The Vegas Golden Knights and Seattle Kraken warm up prior to the game at T-Mobile Park on January 01, 2024 in Seattle, Washington. (Photo by Alika Jenner/Getty Images)
(Photo by Alika Jenner/Getty Images)
SALT LAKE CITY – As the Utah Hockey Club continues to acclimate to a new home amidst their inaugural season, Chris Armstrong and the front office have been busy working on both current and future plans. One of those includes the potential of hosting a future outdoor game in the NHL’s newest destination.
Per Chris Armstrong,
An outdoor game is a possibility here in Utah and the organization is already in conversations to try and make that happen sooner rather than later.#UtahHC
— Cole Bagley (@BagleyKSLsports) December 20, 2024
Since 2008, the National Hockey League has hosted a collection of outdoor games headlined by the annual Winter Classic.
Normally hosted on New Years Day, two teams are selected to participate in an outdoor hockey game. In the past, cities such as Buffalo, Philadelphia, Boston, Pittsburgh, Ann Arbor and Seattle have hosted the extraordinary event.
According to Utah Hockey Club President Chris Armstrong, the organization has already engaged the league about the potential of an outdoor game in the Beehive State.
“I definitely would say it’s a possibility & something we’re already in discussions about with the league. There’s a couple of great venues locally that would make an incredible atmosphere for a game like that. We’re going to try to make that happen sooner rather than later,” Armstrong told Jeremiah Jensen on the KSL Sports Zone.
In years past, each Winter Classic has been hosted in either an MLB, NFL or College football stadium.
Without an NFL or MLB team in Utah, two local venues that make the most sense to host an outdoor NHL game would either be Rice Eccles or Lavell Edwards Stadium.
Currently, Lavell Edwards boasts the larger capacity with more than 62,000 seats. As for Rice Eccles, which already hosted the opening and closing ceremonies for the 2002 Winter Olympics, it has a capacity of more than 51,000.
While either would be a great venue for hockey, Rice Eccles proximity to Salt Lake City and familiarity with the Olympics make for a solid argument while Lavell Edwards is notably bigger.
Regardless of the venue, Utah would be a perfect setting for an outdoor NHL game.
With gorgeous winter backdrops, a familiarity with winter sports and a growing fanbase, the NHL should strongly consider the Utah Hockey Club as a host in the near future.
The Utah Hockey Club will now travel to Minnesota to face the Wild on Friday night. The game can be viewed on SEG+. Fans can also tune in on air on the KSL Sports APP or on 97.5 and 1280 The Zone. Click here for the full schedule.
