The 2026 AHL All-Star Classic is set to take place at the BMO Center in Rockford on Feb 10 and 11 while the NHL is on their Olympic break. We now know where the 2027 AHL All-Star Classic will take place.
The AHL Board of Governors has unanimously approved the Cleveland Monsters as the hosts of the 2027 AHL All-Star Classic. Rocket Arena will be the site of the AHL All-Star Skills Competition on Sunday Feb 7 and the AHL All-Star Challenge on Monday Feb 8.
The AHL Hall of Fame Induction and Awards Ceremony will be held on that Monday morning. There will be other events taking place with those details being announced at a later date.
Cleveland is one of the bedrock franchises in the AHL with a rich history and massive fan following. The Monsters again led the AHL in 2024-25 in attendance averaging over 11,400 fans per game.
Rocket Arena is a world-class facility that is home to the NBA’s Cleveland Cavaliers. If the “Loudville” section (the upper bowl) isn’t curtained off, the arena can hold close to 19,000 fans for hockey.
Rocket Arena will host the 2027 AHL All-Star Classic. (Photo credit: Mark Scheig/The Hockey Writers)
This marks just the second time in Cleveland hockey history that an All-Star Game has taken place. In the 1941-42 season, the old Cleveland Arena played host to the inaugural All-Star Game in which funds were raised for the Red Cross.
With the Monsters NHL affiliate located just two hours down I-71 in Columbus, this announcement comes with a level of excitement for hockey fans all over the state of Ohio. Former Blue Jackets’ GM Scott Howson, who is now the AHL’s President and Chief Executive Officer, had this to say about the Classic coming to Cleveland.
“Cleveland stands as a pillar among historic American Hockey League cities, and the Monsters
organization is one of our most successful franchises today. We are excited to be bringing our showcase event to Rocket Arena and the city of Cleveland in 2027.”
How did this all come to be? And what can fans expect now? The Hockey Writers was able to talk with Cleveland Monsters’ Team President Mike Ostrowski and Monsters’ head coach Trent Vogelhuber, who coached in the AHL All-Star Classic in 2024.
This has been in the works over the course of several years.
How It All Came Together
Cleveland has always had a lot going for themselves in terms of not only their geographic location, but what they’ve been able to do in hosting other major events. Among the big events in recent years Rocket Arena has hosted were the 2022 NBA All-Star Game, the 2024 NCAA Women’s Final Four as well as the recently completed USA Hockey Rivalry Series.
Ostrowski says their expertise at these events helped them be able to land this opportunity for the AHL All-Star Classic.
“We’ve talked to the league for several years about this,” Ostrowski said. “They’re always talking to teams about interest level. And we have expressed that we thought we’d be a really great venue, market and city for this. And then as the league is looking for partners in future years, really just having dialogue about the opportunity.”
“(The AHL) is looking for good hosts that really have a desire, energy and excitement to make it great. We definitely shared those same viewpoints on the event. It just kind of came together as we submitted our bid. The league was excited about it. We had the building dates open and it was able to come together.”
When it came to putting the bid together, Ostrowski says that not only was Rocket Arena a big part of it, the recent renovations inside the arena played to their advantage. Let him explain.
“I think one of the main things that we thought we had a really competitive advantage on was just our building. Rocket Arena is one of the best arenas in the country. We just went through a building transformation about six years ago that added a huge, new atrium. Over 45,000 or so square feet to the front side of our building that has a ton of event space options for the different events that the league has for this All-Star Classic. But really, it was mainly about us really wanting it and the league wanting to have a really good venue and a great partner that was excited about the event.”
Inside look at Rocket Arena. (Photo credit: Mark Scheig, the Hockey Writers)
Coach Vogelhuber has been in the Monsters’ organization both as a player and a coach. He knows what the city of Cleveland has to offer for fans coming in. He echoed Ostrowski’s feelings about the excitement of the event and what it will mean to the city and team.
“I think the thing that makes Cleveland great is the people,” Vogelhuber said. “It’s a good, warm (welcoming) midwest city. People are friendly and people from Cleveland have so much pride. It’s a big city with a ton of fun stuff to do. The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame stands out. Three major sports teams that you can go watch and the museums. The parks are the top of the line as far as the country go. The lake is beautiful even in the wintertime.”
“There’s countless things to do and see. It’s right on the water. And the food. It’s an old city with a rich kind of cultural, diverse background. The food is unbelievable. These old restaurants have been here for decades. I think that speaks to Cleveland itself. It’s an undercover city. You don’t know how good it is until you spend some time here. Looking forward for sure to people around the league and hockey fans that are able to come experience it if they haven’t yet.”
Next Steps/What’s To Come
With the 2027 AHL All-Star Classic just under 14 months away, the Monsters will be actively involved now making sure everything is ready for the big event. They want to make sure that their local fans get the most out of this experience.
Ostrowski opened up about some things fans will be able to look forward to as we now countdown to Feb 2027.
“I think one of the most exciting things (is) we want all of our Monsters’ fans, first and foremost, to have access to this opportunity first,” Ostrowski said. “One of the exciting things is as we go out with our season ticket membership for the 2026-27 season, these two events, the Skills Competition on Sunday and then the All-Star Challenge on Monday will be components of the Monsters Hockey Club package. We want to make sure our fans have access to the best seats and to their seat locations for both events. We know they’ll be excited about that.”
“General public fans, you can go to clevelandmonsters.com/allstar and find out all of the All-Star Classic information for 2027. And we’re actually making packages available immediately. We’re going to have what’s called our All-Star Pack, which will gain general public fans access to both the Skills Competition and the All-Star Challenge. Both events that can guarantee seats and they can also get an exclusive with every pack that they purchase and AHL All-Star Cleveland hat starting at only $49. There’s different seating options with that but fans can secure seats right away so that’s really exciting.”
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The historic Hotel Cleveland will be the designated host hotel for the events. Another perk to being in Cleveland is having access to Tower City and the walkway which will connect fans to the arena, hotels and shopping without having to step outside. Other arrangements are being worked on and will be announced in the near future.
Ostrowski believes the economic impact of the AHL All-Star Classic will top multiple seven figures for Cleveland and northeast Ohio. Given how easy access is to Cleveland, they are expecting fans from across the country to be able to get there and enjoy everything the city have to offer.
Fans can also stay tuned not only to the Monsters but also to the Greater Cleveland Sports Commission as they will be working together to help run this event. This will include potential volunteer opportunities that might come up down the road.
In the end, this opportunity for Cleveland and the Monsters has been years in the making through various conversations and expressions of interest. There is a palpable excitement that can be felt by everyone involved with this announcement. The AHL’s best will be on full display at Rocket Arena in 2027.
Cleveland has had the Calder Cup Finals and an outdoor game in recent memory. Now they’ll be able to add AHL All-Star Classic to that list. Only appropriate for the city who hosted the very first one to host it again in 2027.
Cleveland is one of the AHL’s best markets. Thanks to their fans and the way things are run by the Monsters, they earned this opportunity. It should be an amazing couple of days on the shores of Lake Erie.
