Another Outdoor Game?!

[azsouthendzone]

It was awesome and it was easily the best thing the NHL has done to market itself in a long, long, time. They need to make this an annual event. Anyone suggesting Phoenix as a location needs to lose that pipe dream. This was great because of all of the fans, snow, and the great players, all of which Phoenix lacks. I think the best locations would be Boston, Detroit, Denver, Pennsylvania, New York, Chicago, and anywhere in Canada.

 

[Zebes]

This was the best game of the day, by far. I was worried about it being on with the college bowls, but it was way more exciting. Now if only we could get a decent TV package.

 

[HooverDam]

It was awesome and it was easily the best thing the NHL has done to market itself in a long, long, time. They need to make this an annual event. Anyone suggesting Phoenix as a location needs to lose that pipe dream. This was great because of all of the fans, snow, and the great players, all of which Phoenix lacks. I think the best locations would be Boston, Detroit, Denver, Pennsylvania, New York, Chicago, and anywhere in Canada.

You're telling me that an outdoor game at Sun Devil Stadium, with 70K+, in the desert wouldn't be an interesting spectacle? The NHL is mostly irrelevant in this town (and in many sun belt cities), but a stunt like that would certainly draw some attention. Perhaps SDS would be too big of a venue, but Chase Field w/ the roof and panels open could perhaps work as well.

All that being said, I don't expect it to ever happen, I just think it would be neat. It would certainly (for that day at least) take my (and I assume most of the Valleys) view of the Coyotes from "oh yah, I hope they win or whatever I guess" to "Oh wow, I have to watch the Coyotes game tonight."

 

[RugbyMuffin]

That was really cool. Being a Penguins fan made it even more special.

AND the game came down to a great shoot out.

The only problem is that I could not see the puck at all. I didn't even know Pitt won until I saw them jumping up and down.

It was quite a sight to say the least tho!

 

[Gizmo Williams]

It's a great idea, but why, why, WHY on the same day as major college football bowls?

I thought it was smart to put it on New Year's Day. With a large number of people sitting at home all day flipping between 3 games....I imagine the outdoor hockey game caught a lot of people's attention as they were flipping channels between the bowl games. More so than if they just put it on any random Saturday.

It was a great to see the game played in those conditions.

 

[azsouthendzone]

You're telling me that an outdoor game at Sun Devil Stadium, with 70K+, in the desert wouldn't be an interesting spectacle? The NHL is mostly irrelevant in this town (and in many sun belt cities), but a stunt like that would certainly draw some attention. Perhaps SDS would be too big of a venue, but Chase Field w/ the roof and panels open could perhaps work as well.

All that being said, I don't expect it to ever happen, I just think it would be neat. It would certainly (for that day at least) take my (and I assume most of the Valleys) view of the Coyotes from "oh yah, I hope they win or whatever I guess" to "Oh wow, I have to watch the Coyotes game tonight."

LOL...That would never, ever, ever, happen. The Valley and the hockey community would laugh at that as an event, not embrace it. You can't even get people to go see them play at their arena let alone a football stadium. The cities I mentioned are hockey hot beds. They sell out every game and pack high school, college, junior, and minor league arenas nightly. I think you probably don't have a real understanding in the differences between Phoenix as a hockey town and the other cities mentioned. Trust me, it would never work here.

 

[MigratingOsprey]

when the gophers get their new stadium I think MN would be a great location

also the redwings playing in ann arbor would be kind of cool

I think you have to keep it in the US to maintain the american audience, but also need to pick a place that gets legitimately cold so you can keep a better sheet out there

 

[Gizmo Williams]

LOL...That would never, ever, ever, happen. The Valley and the hockey community would laugh at that as an event, not embrace it. You can't even get people to go see them play at their arena let alone a football stadium. The cities I mentioned are hockey hot beds. They sell out every game and pack high school, college, junior, and minor league arenas nightly. I think you probably don't have a real understanding in the differences between Phoenix as a hockey town and the other cities mentioned. Trust me, it would never work here.

