Winter Classic 2010 - Rose Bowl or Vegas Strip?

[redwing711 0]

http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/story/?id=263315&amp...s=headlines_nhl

If the NHL is going to be dumb enough to put the Winter Classic in a warm weather state, they might as well have the Kings play the Coyotes and see how much of a draw it is and how much revenue it brings.

[OsGOD 3]

They should have an outdoor summer classic in the bahamas... I would pay to see that!

[Blueliner 69]

The Rose Bowl? Isn't there some other kind of big game being played there on Jan. 1?

[JayUp88 1]

At some point i think it would be cool to see that. But lets give it some time.

[Spinner 6]

Only Bettman and his team of mental midgets from Oz could believe this would actually work

[cusimano_brothers 1,655]

Inspector Gadget can smell the $$$ in the marketting of new items. Think of it: WC Sunscreen.

[WingsZR2 1]

It's called the Winter Classic, not the Desert Classic or even the Beach Classic for f***s sake. Just like little Gary, produce something throwback and see how fast he can screw it up.

[rwfan007 18]

this will never happen, just think of the logistics... ice needs to be cold, it is not cold in Pasadena or Las Vegas. I work at an ice rink and we keep the ice somewhere between 10 and 20 degrees. The air temp in the rink never goes above 55. Having an ice rink in 70-80 degree temperatures will be almost impossible to keep up for an NHL game. If someone in the NHL is actually contemplating this, they should be enrolled back in grade school so they can take 4th grade science again.

[MTU_Huskies963 398]

this will never happen, just think of the logistics... ice needs to be cold, it is not cold in Pasadena or Las Vegas. I work at an ice rink and we keep the ice somewhere between 10 and 20 degrees. The air temp in the rink never goes above 55. Having an ice rink in 70-80 degree temperatures will be almost impossible to keep up for an NHL game. If someone in the NHL is actually contemplating this, they should be enrolled back in grade school so they can take 4th grade science again.

They have already held a pre season game in Las Vegas. This was years ago also. The ice was actually good for the game and did not melt the only bad thing was the grasshoppers swarming the rink. The engineering today is better than it was then, they could do it. The only reason I don't think it should be done is because it is called the winter classic. How can you hold it in a place that does not experience winter. If it snowed in Vegas the whole city would shut down.

[Lovin Jiri Fischer 147]

Bettman with another excellent idea. Congrats.

[Electrophile 3,554]

If this happens, this will go down as arguably one of the stupidest things Bettman will ever do.

[betterREDthandead 58]

Can I ask why Vegas would be so dumb?

- Today it is supposed to be about 55 degrees at 7 PM in Vegas. The average January high is 57 and the average low is 37. Temperature-wise, it's workable, especially with the big-ass refrigeration truck.

- I guarantee you the place would be full. That's not even a question. Jam-packed. It's frikkin' Vegas.

- I guarantee you the ratings would be good, though largely dependent on the teams that play. No doubt the NHL would pick two teams that were good the previous year.

This knee-jerk anti-Bettman reaction to the Vegas idea is nothing but elitist hockey snobbery. HOCKEY IN THE DESERT OH NOES. And *gasp* the Ducks might be involved. OH NOES NOT ANAHEIM THERE NOT HOCKEY FANS. Sorry it offends everyone's sensibilities that outdoor hockey should be about frozen ponds in minus 20 degree weather in some godforsaken woods or in some podunk-ass town in northern Manitoba. The NHL could use a good spectacle, and what better place for a spectacle than Las Vegas?

Pasadena? Well, as someone already pointed out, the Rose Bowl tends to be occupied on that day, so don't even worry about it.

[Jwo 7]

How are they going to put the ice down when a Football game is going on at the Rose Bowl on New Years Day?

[redwings8831 40]

PTI just brought this up, and they mentioned the idea of playing at the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool in Washington DC. That would be a great place to play the one, if they want to give it to the Capitals.

[GMRwings1983 8,794]

Great idea.

Maybe the hookers can serve as cheerleaders.

Nice to see Bettman thinking outside the box.

[j.hoop 64]

They have already held a pre season game in Las Vegas. This was years ago also. The ice was actually good for the game and did not melt the only bad thing was the grasshoppers swarming the rink. The engineering today is better than it was then, they could do it. The only reason I don't think it should be done is because it is called the winter classic. How can you hold it in a place that does not experience winter. If it snowed in Vegas the whole city would shut down.

epic!!

[Yzermania 156]

They have already held a pre season game in Las Vegas. This was years ago also. The ice was actually good for the game and did not melt the only bad thing was the grasshoppers swarming the rink. The engineering today is better than it was then, they could do it. The only reason I don't think it should be done is because it is called the winter classic. How can you hold it in a place that does not experience winter. If it snowed in Vegas the whole city would shut down.

Nice lack of knowledge. It often snows in vegas actualy. We just just recieved xmas cards from our relatives in vegas last month and you couldn't see a thing, everything was white.

[Yak19 303]

I googled "winter classic las vegas" and a picture of Bettman wearing his tie like a bandana, double fisting lemon spritzers came up.

[Cern 0]

Sorry it offends everyone's sensibilities that outdoor hockey should be about frozen ponds in minus 20 degree weather in some godforsaken woods or in some podunk-ass town in northern Manitoba.

IT dosen't offend me, it just tells me you actually know jack s*** about hockey if you need to resort to casual xenophobia to get your point across. That IS the essence of outdoor hockey whether you like it or not, to say anything otherwise is a laughable display of ignorance to the game. I must say that I would never have thought of describing downtown Buffalo or Chicago as 'godforsaken woods' but f***, the WC could be in Nunavut and you'd probably still be able to scrape together more local interest than you would in someplace like Phoenix. You're talking about putting a WINTER Classic game in an area that for all intents and purposes has no winter and that has such little interest in what hockey does exist there that a freaking Stanley Cup win couldn't even fill the parking lot, let alone justify a victory parade. If winning the game's top prize - the oldest, most famous trophy in North American sports - can't get people in the South to give a s***, how is playing a single regular season game on the worst quality ice the NHL will have ever known going to do it?

