Wrigley Field to Host NHL Game Between Blackhawks & Red Wings
By Alexander George
July 16 (Bloomberg) -- The Chicago Blackhawks and Stanley Cup-champion Detroit Red Wings will square off at Wrigley Field on New Year's Day in the third National Hockey League game to be played outdoors.
The game will start at noon Chicago time and mark the 701st meeting between the Central Division rivals, the league announced. It will be televised on NBC in the U.S., while CBC and RDS will air the game in Canada.
``The NHL is delighted to bring its most historic rivalry to one of the most historic venues in sports,'' NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman said in a news release.
Wrigley Field is the home to Major League Baseball's Chicago Cubs. It's known as the ``Friendly Confines'' and features ivy on the outfield walls.
Chicago beat out New York for the third installment of the NHL Winter Classic, though Bettman held out the possibility of an outdoor regular-season game in New York in the future.
``We look forward to continuing discussions regarding the possibility of playing a future Winter Classic game at the new Yankee Stadium,'' Bettman said.
The Red Wings defeated the Pittsburgh Penguins 4 games to 2 for their fourth NHL Stanley Cup championship in 11 seasons. The Blackhawks haven't won the title since 1961.
On Jan. 1, 2008, some 73,000 fans sat in wind-blown snow and sleet to watch the Pittsburgh Penguins beat the Buffalo Sabres 2-1 in a shootout at Ralph Wilson Stadium in Orchard Park, New York. The NHL's first outdoor game was at Edmonton's Commonwealth Stadium on Nov. 22, 2003, with the Montreal Canadiens defeating the Oilers 4-3 in front of 57,167 fans.
To contact the reporter on this story: Alexander George in New York at ageorge16@bloomberg.net
Last Updated: July 16, 2008 13:56 EDT |