Agreed...it would be too much of a risk for the NHL to take. Cities like Buffalo are more of a sure thing. The fans turn out for simulcasts of playoff games outside the stadium for home games and inside the stadium for road games...whereas most of Phoenix does not even know when the Coyotes are in the playoffs.

I think the other outdoor game was an Edmonton-Montreal matchup in Edmonton. It had some tie in with the movie Mystery, Alaska.

Also, didn't the NHL all-star game have a pond game between legends and young stars a few years ago,

 

[Scott MS]

I think the other outdoor game was an Edmonton-Montreal matchup in Edmonton. It had some tie in with the movie Mystery, Alaska.

Also, didn't the NHL all-star game have a pond game between legends and young stars a few years ago,

In November 2003, the Heritage Classic (the outdoor game in Edmonton) was really two games. The first was a game between the Edmonton and Montreal legends, followed by the actual NHL game between the two current (at that time) NHL teams.

The problem with the 2003 event is that is was extremely cold out that day. Like -18 degrees F!!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heritage_Classic

 

[PHXSportsFan4]

You're telling me that an outdoor game at Sun Devil Stadium, with 70K+, in the desert wouldn't be an interesting spectacle? The NHL is mostly irrelevant in this town (and in many sun belt cities), but a stunt like that would certainly draw some attention. Perhaps SDS would be too big of a venue, but Chase Field w/ the roof and panels open could perhaps work as well.

All that being said, I don't expect it to ever happen, I just think it would be neat. It would certainly (for that day at least) take my (and I assume most of the Valleys) view of the Coyotes from "oh yah, I hope they win or whatever I guess" to "Oh wow, I have to watch the Coyotes game tonight."

They played a pre-season game one time like back in the day when Gretzky was on the Kings in Las Vegas and the temp was like 80 outside so it can be done.

The question is, would that draw a big enough crowd to make it worth putting on a game like that?

I could see where they could fill up Chase with something like that and I could also see it not even coming close to selling out. It might be too much of a gamble for them to actually do something like that in PHX. It would definitly be interesting though.

Either way, I think this is a great thing they are doing to try and promote the NHL and I hope they turn this into a once-a-year thing where they have an outdoor game like this every year around this time of year. It was neat to watch and it had to have been a cool experience for the people who were able to go to the game.

 

[HooverDam]

LOL...That would never, ever, ever, happen. The Valley and the hockey community would laugh at that as an event, not embrace it. You can't even get people to go see them play at their arena let alone a football stadium. The cities I mentioned are hockey hot beds. They sell out every game and pack high school, college, junior, and minor league arenas nightly. I think you probably don't have a real understanding in the differences between Phoenix as a hockey town and the other cities mentioned. Trust me, it would never work here.

Wow, great argument. "Trust me, it would never work here". Why exactly is that? Like has been mentioned, it worked in Vegas. A publicity stunt like that is probably exactly what most casual sports fans in Phoenix need to pay attention to hockey for a night.

Lets sum up your argument "The majority of the Vallley doesn't want to drive 30 minutes to see an average at best hockey team play during the middle of another ho hum season, thus they certainly won't want to attend an interesting event nearer to their homes, thats promoted well, perhaps against a big opponent". Brilliant.

 

[Kel Varnsen]

Winter Classic garners good ratings
By Karen Price
TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Thursday, January 3, 2008

From the weather to Sidney Crosby's game-winning shootout goal, the NHL Winter Classic between the Penguins and the Buffalo Sabres may as well have been scripted for television.

Perhaps even more amazing than how dramatically the game played out was that viewers tuned in.

Tuesday's game, the NHL's first outdoor regular-season game held in the United States, earned the league's best overnight rating in more than a decade with a 2.6 rating and 5 share.

The event even outdrew Wayne Gretzky's final game, which garnered a 2.5 rating and a 6 share on Fox on April 18, 1999, and was the highest-rated NHL game since a six-game regional broadcast on Fox on Feb. 3, 1996.

