FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Wednesday, April 11th, 2012

21-FOOT, 6,600-POUND STANLEY CUP TO APPEAR IN TIMES SQUARE APRIL 11-13 TO CELEBRATE START OF NHL’S 2012 STANLEY CUP PLAYOFFS

Replica will serve as water fountain, allowing fans to ‘Drink from the Cup’ and participate in long-standing Stanley Cup tradition NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman, NBC Sports Group Chairman Mark Lazarus & NYC DEP Commissioner Carter Strickland participated in ceremonial unveiling today in Times Square Fountain constructed in partnership with New York Department of Environmental Protection Water-On-the-Go fountain project

NEW YORK, N.Y. – (April 11, 2012) – A 21-foot high, 6,600-pound replica of the Stanley Cup®, the most famous and revered trophy in sports, will take a commanding presence in New York City’s Times Square for three days beginning today. To celebrate the start of the 2012 Stanley Cup Playoffs, which begin tonight, the replica will serve as a working water fountain, allowing NHL® fans and visitors from around the world to ‘Drink from the Cup,’ a time-honored tradition.

 

“One thing the New York Rangers have in common with our City’s tap water: neither can be beat,” said Mayor Bloomberg. “The Stanley Cup replica highlights one of our greatest resources, and helps celebrate the start of what will undoubtedly be an exciting playoff run. I want to thank the NHL and the NBC Sports Group for their partnership, and our City Department of Environmental Protection for their work to keep our water clean.”

 

Liam McHugh, host of NHL Live on the NBC Sports Network, emceed an unveiling ceremony earlier today, attended by Gary Bettman, Commissioner of the NHL, Mark Lazarus, Chairman, NBC Sports Group, and Carter Strickland, NYC DEP Commissioner. Three NHL greats and previous Stanley Cup winners — former New York Ranger Adam Graves, former New York Islander Clark Gillies and former New Jersey Devil Grant Marshall – also participated in the event.

 

“We felt that the enormous amount of coverage we are dedicating to this year’s playoffs, televising every single game nationally for the first time, warranted this enormous Stanley Cup replica in one of the world’s most-trafficked areas,” said Bill Bergofin, Senior Vice President, Marketing, NBC Sports & NBC Sports Network. “It’s been a thrill to work with the NHL and Water on the Go to offer NHL fans the ability to ‘Drink from the Cup.’”

 

“A larger than life event in Times Square is not only the perfect way to launch the Stanley Cup Playoffs but also shows the creative power of our great partners at NBCUniversal,” said NHL Executive Vice President of Marketing Brian Jennings.

 

The event and display is in partnership with the New York City Department of Environmental Protection’s Water-on-the-Go fountains, which promote clean, safe, affordable and delicious NYC water throughout the city. Last year, more than 200,000 New Yorkers enjoyed NYC Water from the Water-On-the-Go fountains in all five boroughs. The water supply provides more than one billion gallons of water each day to more than nine million residents, including eight million in New York City.

 

“When New Yorkers and tourists drink from the Stanley Cup fountain they will be tasting the result of having a water supply that is second to none, brought by an engineering marvel from a pristine watershed,” said DEP Commissioner Carter Strickland. “So when it comes to providing clean, fresh water for more than nine million New Yorkers, you might say the Cup runneth over.”

 

Stanley Cup Fountain Facts

  • When set on the platform, the height of the structure from the ground to the top of the fountain is approximately 21 ½ feet.
  • The entire structure weighs approximately 6,600 lbs.
  • Designers and engineers used the Hockey Hall of Fame’s 3-D renderings and high-resolution images to create a large scale representation of the Stanley Cup.
  • The Stanley Cup fountain will feature 12 industrial fountain pop jets in the upper bowl, shooting water six feet above the Cup.
  • Visitors can drink NYC Water from specific spouts at the base of the fountain with reusable souvenir cups provided by NBC Sports, the NHL and NYC Water
  • In total, the system will pump 120 gallons of water per minute through the structure

Public Hours of Operation (all times Eastern, subject to change):

  • Wednesday, April 11, 11 a.m. – 10 p.m.
  • Thursday, April 12, 8 a.m. – 10 p.m.
  • Friday, April 13, 8 a.m. – 5 p.m.

Today’s event celebrated the start of the 2012 Stanley Cup Playoffs during which, for the first time, every game will be televised nationally, utilizing NBC, the NBC Sports Network, NHL Network, and NBCUniversal’s business channel CNBC in primetime. The NBC Sports Group will provide unprecedented access to the Stanley Cup Playoffs in April, May and June, televising as many as 105 playoff games and possibly more than 262.5 hours of programming.

 

Photos of today’s ceremony will be available at NBCSportsAgency.com and at GettyImages.com.