Hockey in the House that Ruth Built?

[Kel Varnsen]

I love the outdoor game concept!

The NHL is reportedly looking at having a regular season game between the NY Rangers and NY Islanders played at Yankee Stadium this coming season.

According to Newsday, league officials met with both teams as well as city officials and NBC to discuss the feasibility of the event, which would tentatively take place on Jan. 1, 2007.

The article quoted Yankees spokesman Rick Ceronne, saying "A request has been made to use the stadium for an NHL game in the 2006-2007 season, (and) the matter is under discussion."

The NHL staged its only outdoor game on Nov. 22, 2003, when the Edmonton Oilers played the Montreal Canadiens at Edmonton's Commonwealth Stadium. More than 56,000 fans were in attendance to watch Wayne Gretzky suit up in the Oilers-Canadiens alumni game. The Canadiens posted a 4-3 victory over Edmonton in the regular-season matchup.

http://www2.sportsnet.ca/blogs/hockey_hearsay/2006/06/28/hockey_in_the_house_that_ruth/

 

[Scott MS]

Love the idea, but January 1st? Why go up against the bowls on New Years Day?

 

[Kel Varnsen]

Love the idea, but January 1st? Why go up against the bowls on New Years Day?

Yeah, that kind of sucks. Makes you wonder about the television coverage. If it's in New York, it would probably draw a lot of fans to the actual game, but tv ratings probably won't be so good. I don't think the last outdoor game was televised...at least not here.

 

[howlincoyote2k1]

This would be awesome for the game.

I'd rather it not compete with the bowls on New Year's Day, as someone above said, but to get a stranglehold on the attention from the biggest media market in North America would be the best opportunity to showcase the game the NHL has ever had.

Now all we need is Red Wings vs. Blackhawks at the stadium in Ann Arbor next year