Forty-six years ago this February, the U.S. men\u2019s Olympic hockey team inspired belief in miracles with its long-shot victory over the Soviet Union during the medal round of the 1980 Winter Games.<\/p>\n
On Jan. 15, the key players will return to Lake Placid, N.Y., for a unique celebration \u2014 some in hologram form.<\/p>\n
The event, called \u201cRun Back the Miracle,\u201d is being staged by Michelob Ultra with support from the New York State Olympic Regional Development Authority, which owns and operates Herb Brooks Arena, the host of both this event and the \u201cMiracle on Ice.\u201d <\/p>\n
It will include a large-scale, holographic recreation of highlights from the game \u2014 courtesy of a network of laser projectors shooting content onto a 180-by-20-foot \u201cHologauze\u201d screen from hologram effects company Holotronica \u2014 and in-person appearances from legends associated with it, ranging from then-ABC commentator Al Michaels to former U.S. hockey players Jim Craig and Mike Eruzione.<\/p>\n
For Michelob Ultra, which became the official beer sponsor of USA Hockey (which is not involved in this event) in December and has individual endorsement deals with American NHL stars Brady and Matthew Tkachuk, the project started with two questions.<\/p>\n
\u201cHow can we celebrate one of the greatest moments in sport? How can we drive anticipation for the 2026 Winter Olympics, knowing that hockey will be front and center in the Winter Olympics this year?\u201d said Ricardo Marques, Michelob Ultra\u2019s senior vice president of marketing. \u201cThe answer to that was very clear: We need to go back to Lake Placid.\u201d<\/p>\n
Herb Brooks Arena will condense its typical capacity of 7,700 to 1,800 to optimize attendees\u2019 vantage points and allow for the holographic illusion to extend into the stands as well as the ice. There is no entry fee for fans (age 21 and above) who register their name and email address with Michelob Ultra. With space limited, demand is high. More than a week in advance, Michelob Ultra said it had received more than 6,500 sign-ups, creating a lengthy waitlist. It also will produce a 30-minute special of the event to stream on Peacock after the fact, beginning Feb. 3.<\/p>\n
Chadd Cassidy, ORDA\u2019s vice president of legacy venues, called it a \u201cfirst of its kind\u201d event for the venue.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe game in 1980 was something that changed the course of history for Lake Placid,\u201d Cassidy said. \u201cAlong with the movie \u2018Miracle,\u2019 which gave us a bump in terms of people\u2019s recognition of what happened here, we feel like this is the next step of putting it back on people\u2019s radar in remembering and feeling what happened here in 1980.\u201d<\/p>\n