The NHL Winter Classic is the big outdoor game of the year that fans always look forward to, but the 2013 game will hold new surprises for them, and will break records for the NHL.
It was rumor at the 2012 Winter Classic that next year’s game would be held at the “Big House,” otherwise known as Michigan Stadium; and that rumor was confirmed by league commissioner Gary Bettman in a press conference that took place at 10:30ET this morning. It will be the first time any NHL game, Winter Classic or otherwise, has been held in a stadium so big and to match, it’s expected to be the most-watched Winter Classic ever as well. With this kind of event, the NHL expects to beat the attendance record of 68,111 set at the 2011 game, as 115,000 tickets will be sold for the game in 2013. And that’s not all that’s going to be new.
While as always, the minor league cousins of the teams playing in the actual NHL game will play a game of their own, it will be the first time the OHL teams will also participate in the event. As of now the Plymouth Whalers, Saginaw Spirit, Windsor Spitfires, and London Knights are the OHL teams that will be playing that weekend.
So who will the two NHL teams be playing in the biggest outdoor game ever? Well along with rumors of the location, talk was also hot at this year’s event that the teams for next year would be the Toronto Maple Leafs and the Detroit Red Wings. That also makes it the first time a Canadian team will ever play against an American team in the event. While it’s only a matter of official confirmation at this point, it’s pretty much set up to be these two teams playing. Maybe that’s what’s going to be officially announced in the second press conference of the day, which will be held later this afternoon at 1:30ET.