If you really want to masturbate vigorously to the idea of Southern teams playing in the WC, it should be with them as the visiting team playing in a manner appealing to the vintage spin of the event. Something like Carolina vs. Boston in a Battle of New England rematch at Fenway with one-off Whalers jerseys. You appeal to the nostalgia of the WC, you involve a famed team in a historic setting, and you incorporate whatever Southern hockey market actually exists. Everyone wins.

9.5/10, would rage again.

Edited January 16, 2009 by Cern

[lets go pavel 2]

PTI just brought this up, and they mentioned the idea of playing at the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool in Washington DC. That would be a great place to play the one, if they want to give it to the Capitals.

Yup ... their other suggestion was Red Square ... would be interesting, but probably wouldn't do a whole lot for viewership/ratings over here in NA.

(On a side note, they also had to give their odds on whether Ovechkin was better than Crosby ... Kornheiser 66% I believe, and Wilbon a very passionate 100%. Granted, there's some DC bias with the two. Nonetheless, I think that's the most hockey I've ever heard on the show... )

[shoe 165]

I kinda like the vegas Idea, I agree great place to have a spectacle and Im sure an outdoor rink would be possible as long as some heat wave didnt blow through.

However - I dont like the idea of having it in a neutral site. This is a big revenue put the team on the map event, participating teams would loose the oportunity to show off their winterness.

Having said all that you want to make a spectacle in a neutral site how about the allstar game they can use it to promote the game it dosnt even have to be outside. vegas and all stars works for me might actually tune in then to see Sidney Papageorgio and his fake id.

[Cern 0]

Having said all that you want to make a spectacle in a neutral site how about the allstar game they can use it to promote the game it dosnt even have to be outside.

Now this I do support. If you're so hellbent on spreading hockey into new markets, don't waste perfectly good regular season games doing it.

[VM1138 1,921]

Bettman seriously has a complex with trying to force warm weather hockey down the throats of everyone, doesn't he? I wish he'd be removed so we wouldn't have to witness these death rattles of his southern hockey plan.

This pisses me off. The NHL finally looks respectable in the eyes of the world (thanks largely to the Wings, Pittsburgh, and Chicago) and now they want to make itself a joke again? How hard did they all work to build the NHL back up again the past few years only to throw it away on some whimsical Gary wet dream?

[HadThomasVokounOnFortSt 878]

This is the dumbest idea ever!

[SouthernWingsFan 854]

Can I ask why Vegas would be so dumb?

- Today it is supposed to be about 55 degrees at 7 PM in Vegas. The average January high is 57 and the average low is 37. Temperature-wise, it's workable, especially with the big-ass refrigeration truck.

- I guarantee you the place would be full. That's not even a question. Jam-packed. It's frikkin' Vegas.

- I guarantee you the ratings would be good, though largely dependent on the teams that play. No doubt the NHL would pick two teams that were good the previous year.

This knee-jerk anti-Bettman reaction to the Vegas idea is nothing but elitist hockey snobbery. HOCKEY IN THE DESERT OH NOES. And *gasp* the Ducks might be involved. OH NOES NOT ANAHEIM THERE NOT HOCKEY FANS. Sorry it offends everyone's sensibilities that outdoor hockey should be about frozen ponds in minus 20 degree weather in some godforsaken woods or in some podunk-ass town in northern Manitoba. The NHL could use a good spectacle, and what better place for a spectacle than Las Vegas?

Pasadena? Well, as someone already pointed out, the Rose Bowl tends to be occupied on that day, so don't even worry about it.

There are plenty of "colder" places more viable if that is the only consideration, but I think Vegas could be workable though with some more good planning. Where would it be played though, assuming it is there? I've never been to Vegas so I'm not all that familiar with the strip. If you want it to be around the strip, UNLV's outdoor football stadium is out of the question as it's a little east of the strip/outskirts of the city I think. I've seen the stadium itself on TV though, it's pretty nice, doesn't look like there's a bad seat in the house, seats a little over 40,000, etc.

IT dosen't offend me, it just tells me you actually know jack s*** about hockey if you need to resort to casual xenophobia to get your point across. That IS the essence of outdoor hockey whether you like it or not, to say anything otherwise is a laughable display of ignorance to the game. I must say that I would never have thought of describing downtown Buffalo or Chicago as 'godforsaken woods' but f***, the WC could be in Nunavut and you'd probably still be able to scrape together more local interest than you would in someplace like Phoenix. You're talking about putting a WINTER Classic game in an area that for all intents and purposes has no winter and that has such little interest in what hockey does exist there that a freaking Stanley Cup win couldn't even fill the parking lot, let alone justify a victory parade. If winning the game's top prize - the oldest, most famous trophy in North American sports - can't get people in the South to give a s***, how is playing a single regular season game on the worst quality ice the NHL will have ever known going to do it?

If you really want to masturbate vigorously to the idea of Southern teams playing in the WC, it should be with them as the visiting team playing in a manner appealing to the vintage spin of the event. Something like Carolina vs. Boston in a Battle of New England rematch at Fenway with one-off Whalers jerseys. You appeal to the nostalgia of the WC, you involve a famed team in a historic setting, and you incorporate whatever Southern hockey market actually exists. Everyone wins.

9.5/10, would rage again.

And there's no need to result in personal attacks either.