STAMFORD, Conn. – Dec. 20, 2016 – Bob Costas, a 27-time Emmy Award-winner who began his professional broadcasting career in St. Louis, will join NBC Sports’ coverage of the 2017 NHL Winter Classic, featuring the Chicago Blackhawks and St. Louis Blues, from Busch Stadium in St. Louis, Mo.
Costas has strong ties to St. Louis. He was the radio play-by-play announcer for the American Basketball Association’s Spirits of St. Louis from 1974 to 1976 on KMOX Radio, hosted “Sports Open Line” on KMOX, and served as the University of Missouri men’s basketball play-by-play voice, prior to joining NBC Sports in 1980. Costas also called a number of Blues games during his time in St. Louis, occasionally substituting for legendary commentator Dan Kelly on KMOX.
“I lived in St. Louis for more than 30 years and I still think of it as my hometown,” Costas said. “I hope I’ll be able to complement our always excellent hockey coverage by adding a bit of hometown perspective about the Blues. The game of course is at Busch Stadium, and all sports fans know what a terrific baseball town St. Louis is. But there is a strong fan attachment to the Blues as well, maybe even more so now because St. Louis has only two major professional sports teams. In that sense, the Blues are pretty much the center of attention for sports fans in St. Louis from November until the start of the baseball season. Before they drop the puck and perhaps between periods, we’ll be able to get into a bit of Blues history and their rivalry with the Blackhawks.”
This marks the sixth occasion that Costas will be a part of NBC Sports’ NHL Winter Classic broadcast team, having previously served as a host for the first five iterations of the event from 2008-2012.
Costas will join NBC Sports’ lead NHL on NBC game commentary crew of Mike ‘Doc’ Emrick (play-by-play), Eddie Olczyk (analyst), and Pierre McGuire (‘Inside-the-Glass analyst). NBC Sports’ NHL studio team of host Liam McHugh and analysts Mike Milbury, Keith Jones, and Jeremy Roenick will handle pre-game, post-game, and intermission coverage on-site at Busch Stadium.
