taterhill Posted July 7, 2008 Share Posted July 7, 2008 Det vs Chicago @ Wrigley http://sports.espn.go.com/nhl/news/story?id=3476329 Updated: July 7, 2008, 11:21 AM ET Showcasing a game in an outdoor arena on New Year's Day worked so well the first time, it appears the NHL is going to go for it again. An announcement is expected later this month for the 2009 Winter Classic, the second one pitting the Chicago Blackhawks and the Stanley Cup champion Detroit Red Wings at fabled Wrigley Field, the Minneapolis Star Tribune reported on its Web site. An announcement is expected next week before the "Blackhawks Convention" at the Chicago Hilton. According to the Star Tribune's report, the game was approved last week when NHL commissioner Gary Bettman met with the Blackhawks, Cubs and Chicago Mayor Richard Daley. Last New Year's Day, more people tuned in to see the NHL play outdoors than any other regular-season game in more than a decade. The Penguins-Sabres game in snowy Buffalo -- the first regular-season outdoor NHL game in the United States -- drew a 2.6 overnight rating and a 5 share on NBC. Each ratings point represents about 735,000 households; the rating is the percentage watching a telecast among homes with televisions, and the share is the percentage tuned into a broadcast among those households with televisions on at the time. Overnight ratings measure the 55 largest TV markets in the United States. The 2.6/5 were the best numbers since a six-game regional telecast on Fox drew a 3.0 overnight rating and a 7 share on Feb. 3, 1996. Pittsburgh won 2-1 in a shootout on a Sidney Crosby score before a crowd of more than 71,000 at Ralph Wilson Stadium. The Winter Classic ratings also surpassed Wayne Gretzky's final game, which was broadcast on Fox on April 18, 1999, and drew a 2.5/6. The first outdoor NHL game, billed as the Heritage Classic, was played Nov. 22, 2003 in Commonwealth Stadium in Edmonton, Alberta. The Montreal Canadiens beat the Oilers 4-3. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
apuszczalowski Posted July 7, 2008 Share Posted July 7, 2008 I think thats one of the requirements in Conklin signing a deal now This is old news, they were already saying it was going to happen in Chicago a couple months ago. Personally I think its a bad idea for 2 reasons 1. Its going to get old quickly, the nostalgia is going to wear off and it will lose its uniqueness and appeal if its a regular thing. Personally I like the idea of holding it once every couple years as the All Star game. It will have no effect on games that matter, and since the All Star game is a novelty, why not make that a part of it every couple years? (Every 2? 4?) 2. The venue they chose to use (the first article said they were still deciding which venue to hold it at), Wrigley, is going to be horrible to watch the game. Baseball fields (especially classic style ones) don't give you great views for a sport like Hockey because they are in a 'V' shape. They need somewhere with a more rounded/squared seating area like a football field. Plus if the NHL wanted to maximise the revenue, you can fit more people into Soldier field then into Wrigley Now that this is becoming a yearly thing, I have a feeling its going to get old quick and lose its draw Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UnionAMG Posted July 7, 2008 Share Posted July 7, 2008 Plus if the NHL wanted to maximise the revenue, you can fit more people into Soldier field then into Wrigley If I remember correctly, the NHL barely made any money from the Winter Classic last year. Between all of the costs of setting up the ice, renting the Ralph, etc. they made peanuts. Where the NHL hopes to maximize revenue is in generating interest in their sport from some casual fans, and hopefully hook them for good. Personally, I dont know that watching the Winter Classic will do that for anybody... BUT if the goal is to get casual fans to tune in on New Years Day to see something interesting, then Wrigley Field is a great choice. Particularly baseball fans across the country will probably watch a part of it just to see how Wrigley looks in such a unique setting. So I would think the loss of ticket sales due to capacity would be made up by the undeniable draw of Wrigley. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
apuszczalowski Posted July 7, 2008 Share Posted July 7, 2008 If I remember correctly, the NHL barely made any money from the Winter Classic last year. Between all of the costs of setting up the ice, renting the Ralph, etc. they made peanuts. Where the NHL hopes to maximize revenue is in generating interest in their sport from some casual fans, and hopefully hook them for good. Personally, I dont know that watching the Winter Classic will do that for anybody... BUT if the goal is to get casual fans to tune in on New Years Day to see something interesting, then Wrigley Field is a great choice. Particularly baseball fans across the country will probably watch a part of it just to see how Wrigley looks in such a unique setting. So I would think the loss of ticket sales due to capacity would be made up by the undeniable draw of Wrigley. I really don't think that baseball fans are going to care that much to tune in to watch a hockey game just to see what Wrigley looks like with a hockey rink in it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UnionAMG Posted July 7, 2008 Share Posted July 7, 2008 I really don't think that baseball fans are going to care that much to tune in to watch a hockey game just to see what Wrigley looks like with a hockey rink in it I have quite a few diehard baseball friends in Boston that have no interest in hockey. When they read about this, they all emailed me (knowing I'm a big hockey fan) saying that "its pretty cool." Like I said, I dont think that it magically will make anybody watch the game bc its in Wrigley. But the point remains that the Winter Classics' intent is to draw attention to the game and the NHL, not necessarily to make money on the game (even if they did make money, i know it wasnt a significant amount). Having it in Wrigley certainly is a more attractive location for that purpose than Soldier Field. And losing out on an extra 30k tix is worth it to have the added novelty of Wrigley Field being a part of that package. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spun Posted July 8, 2008 Share Posted July 8, 2008 Being in the non-hockey centric locale of San Diego it was amazing to me how so many casual to non-hockey fans commented to me about last years game. As people were home on New Year's Day and presumably flipping between bowl games they stumbled upon an outdoor hockey game. The game was competitive and the subplots were interesting. Putting the game on another weekend should be different. Wrigley or Soldiers Field doesn't matter a whole lot to me but it may to Chicago fans. Pitting the young, up and coming Black Hawks against the Stanley Cup Champion Red Wings could be interesting. Hockey has a lot of room to grow in regards to fan base. The abundance of difficult to pronounce and remember names can obstruct some but by giving the game a chance a lot of casual fans could turn on to the sport. The outdoor concept is still new and can be used as an effective marketing tool. It is kind of like inter-league play in baseball in which interest peaked early and waned over time. We'll see! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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