Winter Classic 2013

[goblue9280 33]

I know there has been speculation for awhile that Detroit is a top contender to host next year... and that the Big House has been mentioned. However, I thought this was significant that the University of Michigan athletic director has confirmed he has been approached about hosting at the Big House in 2013: http://www.annarbor....chigan-stadium/

[natbat 0]

Being a huge Red Wings and U of M fan this would be awesome. The seating capacity at the big house is tremendous.

[goblue9280 33]

  On 1/6/2012 at 4:58 PM, natbat said:

Being a huge Red Wings and U of M fan this would be awesome. The seating capacity at the big house is tremendous.

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No doubt, I'll be there for sure. We haven't been back to Michigan for Christmas/New Years in 5 years (live in Houston), so it'll be nice to see some snow again. After watching 24/7 the past two years, I'm dying to see one featuring the wings.

[ibeck 38]

So if we follow the trend of the NHL, it will be Pitt @ Det

[natbat 0]

  On 1/6/2012 at 5:20 PM, goblue9280 said:

No doubt, I'll be there for sure. We haven't been back to Michigan for Christmas/New Years in 5 years (live in Houston), so it'll be nice to see some snow again. After watching 24/7 the past two years, I'm dying to see one featuring the wings.

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24/7 with the Wings would be great!

[Steve_v3 289]

  On 1/7/2012 at 2:16 PM, ibeck said:

So if we follow the trend of the NHL, it will be Pitt @ Det

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That would be a joke if Pittsburg gets in again.

I know it won't happend but I would like to se two new teams.

[ryanhockey21 0]

My bet is on Washington or Boston again, I think Minnesota would be a good host.

[Buzz_LightBeer 974]

I'd like to see Detroit/Colorado in either home.

NHL Radio talked a few times about Detroit/Toronto, but i like the fact that this is an American tradition, and it would make quite a statement for USA hockey to fill up a 110,000 seat venue.

Though I'd have to swallow my pride, and buy a ticket for a subsequent road trip to Detroit, FML.

[ibeck 38]

  On 1/7/2012 at 3:09 PM, sfdz6_20_07 said:

That would be a joke if Pittsburg gets in again.

I know it won't happend but I would like to se two new teams.

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I'm hoping for new teams to, sick of seeing pitt just because of Crosby...I think Detroit is a great idea and agree with ryanhockey21 Minny would be unbelievable.

[Steve_v3 289]

  On 1/7/2012 at 11:46 PM, ibeck said:

I'm hoping for new teams to, sick of seeing pitt just because of Crosby...I think Detroit is a great idea and agree with ryanhockey21 Minny would be unbelievable.

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+1 for being sick of seeing Pittsburg. There shouldn't be a winter classic involving the state of Pennsylvania for at least 10 years.

I have heard media around Boston talk Boston vs. Detroit in Detroit. I would love that but I would still like to see some new teams.

Minnesota vs. San Jose could be interesting. Although I can't imagine NBC & the league would ever do that.

[steelnation248 102]

Detroit vs Toronto Winter Classic would be amazing. I hope it will be at the Big House, however with Illitch owning the Tigers and the history with Comerica, it'll be anyone's guess. The Big House will be nice if it's a team close by. That way fans will travel and fill the stadium. Also, if it's 110,000 vs 40,000, one would hope the tickets would be slightly cheaper. Haha.

The 24/7 and alumni game will be fanastic! I'll be going regardless, but I'm rooting for Toronto as the opponent vs the Blues or a west coast team.

[muddy 2]

I think that a game in Detroit would be fantastic! I would also love to see something out west as well.

Maybe Colorado?

[bandits_5 18]

Id like to see them bring a team up from the south and Tampa has the big names , just no rivalry with the wings , so it might be a tough sell......but Canada would travel to detroit to see stamkos , vinnie , and marty....i think

[Hendricks433 0]

  On 1/7/2012 at 3:08 PM, natbat said:

24/7 with the Wings would be great!

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This is what I want. I live about 20 minutes from Ann Arbor and an hour from Detroit. Ill be there if it happens.

[Chadd 916]

Columbus would make a good geographic match, and help fill the stadium. It's too bad they aren't good enough to warrant selection.

  On 1/10/2012 at 6:43 PM, muddy said:

I think that a game in Detroit would be fantastic! I would also love to see something out west as well.

Maybe Colorado?