In Pittsburgh, the game drew a 17.7 rating and a 30 share. In Buffalo, which hosted the game at Ralph Wilson Stadium, it drew a 38.2 rating and a 58 share.

"We couldn't be more thrilled," NBC executive producer Sam Flood said. "It was a great game, a great celebration and you can't ask for a more dramatic moment than one of the best goalies in the league (the Sabres' Ryan Miller) facing the superstar of his generation."

One ratings point represents 1.114 million households. The share is the percentage of television sets in use that are tuned in to a particular broadcast.

The highest-rated NHL game ever on network television was Game 7 of the 1971 Stanley Cup Finals featuring the Montreal Canadiens at the Chicago Blackhawks. That game, broadcast on CBS, delivered an 11.1 rating and a 21 share.

Ratings have been nowhere near that high in recent years.

ESPN declined to continue airing NHL games in 2005 and the league, coming off the canceled 2004-05 season, moved to cable's Outdoor Life Network (later renamed Versus). Versus, which reached roughly 70 million households last season, averaged a 0.2 rating for its NHL broadcasts. NBC broadcast nine regular-season games in the second half of last season and averaged a 1.0 rating.

But, according to reports in Sports Business Journal, ratings have improved this year on Versus, now averaging a 0.3 national rating. The most-watched game on the network this season was a matchup between the Penguins and Flyers on Dec. 11, earning a 0.5 rating to make it the network's most-watched NHL regular-season broadcast ever.

Regional viewership also is improving, with Sports Business Journal reporting that Fox Sports Pittsburgh rates higher than any other regional market with an average rating of 5.08 this season, an increase of 21.8 percent through the same period last year.

The Winter Classic, which aired beginning at 1 p.m. New Year's Day, was up against the Capital One Bowl featuring Florida and Michigan on ABC.

"We hope the casual fan that stopped by will realize how exciting the sport is and the special talent that is on the ice," Flood said. "If they caught a glimpse of Crosby and that amazing play where he was dribbling the puck on his stick, we hope people will say, 'I'd like to see more of that.'

"That is our hope. We'll see what the reality is, but this is a very positive step for the NHL."

Ratings game

The NHL Winter Classic between the Penguins and Buffalo Sabres on New Year's Day earned a 2.6 overnight rating, the highest in more than a decade for an NHL regular-season game. Here are the ratings for the Top Ten Metered Markets. One ratings point represents 1.128 million households, and the share is the percentage of televisions tuned into the broadcast.

Rank City Rating Share
1 Buffalo 38.2 58
2 Pittsburgh 17.7 30
3 Minneapolis 5.111
4 Denver 3.77
T5 Providence 3.57
T5 Las Vegas 3.56
7 St. Louis 3.35
8 Boston 3.26
9 Sacramento 2.96
T10 Richmond 2.85
T10 Hartford 2.85

 

[PHXSportsFan4]

Wow, interesting that Vegas was tied for 5th. Suprising to see Sacramento on there too. Where's Detroit? I thought it was a huge hockey town in the US. Also NYC?

 

[chickenhead]

There are reports that Montreal plans to host an outdoor game next season as part of the club's centennial. To be played at McGill University's stadium, which is quite a bit smaller than Ralph Wilson or Commonwealth Stadium in Edmonton. Could be a more intimate feel.

 

[Trey]

If this was so popular, why doesn't Pittsburgh ever open the roof for their home games? Is the roof on the igloo broken or something?

 

[chickenhead]

http://hockey.ballparks.com/NHL/PittsburghPenguins/index.htm

Apparently in 1995 they installed a larger scoreboard that prevented the retractable roof from retracting. I have no idea if they had ever played with the roof open prior to that.

 

[NightHawk11and81]

I don't believe it has happened, because it would have given the Penguins no advantage. I think the only time for hockey was during a Jean-Claude Van Damme movie.