5 Venues NHL Should Target For Outdoor Games

It isn’t exactly a secret that the Winter Classic has gotten stale.

Though the annual New Year’s outdoor spectacle still brings fans through the turnstiles, it has become a dud for television. Winter Classic TV viewership has dropped three straight years – and has dipped from regularly averaging about four million viewers to less than one million for this year’s game between the St. Louis Blues and Chicago Blackhawks at Wrigley Field on New Year’s Eve.

There are a multitude of factors, including repeat teams and venues. The league’s response of announcing two outdoor games in Florida is a step in the right direction, even though the Winter Classic at LoanDepot Park in Miami may not exactly inspire much faith.

But here are five other venues the NHL needs to consider for an outdoor game in the near future.  

5 Venues NHL Should Target For Outdoor Games

Lambeau Field – Green Bay, Wisconsin

From an iconic cold-weather venue perspective, this is about the only one the NHL has not yet checked off the list – especially since it is going to Ohio Stadium for a Stadium Series game later this year. 

The Packers schedule, since the NFL season annually drags into January, is a factor. Plus, Green Bay isn’t super close to any NHL market, and we are loath to recommend the Blackhawks be featured in an outdoor game anytime soon. 

But it also is a pilgrimage-type venue that would inspire opposing fans to travel in from out of town, no matter who plays. Plus, since cities have started building outdoor games at the Winter Classic venue, including college- and minor-league games, there could be huge attendance since Wisconsin has a great hockey culture even though it does not have an NHL team. 

Oracle Park – San Francisco

The NHL has not officially held an outdoor game in the Bay Area – the closest it came was its 2015 Stadium Series between the Sharks and Kings at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara. Not including the home of MLB’s San Francisco Giants is a huge miss since the park has hosted non-baseball events – notably an annual college football bowl game from 2002-13.

But there is still time to rectify that, especially with 2024 No. 1 pick Macklin Celebrini set to come of age – and potentially superstardom for the San Jose Sharks in the next five years. The ballpark by the bay touts stunning waterfront views and of the picturesque Bay Bridge, plus Oracle Park has a distinct look that hooks hockey fans.

Plus, with the NCAA bowl game now defunct, there is ample space on the calendar to hold an outdoor game. Though, again, it may need to wait until the Sharks complete their rebuild. 

Rose Bowl – Pasadena, California

A massive part of bringing in a television audience is unique views, and there is no venue in the United States with better views than the Rose Bowl, especially at sunset. The San Gabriel Mountains loom over the majestic 100,000-plus-seat bowl that sits east of Los Angeles, creating picturesque views that even TV audiences can gawk at.

The biggest issue with the Rose Bowl is it is occupied on New Year’s Day from now until the end of time due to its hosting of the College Football Playoff event at 2 p.m. PT on Jan. 1. But the Rose Bowl does not host anything beyond that game until UCLA football restarts in the fall – it last held the Super Bowl in 1993 – and the NHL has proven it can lay down ice in warm climates since it played the inaugural Stadium Series game at Dodger Stadium in 2014.

The other concern is whether enough Southern California fans will attend to make the building appear full enough on game day. But the Rose Bowl has been dealing with sparse crowds for UCLA football, and the NHL surely could get creative just in case 90,000-plus do not show up.

Rice-Eccles Stadium – Salt Lake City, Utah

Though not nearly as dramatic, famous or large as the Rose Bowl, the home of the University of Utah football team still has stunning views of the Wasatch Mountains that appear to loom just beyond the stadium’s walls – even though they actually are miles away.

Perhaps the NHL needs to wait until the Utah Hockey Club actually figures out its nickname before diving headfirst into an outdoor game in Salt Lake City. But Rice-Eccles Stadium is remarkably wide-open, schedule-wise, after Utah football season ends, and the stadium is capable of marquee events, since it was built to host the opening ceremonies of the 2002 Salt Lake City Games.

It’s only a matter of time until Rice-Eccles Stadium hosts a Winter Classic. We just hope Utah gets an opponent that is not the Blackhawks.

The Strip – Las Vegas

We aren’t suggesting Allegiant Stadium – though that ultimately is the most likely landing spot for when the Vegas Golden Knights inevitably end up hosting their first outdoor game. We meant outdoors at a temporary venue set up like the one the Los Angeles Kings used for their preseason game at Caesars Palace against the New York Rangers in 1991.

It has already been established that heat is not a factor for the NHL in ice-creation, and the Golden Knights are the league’s model franchise since they won the Stanley Cup in 2023 and have played for it twice in their eight-season NHL existence. 

If Vegas can turn its tourist-laden spot into a racetrack for Formula One each October, it surely can find a spot for 40,000-plus hockey fans to watch a game. Plus, imagine the spectacle and buzz from across the sports world of having the Winter Classic in Las Vegas, where myriad tourists flock annually for New Year’s celebrations.

It would be almost too much for the NHL to pass up on.