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Don't expect to see a team that far west unless NBC picks a later time slot. The 1PM time is driven by NBC and filling a hole in their programming.

[Drowe16 0]

Big house is doubtful They cant serve alcohol on college athletic facility (unless you can buy a temp liquor license for one day.)

I would bet money with Olympia entertainment keeping it in the family it will be at Comerica.

With no Heritage Classic this year I could see them opening up to the Maple Leafs.

[JR Boucicaut 3805]

Yeah, they can buy an one-day liquor license to get around that.

[goblue9280 33]

  On 1/11/2012 at 1:18 AM, Drowe16 said:

Big house is doubtful They cant serve alcohol on college athletic facility (unless you can buy a temp liquor license for one day.)

I would bet money with Olympia entertainment keeping it in the family it will be at Comerica.

With no Heritage Classic this year I could see them opening up to the Maple Leafs.

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No doubt Illitch wants to keep it in house and host it at Comerica, but hosting at the Big House would create a lot more attention.

Alcohol sales will not be a problem, the ordinance not allowing alcohol inside Michigan Stadium is a Board of Regents ordinance and not a state/local law. The NHL would need to get approval from UM as well as a state liquor license and liquor liability insurance... but there's no way that would be a stumbling block as everyone (state, city, university) would want the payday associated with hosting the event.

[BlueJacketBadger 0]

I also would have to wonder how they would do the scheduling with having the game at the big house because they build the rink about a month before the game, which would cause a conflict with UM's football practices.

It would be a cool game though.

[goblue9280 33]

  On 1/12/2012 at 12:31 AM, BlueJacketBadger said:

I also would have to wonder how they would do the scheduling with having the game at the big house because they build the rink about a month before the game, which would cause a conflict with UM's football practices.

It would be a cool game though.

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Michigan is done with football the week of Thanksgiving. In fact they rarely even practice at the Big House. They have a massive indoor practice facility next to their ice arena, in addition to an outdoor practice area that has at least one full field. The only thing the Big House is used for in December is winter commencement... which I'm sure they can work around.

BTW, chatter is increasing: http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nhl-puck-daddy/exclusive-univ-michigan-nhl-advanced-discussions-2013-winter-004114291.html

[wickedlite44 0]

I always thought Dallas at Minnesota would be a great match up.

[Machinehead2k5 32]

  On 1/12/2012 at 12:31 AM, BlueJacketBadger said:

I also would have to wonder how they would do the scheduling with having the game at the big house because they build the rink about a month before the game, which would cause a conflict with UM's football practices.

It would be a cool game though.

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I thought it was a 2 week process of buildling?? That's how long the Heinz Field and Citizens Bank Park took...

[BlueJacketBadger 0]

  On 1/12/2012 at 8:38 AM, Machinehead2k5 said:

I thought it was a 2 week process of buildling?? That's how long the Heinz Field and Citizens Bank Park took...

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I thought it was a month but I could be mistaken. Look, Im all for it if they can make it work. I think it would even be great if they did a Michigan vs Michigan State or Michigan vs Notre Dame game in conjunction with the alumni game and the Winter Classic game. It could be a great hockey weekend for the state of Michigan.

[steelnation248 102]

  On 1/13/2012 at 1:20 AM, BlueJacketBadger said:

I thought it was a month but I could be mistaken. Look, Im all for it if they can make it work. I think it would even be great if they did a Michigan vs Michigan State or Michigan vs Notre Dame game in conjunction with the alumni game and the Winter Classic game. It could be a great hockey weekend for the state of Michigan.

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I heard this a bit ago but they were talking about mixing in the GLI with it too.

[goblue9280 33]

  On 1/13/2012 at 1:20 AM, BlueJacketBadger said:

I think it would even be great if they did a Michigan vs Michigan State or Michigan vs Notre Dame game in conjunction with the alumni game and the Winter Classic game. It could be a great hockey weekend for the state of Michigan.

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Sounds like they are looking at a 2nd rink in Detroit for any additional classic events. I would be shocked if UofM pushed for a Michigan hockey game to be part of the Classic events... if they do a "Big Chill" event in the future, they'll want it to be the main event again.

I'm salivating at a Detroit alumni game. Gordie, Stevie Y, Mickey, Shanny, Ozzie, Dom, The Russian 5 (with Vlad somehow involved... although probably not possible with Fedorov and Kozlov in the KHL), the Grind Line, Dino, Coffey, Chelios, Murphy, Kocur, Shawn Burr...