More than a year of planning is about to turn into execution for the Rockford IceHogs.
The 2026 AHL All-Star Classic presented by BMO is scheduled for Tuesday and Wednesday. The hours, weeks and months of work are largely behind Rockford’s front office, and next week it’s time to go to work.
The BMO Center ice has a new look, with artwork and advertising for the All-Star event. It’s another task that needed to be checked off the organization’s to-do list. It’s back to the regular season next weekend when the Milwaukee Admirals come to town for a pair of home games.
Juggling 36 home dates and the day-to-day work of running a hockey team has been combined with preparing to welcome fans, players, coaches, management and others from across the AHL. IceHog’s president of operations helped orchestrate it Ryan Snider together with Mike Peckthe team’s vice president of marketing, content and operations.
Peck estimates that preparation for the AHL All-Star Classic has made up about 75 percent of the front office’s workload since late December, but that wasn’t a surprise.
“We knew that going in,” Peck continued, “and people had said to us prior to this whole process, ‘Hey, just to be sure, it’s going to take you a lot of time.’ And that’s true, but it’s been a great process. It has been great working with the league office and we are excited to have people from all over the AHL coming to Rockford.”
Snider sees the event coming to Rockford as pivotal on two fronts. It’s a boost for Rockford’s business and economy, especially in mid-February. And it is an opportunity to draw attention to BMO Center.
Snider said more than 800 hotel nights have been booked. Local restaurants and businesses will also host visitors from 31 other AHL markets and elsewhere. Given Rockford’s location close to several Central Division neighbors, there will be an influx of visiting fans of Rockford rivals. This year’s AHL All-Star Classic marks the first appearance in the American Midwest since the Grand Rapids Griffins hosted it in 2004. With a mega airport like Chicago a short drive away, traveling directly from the other side of the AHL map is also an option for fans who live further away.
“It’s a really convenient town,” Peck explained. “There’s everything you need here. We have some great local restaurants, so you’ll find great food. It’s really easy to get around this city.”
When those fans arrive, they will see that more than $30 million in renovations have also gone into refurbishing BMO Center. Opened in 1981, the building hardly resembles its former self. Upgrades include a new scoreboard and sound system, LED ribbon boards, digital dashboards, improvements to the building’s office and club areas, a new bar and a refreshed exterior. It’s a very different building than the one that housed the IceHogs when they joined the AHL in 2007.
Before the AHL All-Star Skills Competition on Tuesday, fans can attend a block party outside the arena. Free and open to the public, the winter-themed event will offer various activities and food options for fans.
“I really think fans are going to be amazed,” Peck said. “I know I’m really excited to show off our building.”
For IceHogs fans, there are longer-term goals of maintaining and expanding a critical part of every hockey team’s business: its season ticket base. The team included the event in season ticket packages.
“We wanted all of our season ticket members to have access to those tickets,” Snider emphasized, “and they really came across strong for us. We moved a large number of tickets into our season ticket base.”
There is also the intangible of civic pride. It can be hard to quantify it exactly, but Snider says he can feel it in Rockford.
“It’s one of those things where the Rockford community can have an event that they can be very proud of,” Snider said, “that they’re able to attract a national event, that we put our name in the hat against other markets out there, and the league puts their trust in us to really execute what is their premier event annually.
“That says a lot about Rockford. And that’s one of the main reasons why we wanted to host this event. It’s really for community pride, to bring something special to this community that they can be proud of, that they can show to the world with the game being broadcast in North America on NHL Network and TSN and regionally here on CHSN.”
“It’s going to put a spotlight on our region, and I think this is something our market can really be proud of.”
From the renovations to strengthening and growing a fan base to the inspiration to host and now the lengthy process of turning that idea into reality, Rockford’s front office is almost there. There’s still some work to be done, but the IceHogs and their city will be able to put on an event they’ll remember long after it’s over.
“It’s been a lot of work,” Peck said, “but we know it will pay off in the end.”
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