Wild Potential Locations for Future NHL Winter Classics
Florida will become the 19th U.S. state to host an NHL game outdoors when loanDepot Park in Miami and Raymond James Stadium in Tampa join the list of domestic venues that have hosted such games since Ralph Wilson Stadium on New Year's Day 2008.
The two-time defending Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers meet the New York Rangers at the baseball home of the Miami Marlins on Friday, while the Tampa Bay Lightning face off with the Boston Bruins on Feb. 1 at the venue that Baker Mayfield and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers call home.
The Panthers-Rangers game is the 17th incarnation of the Winter Classic, an annual event held on or near Jan. 1 that has previously been held at historic venues such as Wrigley Field (2009), Fenway Park (2010), and Notre Dame Stadium (2019).
B/R's hockey team will be in the house for the Miami game, and the novelty of it all prompted us to get together to consider some wild and creative—but somewhat realistic—locations for future versions of the holiday week festivities.
Take a look at what we came up with and drop a thought in the app comments.
Alcatraz Island (San Francisco)
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Let's face it, once you've seen a hockey game in a football stadium or in a baseball stadium—outside of the uniqueness of iconic venues like Fenway, Wrigley,e or Notre Dame—you've pretty much seen them all.
While the league may be interested in selecting venues that'll enable large ticket sales, we contend the brass should also consider venues that offer striking scenery and significant social media buzz.
What could serve those last two objectives better than Alcatraz?
The island sits just more than a mile off the coast of San Francisco Bay and has been home to a fort, a military prison, and, most famously, a maximum-security federal penitentiary.
It's been a national historic landmark and a tourist magnet since the mid-1980s, and we'd love for the creative types at league HQ to find a place on its 22 acres to put a rink and the necessary facilities to create a truly spectacular experience.
Sharks and Kings anyone?
Central Park (New York)
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It's the most recognizable urban park in the country. Its footprint includes a zoo, a nature sanctuary, and, whaddya know...an ice rink.
And it's already home to concerts, Shakespeare performances, and the final few miles of the New York City Marathon.
So why not add the NHL's blood feud between the Rangers and Islanders, just a few hours after the city's annual New Year's Eve winds down?
We're not suggesting that Matthew Schaefer and Artemi Panarin ought to maneuver on the same surface that's been home to hand-holding couples since the 1950s.
But if there's enough room to host Bon Jovi, Hamlet, and thousands of exhausted runners in the homestretch of a 26.2-mile trip through five boroughs, surely they could find a place to play a hockey game, too.
Mallory Square (Key West, Fla.)
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OK, we're obviously still riding the southern hockey vibe. And perhaps the volume of Jimmy Buffett music in the Sunshine State has something to do with it, too.
But considering Florida has essentially become the capital of playoff hockey by hosting games in each of the last five Stanley Cup Finals, perhaps a little over-the-top creativity when it comes to finding outdoor sites is appropriate.
The sunset capital of the "Parrothead" world is actually a waterfront plaza at the perpetually crowded end of Duval Street, a few steps from a pier full of cruise ships, and about a mile from the southernmost photo opp in the continental U.S.
We'll concede that the logistics of building a workable rink there would test the limits of the smartest folks at the league's Technology & Operations Department.
Still, when you imagine how cool the event-specific jerseys would look—and the logoed tattoo specials up and down Duval—we guess that the pull of the Events & Entertainment Department wins out.
National Mall (Washington, D.C.)
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Why let Dana White have all the fun?
The UFC czar is going full speed ahead with a star-laden card at the White House next summer, and if he can plant an octagon on the South Lawn, then we can suggest a rink somewhere amid the monuments and memorials a half-mile away.
And from there, it's simply a matter of what you prefer, ambiance-wise.
Would you rather see Alex Ovechkin and the Capitals skating and shooting somewhere between the Washington Monument and Capitol Hill, or perhaps on the opposite side of the 146-acre layout so Abraham Lincoln can get a better view?
Invite Rick Tocchet and the Flyers down from Philadelphia and frame it as a battle of the two longest-term capital cities in U.S. history.
Niagara Falls (Ontario)
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About half of the league's players are Canadian. And roughly a third of its players are American. So, for our next trick, why not plop a rink down within earshot of the geologic wonder that highlights the border between the countries?
Niagara Falls is actually a group of three waterfalls formed by the Niagara River, which separates the U.S. and Canada for about 35 miles while linking the easternmost pair of the Great Lakes—Erie and Ontario.
The waterfalls are surrounded by two cities that share the name, one on each side of the international border. Together, they host millions of tourists each year, and the Canadian side was a long-term home for an Ontario Hockey League franchise whose alumni included NHL Hall of Famers Bernie Parent and Mike Gartner.
The arena that housed them is gone, but there's plenty of room along the nearby Niagara River Parkway to build a temporary facility that'd ideally host the Sabres and Maple Leafs and capitalize on scenery that simply can't be matched anywhere.
Rideau Canal Skateway (Ottawa)
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U.S. capital? Check.
So it's only fair we play in the home of Canada's government, too, eh?
The Rideau Canal spans about 200 kilometers through southeastern Ontario, with 7.8 kilometers of that through Ottawa set aside as a "Skateway" that's open 24/7 during a skating season that usually runs from January into March.
It's designed for casual skaters, but temporary boards have been put up for "Hockey Day in Canada" events in the past, so there's no reason we can't imagine our way to prepping it for an actual NHL game pitting the Senators against proximal rivals like the Maple Leafs or Canadiens, or any of the other Canadian teams for that matter.
Sorry, Mr. Bettman. But the NHL 20 video-game experience just isn't enough.
Santa Monica Pier (Santa Monica, Calif.)
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If the south Florida vibe wasn't doing it, may we suggest southern California?
The NHL has a foothold in the area thanks to the Los Angeles Kings and Anaheim Ducks, and they'd make perfect participants if the league were to go all-in on scenery again and build a beachfront rink next to a 100-year-old pier that's home to an iconic amusement park with its solar-powered Ferris wheel.
Nearby Dodger Stadium was home to a Stadium Series game matching those two teams in 2014, but the buzz-worthiness would spike through the Golden State roof these days with the sight of Adrian Kempe and Leo Carlsson facing off amid the sounds of waves rolling in from the Pacific Ocean.
And if Buffett's not your thing for the anthem, how about the Beach Boys?
