews are already beginning the cleanup process and believe that it will have no effect on either Oilers training camp or the preparations for the Return To Play plan.

Crews have begun work on the affected areas & we do not foresee any significant delays or barriers to either #Oilers training camp or preparations & activities related to our hosting as @NHL hub city for the 2020 #StanleyCup Playoffs.

— Rogers Place (@RogersPlace) July 17, 2020

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.