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Outdoor 'Classic' important part of NHL season
Source: Agencies |
January 1, 2009, Thursday
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ICE hockey returns to its outdoor roots for the second year in a row when the Chicago Blackhawks and Detroit Red Wings clash at Wrigley Field today in what has become a New Year's Day tradition.
For the NHL, the outdoor concept that began as a novelty has blossomed into one of its biggest marketing events and a US television ratings bonanza attracting curious and casual fans to a sport desperate to broaden its appeal.
"The rating (last year) is one thing and it was a very, very good number for hockey," said NBC sportscaster Bob Costas, who will call the game. "But buzz is a different thing and for the week after that, everywhere I went it seemed, people were remarking about the game and how different it seemed and how it jumped out from the sport landscape."
The first outdoor game of the modern era was played in Edmonton, the NHL's most northern outpost, in November 2003 when over 51,000 fans braved Arctic-like conditions to watch the hometown Oilers take on the Montreal Canadiens in what was billed as the Heritage Classic.
The NHL then staged the first Winter Classic last New Year's Day - Sidney Crosby scoring in overtime in a driving snowstorm to earn the Pittsburgh Penguins a victory over the Buffalo Sabres.
The game attracted an NHL-record crowd of 71,217 to Ralph Wilson stadium. The television ratings were the highest for a regular season game in the United States since 1996.
Now, Russia's fledgling Kontinental Hockey League is scheduling its first All-Star game for January 10 in Moscow's Red Square. Organizers of the 2010 world championships in Germany will stage the opener at the Schalke 04 soccer club's home stadium.
There is also no shortage of cities lining up to host a Winter Classic and the NHL signalled it is ready to now make this an annual event by purchasing state-of-the-art refrigeration and ice-making systems for a reported US$2 million.
For the NHL, the outdoor concept that began as a novelty has blossomed into one of its biggest marketing events and a US television ratings bonanza attracting curious and casual fans to a sport desperate to broaden its appeal.
"The rating (last year) is one thing and it was a very, very good number for hockey," said NBC sportscaster Bob Costas, who will call the game. "But buzz is a different thing and for the week after that, everywhere I went it seemed, people were remarking about the game and how different it seemed and how it jumped out from the sport landscape."
The first outdoor game of the modern era was played in Edmonton, the NHL's most northern outpost, in November 2003 when over 51,000 fans braved Arctic-like conditions to watch the hometown Oilers take on the Montreal Canadiens in what was billed as the Heritage Classic.
The NHL then staged the first Winter Classic last New Year's Day - Sidney Crosby scoring in overtime in a driving snowstorm to earn the Pittsburgh Penguins a victory over the Buffalo Sabres.
The game attracted an NHL-record crowd of 71,217 to Ralph Wilson stadium. The television ratings were the highest for a regular season game in the United States since 1996.
Now, Russia's fledgling Kontinental Hockey League is scheduling its first All-Star game for January 10 in Moscow's Red Square. Organizers of the 2010 world championships in Germany will stage the opener at the Schalke 04 soccer club's home stadium.
There is also no shortage of cities lining up to host a Winter Classic and the NHL signalled it is ready to now make this an annual event by purchasing state-of-the-art refrigeration and ice-making systems for a reported US$2 million.
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