CLEVELAND — Let the battle begin!
While FirstEnergy Stadium is typically home to the Cleveland Browns, it has been transformed into an ice rink for this weekend’s Faceoff On The Lake, which features a men's college hockey matchup between the Ohio State Buckeyes and Michigan Wolverines.
The battle takes place Saturday, Feb. 18 with puck drop scheduled for 4 p.m. Tickets are still available for Faceoff On The Lake, which you can buy HERE.
“We are excited to be welcoming a youngster from the city of Cleveland to join us for the ceremonial puck drop," explains Jenner Tekancic, Browns VP of Community Relations. "He plays our flag football program and also plays hockey, so it will be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for his family.”
But that's not all...
Since the rink is already set up inside the stadium, the Browns are also offering opportunities for the public to strap on some skates and hit the ice. Tickets for the public skates -- set for Feb. 22 and Feb. 25 -- are up for sale HERE.
Rental skates are included with the price of a ticket. All tickets are non-refundable unless ice time is canceled due to weather conditions.
The City of Cleveland has released the following information on traffic and parking information:
- Fans are strongly encouraged to arrive in Downtown Cleveland prior to 2 p.m. for Saturday’s 4 p.m. start, particularly due to road closures.
- Fans should also proceed to FirstEnergy Stadium early in order to ensure they are able to enter the game and be in their seats prior to puck-drop.
- Vehicles commuting into Downtown Cleveland are recommended to use alternate traffic routes and minimize usage of the Shoreway’s E 9th Street, Lakeside Avenue/W 6th Street and W 3rd Street.
- Similar to Browns home games in 2022, road closures of East 9th and West 3rd Streets will be implemented between Lakeside Avenue and FirstEnergy Stadium, including Shoreway/State Route 2 exits around the stadium. Rolling road closures will begin approximately two hours prior to kickoff and end after postgame egress is complete.
- Recommended entry points to Downtown Cleveland are W 25th Street off Eastbound Route 2 when approaching from the west side of Cleveland and Superior Avenue off 90 W when coming from the east side. Additionally, this recommendation to use W 25th Street off Eastbound Route 2 is notable as W 6th Street will be closed as part of the rolling pregame road closures.
- The North Coast Harbor Lot, Great Lakes Science Center Garage and Orange Lot are reserved for individuals who secure passes prior to the event (no cash parking), except for ADA parking needs.
- Parking passes can be purchased via Ticketmaster ahead of the event, as quantities remain available, since cash parking will not be available on gameday.
- During the road closures that begin approximately 120 minutes prior to the event’s start (see above), all parking pass holders and guests with disability drop-offs will only be able to reach FirstEnergy Stadium by use of North Marginal Road from East 55th Street (Exit 175 on I-90).
This will be the fourth and final meeting of the regular season between 10th-ranked Ohio State (17-11-3, 10-9-2 Big Ten Conference) and No. 4 Michigan (20-9-2, 12-8-1), with the previous three matchups seeing each of the archrivals win a game followed by a tie. The latter result occurred Thursday in Columbus, with the Buckeyes also winning a shootout to help their standing in the Big Ten.
On Friday, OSU unveiled the special uniforms they'll be wearing this weekend, featuring colors and numerals that harken back to the football team's jerseys of the early 1940s.