Chicago ready for NHL Winter Classic

Jul 22, 2008 - 10:38 PM By Rory Spears PA SportsTicker Contributing Writer

CHICAGO (Ticker) -- The NHL and commissioner Gary Bettman made it official Tuesday, announcing at a news conference that the 2009 NHL Winter Classic between the Chicago Blackhawks and defending Stanley Cup champion Detroit Red Wings will be held at historic Wrigley Field.

Following the success of last year's game on New Year's Day in Buffalo, featuring the Sabres and Pittsburgh Penguins, the league office received calls from approximately 15 clubs interested in hosting the next outdoor game.

Chicago and its Blackhawks became the winners of that competition, when the NHL decided the city of New York and Yankee Stadium was not a possible location at this time.

"After January 1, the phones and conversations were non-stop with people wanting to host the next outdoor game in their city," Bettman said. "There was no shortage of interest. But we decided that the combination of Chicago being a great sports town, the revival of the Blackhawks and having a historic landmark like Wrigley Field was a great combination of factors to bring us to Chicago."

Bettman was quick to add that New York and the new Yankee Stadium, which is slated to open for the 2009 season, will have its chance at an outdoor game in the future.

"There was a lot of discussion about Yankee Stadium," Bettman said. "The league is grateful for all of the interest and support that the city of New York and the Yankees organization expressed, but the logistics with all the construction going on made it unworkable for this year. We knew we would do games in both places, but in the case of the Yankees, (the game) will be held in the new stadium when we get to it."

The NHL and the NCAA both have held outdoor games in football stadiums. This will be the first attempt to move hockey into a baseball stadium, but that did not concern Bettman.

"As exciting as this event will be, Wrigley Field was not designed for hockey games," Bettman said. "The sightlines and where we put the rink on the field are things we have to work on. We had these concerns in Buffalo, too, but we will make it work."

Bettman also feels that New Year's Day is the perfect day for an event like the Winter Classic, even though there are plenty of college football bowl games to compete against for viewers.

"While college football is great and the bowl games are great, they are not what they once were," Bettman said. "I think households using television during the day is third-highest for the year on New Year's Day. So we think it is a great time to make some noise and get people to watch the NHL."

The push to bring the Winter Classic to Chicago started on January 1, when Blackhawks president John McDonough watched the game from Buffalo on television with chairman Rocky Wirtz.

"After watching the game, John said to me, 'We have to have this game in Chicago,'" Wirtz said. "I told John I thought the game would go to another city at this time, but I gave him permission to pursue the event with the NHL."

McDonough remembers that day and getting caught up in the fever of an outdoor game.

"When I saw that game, I got a burning desire to bring this event to Chicago," McDonough said. "What I saw was unlimited potential here in Chicago and a fan base that would enjoy being part of something historic. Then to play the defending Stanley Cup champions, the Detroit Red Wings, is icing on the cake."

Blackhawks right wing Adam Burish, who played for the University of Wisconsin against Ohio State in an outdoor game at Lambeau Field - the home of the NFL's Green Bay Packers, believes Wrigley Field will be a better location.

"I think it will better than the rest of the outdoor games that have been held," Burish said. "To me, this is the most famous stadium in all of sports. This location will be intimate, not like at a football stadium. At Lambeau Field, you had 100 yards to the closest fan, so when you shot a puck into the glass, you lost perspective on where it went. Here, the people will be closer."

New Blackhawks captain Jonathan Toews says the team already is looking forward to it.

"It will be like when we were kids and we can have fun with the game," Toews said. "It will be something to remember, but we need to come out of this game with a win."

NHL Hall of Famer and former Blackhawks great Bobby Hull thinks moving professional hockey outdoors is one of the great new ideas the league has had.

"Whoever thought of this deserves a medal," Hull said. "To have something like this in the middle of a great ballpark boggles your mind. It will be a wonderful event, that the people involved with or watching on TV will never forget. It's the way we played hockey when I was growing up, it was a big part of winter. I played in a lot of snowstorms."

Red Wings senior vice president Jimmy Devellano says his team is excited to be a part of the game.

"We're very excited on behalf of the Red Wings to play an outdoor game here in Chicago," Devellano said. "We thank the league and Gary Bettman for making our organization a part of this and exposing the Red Wings and Blackhawks crests across North America. Wrigley Field has been a cathedral for baseball, and for one day, it will be for hockey as well."

The NHL and the Blackhawks will be making an announcement in the near future on how tickets will be made available to the public and what the prices will be. The 2009 Winter Classic will be shown on national television across the United States on NBC and in Canada on CBC and also broadcast on the NHL radio network and NHL.com.

Wrigley Field has been the home to the Chicago Cubs since 1916. The stadium also has been the home of two NFL teams (Chicago Bears and Cardinals) and hosted professional soccer, boxing, rodeos and a ski jumping event in 1944.