FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Minneapolis or Hockeyapolis? You decide.

Minneapolis is your winter destination for all things hockey and beyond

MINNEAPOLIS, Jan. 9, 2014 Scoring a hat trick of sorts, Minneapolis in 2014 is home to the Hockey City Classic, the annual favorite U.S. Pond Hockey Championships and the National Collegiate Hockey Conference championships inaugural season. Bringing thousands of fans and skates to the city, Minneapolis has earned its Hockeyapolis moniker, however the visitor experience goes far beyond the ice. Experience the endless attractions, hot hotels, plentiful restaurants and events Minneapolis has to offer both indoors and out this winter in the City by Nature. Enter the Hockeyapolis Giveaway winter sweepstakes daily for chances to get it all for free or drive home in a new Chevy Volt at go.minneapolis.org.

Why Hockeyapolis?

Minneapolis love of hockey is full strength with the Hockey City Classic doubleheader on Jan. 17 at University of Minnesotas TCF Bank Stadium. The college hockey doubleheader will showcase the Golden Gopher womens team vs. Minnesota State at 4:30 p.m. and mens team vs. Ohio State at 8 p.m. in the first outdoor college games in Minnesota in over eight decades. The National Collegiate Hockey Conference (NCHC) will also host its first championship at Target Center March 21 and 22. And, for those holding true to tradition, the 2014 U.S. Pond Hockey Championships will be held Jan. 17-19 on Lake Nokomis for an outdoor experience reminiscent of the way hockey was originally played.

Details on these sporting events and more can be found at www.minneapolis.org/events-winter.

Win a Chevy Volt or weekly Minneapolis trip packages while saving big all winter

Hockey fans and all Minneapolis visitors can get in on the action this winter with the help of go.minneapolis.org, the exclusive experiences and savings website for any excursion to Minneapolis. To celebrate the hockey season in a city that lives and breathes it, go.minneapolis.org has launched a Hockeyapolis Giveaway: One lucky grand-prize winner will skate into the drivers seat of a brand-new Chevy Volt with a free 36-month lease and seven weekly winners will receive hockey-hotel-dining packages that include game tickets to Minnesota Wild and NCHC games. Enter daily for more chances to win. Official rules and requirements are available at http://go.minneapolis.org/giveaway.

Watch, play and stay

After all the on-ice action, head to the Hockeyapolis version of the warming house: Minneapolis many cozy restaurants, like Bryant Lake Bowl, Red Stag Supperclub, Mannys, Chino Latino and CRAVE will serve up dining and drinks to energize you for more Minneapolis fun. Tax-free clothing and shoe shopping, live theater and music performances, world-class museums and consumer shows at the Minneapolis Convention Center like the Minneapolis Boat Show, Home & Garden Show, Twin Cities Auto Show and many more will fill your itinerary quickly. Other winter sporting activities are available, too. The City of Lakes Loppet, an incredible cross-country ski festival Jan. 31 through Feb. 2, includes events like the Luminary Loppet that will delight spectators and athletes of all ages and highlight the Chain of Lakes and Theodore Wirth Park.

With so much to do, driving home can wait. Stay the night (or two!) at hotels from trendy to traditional, like our Courtyard Minneapolis Downtown, Hilton Minneapolis, Millennium Hotel Minneapolis and Minneapolis Marriott City Center, all whom have money-saving deals available daily at go.minneapolis.org.

PHOTO - CUTLINE

The Minneapolis, City by Nature Chevy Volt will be given away to a lucky winner from entries received at go.minneapolis.org in the Hockeyapolis Giveaway sweepstakes sponsored by Meet Minneapolis.

ABOUT MEET MINNEAPOLIS

Meet Minneapolis is a private, not-for-profit, member-based association. It actively promotes and sells the Minneapolis area as a destination for conventions and meetings, works to maximize the visitor experience and markets the city as a desirable tourist destination to maximize the economic benefit of the greater Minneapolis area.

Meet Minneapolis is accredited by the Destination Marketing Accreditation Program (DMAP) of the Destination Marketing Association International.

Online: www.minneapolis.org and go.minneapolis.org

On Facebook: www.facebook.com/meetminneapolis?ref=ts

On Twitter: http://twitter.com/meetminneapolis

On Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/meetminneapolis/

MEDIA CONTACT

Kristen Montag, media communications manager, 612.767.8038, kristenm@minneapolis.org, @Minneapolis_PR on Twitter.

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