Preds Awarded League Funds to Grow Girls Hockey, Learn to Skate Programs

Nashville, Tenn. (October 15, 2020) - The Nashville Predators and Ford Ice Centers, in conjunction with the National Hockey League and National Hockey League Players' Association, will invest $504,000 into the development of girls hockey and learn to skate programs in Middle Tennessee over the next two years as part of the League's Industry Growth Fund (IGF). These funds were awarded to the organization in part due to the success of Ford Ice Center Bellevue, which celebrates its one-year anniversary of operation this week.

"Growing the sport of hockey has always been at the forefront of our organization, and we are incredibly grateful for the NHL and NHLPA's continued support of our efforts," Predators President and CEO Sean Henry said. "The investment both organizations have made in our girls hockey and learn to skate programs through the Industry Growth Fund will further help us achieve our goal of making hockey and skating more accessible in the Smashville community. This new grant gives us an opportunity to further build on the foundation we laid six years ago in Antioch and made even stronger one year ago by opening Ford Ice Center Bellevue."
The NHL/NHLPA's Industry Growth Fund is supported by all 32 member clubs and was established as a result of the 2013 Collective Bargaining Agreement to help market and promote hockey in NHL cities. A committee made up of both NHL and NHLPA representatives reviews team applications for funds and makes appropriation decisions for IGF money.
The Predators began their IGF grant application process early in 2020 and centered their proposal around the growth of girls hockey and learn to skate programs. In the last half decade, with the addition of Ford Ice Center Bellevue bringing two additional ice sheets to Middle Tennessee and Ford Ice Center Antioch's sustained growth, youth hockey participation in the state has risen at an exponential rate, with many of the Predators' current programs initially funded in part by a previous IGF grant that was awarded to the organization in November 2015.
The latest IGF grant awarded to the Predators will help further expand programs designed to break down barriers for participation in hockey in our community.
The Predators will use the IGF money earmarked for girls hockey to enhance the program the organization launched last year, which introduced more than 150 girls to the sport. These funds will help put 350 girls - regardless of experience level - into a 15-20 week training program featuring on-ice teaching led by the USA Hockey certified coaches at both Ford Ice Centers. The grant will pay for all training sessions, all equipment and for a full season of hockey to help ensure healthy growth of the area's girls hockey base. Additionally, the IGF money will allow the Predators to host two girls hockey tournaments that will be completely free of an entry fee for all participating teams. These two tournaments, with one scheduled for the 2020-21 season and one for the 2021-22 season, will include upwards of 30 teams of all levels and age groups from across the country. Including the more than 150 girls who hit the ice to play hockey under the Preds' umbrella this past year, more than 900 will be able to participate in this program each year with help from the IGF grant.
The second portion of the funds received through the IGF will go to the Predators' Go Skate! program. Go Skate! is an entry-level ice-skating program presented by the Scott Hamilton Skating Academy and Ford Ice Centers designed to help new participants learn to skate and get introduced to the different styles of skating. Since its implementation more than four years ago, Go Skate! has put over 1,800 kids through its learn to skate program, helping Tennessee become one of the country's fastest growing states for youth skating participation. Using IGF funds, Go Skate! will allow 600 kids in the next two years to learn to skate, with all participants receiving a free pair of hockey skates upon completion of seven weeks of programming. The Go Skate! program will be available at both Ford Ice Centers and is scheduled to launch in late winter of 2021.
In total, it is projected that more than 2,500 people will receive exposure to the game of hockey as a result of this round of IGF funding.
The Predators previously received IGF funding in November 2015 when the organization was awarded more than $4 million to invest in the development of youth hockey in Middle Tennessee. More than 75,000 people in the Middle Tennessee area were introduced to hockey as a result of the initial round of IGF funding that went to six different programs in the ball and street hockey, rink development and diversity segments.