Lake Tahoe set for two outdoor games
The National Hockey League kicks off the 2020-21 campaign on Wednesday night after months of discussions and planning. The league opted to re-align their divisions and have teams only play games against clubs within their divisions with positive cases of COVID-19 continuing to surge across the continent.
On Monday, the league confirmed that they will go ahead with playing two outdoor games this season but with no fans in attendance. The NHL typically plays the Winter Classic outdoor game on New Years’ Day in front of a large crowd in a non-traditional hockey venue. However, as a result of the pandemic, the league was forced to operate a little differently this year and has decided to host two outdoor games at the scenic Lake Tahoe which lies on the border of Nevada and California.
“We are delighted to announce the NHL Outdoors at Lake Tahoe and can’t wait to get on site for what undoubtedly will be two thrilling games in a breathtaking setting,” NHL commissioner Gary Bettman said in a press release on Monday. “Ever since we began staging outdoor games in 2003 and made it a regular feature of our annual schedule in 2008, we have considered myriad non-stadium settings, but they always were rendered impractical because of the sheer volume of demand from our fans to attend.”
The first game will take place on February 20th as part of Bridgestone NHL Outdoors Saturday and will see the Vegas Golden Knights taking on the Colorado Avalanche. The second game would happen the next day on Honda NHL Outdoors Sunday and will feature the Philadelphia Flyers playing the Boston Bruins. This allows for both the Eastern Conference and Western Conference to be represented, with one day being dedicated to each conference.
“This season, unable to host our usual huge crowds at such events,” Bettman continued in the statement. “We will continue our tradition of taking the game and our players back to their outdoor roots when the Avalanche meet the Golden Knights and the Bruins face the Flyers on an open-air rink at the spectacular Edgewood Tahoe Resort.”
The outdoor games have been very successful in the past, with fans being provided the opportunity of seeing players out of their element and in a completely different environment. They have been some of the most-watched regular-season games on television for the league which may be why they are so adamant about having the tradition continue this season, even without fans. In 2014, the NHL set their all-time attendance record when the Toronto Maple Leafs played the Detroit Red Wings at Michigan Stadium in front of 105, 491 fans.
The NHL hosted a total of three outdoor games last season, with the Calgary Flames and Winnipeg Jets playing in Regina’s Mosaic Stadium, Nashville Predators and Dallas Stars meeting at the Cotton Bowl Stadium, and the Los Angeles Kings squaring off against the Colorado Avalanche at Air Force Academy.
The NHL already has plans in place for 2022 that will see the St. Louis Blues take on the Minnesota Wild at Target Field in the Winter Classic.
