Soldier Field And The Blackhawks To Host Outdoor NHL Game in 2014

Soldier Field To Host Hockey Game on March 1, 2014 (picture courtesy of comcastsportsnet.com)

When the NHL announced the Winter Classic would be held at the Big House on the campus of the University of Michigan between the Detroit Red Wings and the Toronto Maple Leafs I had one thing to say. The Blackhawks should host the 2015 Winter Classic at Notre Dame Stadium, but that Soldier Field would be ok too.  It looks like an outdoor game will be held at Soldier Field sooner than 2015.

Multiple reports including Yahoo.com are reporting there will be six outdoor games this upcoming season.  One of those game will be on March 1 with the Chicago Blackhawks hosting the Pittsburgh Penguins.  The Blackhawks hosted the most exciting Winter Classic so far to me at Wrigley Field, and now they get a second shot at an outdoor game at the home of the Monsters of the Midway. Soldier Field had a successful warm-up this winter with a pair of college games.

Besides the Penguins visiting Soldier Field the other 4 games are as follows:

-Anaheim Ducks vs LA Kings at Dodger Stadium-January 25

-New Jersey Devils vs New York Rangers at Yankee Stadium-January 26

-New York Islanders vs New York Rangers at Yankee Stadium-January 29

-Ottawa Senators vs Vancouver Canucks at BC Place- March 2

My comments about this schedule is that having three games in the middle of the bye week for the Super Bowl is superb scheduling by the NHL.  The downside is two games in Yankee Stadium is too much for most of the country outside of the Burroughs of New York to handle.  I don’t understand not going somewhere else, but at least it will be a showcase in the United States biggest city for what is usually one of the worst weekends in all of sports.

This is great news for the city of Chicago and the Chicago Blackhawks.  The Hawks in the Soldier Field is very exciting especially with all the history that goes along with Soldier Field.  There isn’t much going on in the sports world at the beginning of March except late season basketball so the nation will be tuning in to the Hawks and a very talented Penguins team.

Lastly, even though I really enjoy the Winter Classic having six games seems like overkill and my question is will it ruin the novelty of the outdoor game especially if weather doesn’t cooperate during at least one if not more of the events.  One thing is for sure these tickets will sellout within minutes.

What do you think? Are you excited about another outdoor game in Chicago?

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