League confident of game’s success
Regina Heritage Classic will be Canada’s first to be played in non-NHL community
There were plenty of skeptics when the NHL announced on New Year’s Day that it was bringing an outdoor game to Regina, but Bill Daly doesn’t appear to be one of them.
The NHL’s deputy commissioner — widely regarded as one of the most powerful men in hockey — was among the dignitaries who visited Mosaic Stadium on Friday to promote the 2019 Heritage Classic, slated for Oct. 26 between the Calgary Flames and Winnipeg Jets.
While speaking to the media, Daly expressed “no doubt that this game will be in demand and it will be very successful here.”
“It’s something we’ve actually been considering for a number of years and Regina has always been kind of the top of the list for a potential neutral site,” offered Daly, who has family roots in Saskatchewan. “Part of that (interest) has to do with the history of hockey here and how popular it is here. Having the ability to bring two teams who are almost equidistant from the city to a neutral site was also attractive to us. And the quality of this facility is really second to none in Canada. What we found with our outdoor games, particularly the Heritage Classic, is often it’s difficult to find an appropriate facility to bring it to. This one met all the criteria for sure.”
Regina’s 33,000-seat stadium, which opened in 2017, will host the NHL’s 28th outdoor game. The Canadian-based Heritage Classic has never been staged in a nonNHL market — until now — after previous stops in Winnipeg (2016), Vancouver (2014), Calgary (2011) and Edmonton (2003).
“Certainly there are risks associated with playing in a neutral site but we felt the risks were minimized by our choice of teams and by the passion for hockey in this market,” Daly explained. “Certainly the way they follow their football team here was something we admired but also obviously the junior team that’s here — the Regina Pats — is a model of success as well.
“We knew this market was hungry for sports and particularly for hockey. We thought clearly it was the appropriate time to bring the game here.”
There were no announcements Friday in regards to ticket prices or accompanying events. Past Heritage Classics have included NHL alumni games but that might not be the case this time around, due in part to “time constraints.”
The Saskatchewan Roughriders are on the road for three straight weeks in October before returning home on Nov. 2.
“The difficulties and the timelines of building in (the hockey facilities) and getting out might preclude the possibility of having a lot of the ancillary events that we would normally have around outdoor games,” Daly said.
The Pats are hoping to play a junior game at Mosaic Stadium as part of the event — similar to the 2011 Heritage Classic when the Flames faced the Montreal Canadiens, followed the next day by a WHL game featuring the Pats and Calgary Hitmen.
Negotiations are ongoing and may hinge on ticket sales for the main event. If the Jets-Flames matchup sells out quickly, it would increase the likelihood of the Pats being allowed to piggyback on the NHL contest and offer tickets for a reasonable price (perhaps in the $12 to $15 range).
“We have had talks with the WHL,” Daly confirmed. “I think in a perfect world they would like that to happen. I don’t know given the logistics and given the fact that we’re playing a game in the middle of the CFL season if it’s going to be possible or feasible, but we’re still exploring that possibility.”
Tickets for the Heritage Classic are slated to go on sale April 25 at 10 a.m., via Ticketmaster, with details to be announced near that date. The NHL sets the prices, which are expected to be consistent with past Heritage Classics.
Two-game packages for Winnipeg’s alumni contest and NHL regular-season game in 2016 started at $185 and extended to $669 (before taxes and surcharges). More recently, season-ticket holders could purchase tickets to the 2017 NHL 100 Classic in Ottawa for $129 to $499.
An exclusive pre-sale for the 2019 Classic is scheduled for early April — available to season-ticket holders of the Flames and Jets as well as Evraz Place Backstage Club members.
“We want to make the game affordable for people to attend, even if they’re not fans of either team,” Daly added. “That’s the goal.”