If Classic melts away, it’s gone for year
NHL official says Leafs-wings game at Michigan Stadium won’t be rescheduled
NEW YORK — If the National Hockey League cancels the Winter Classic, it has no plans to reschedule the event for this season, even if there is a prompt settlement to the lockout, said Bill Daly, the deputy commissioner.
Responding to reports that the league will cancel the Jan. 1 game later this week, Daly wrote in an email: “We aren’t commenting on the timing of the Winter Classic announcement. It will (or won’t) be made if and when necessary.”
But he added, “I can certainly confirm that if the game is cancelled, there is no ‘resurrection’ scenario for this year.”
The Winter Classic, a regular-season showcase for the NHL, is scheduled to pit the Detroit Red Wings and the Toronto Maple Leafs, the first Canadian team in the Classic, at Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor. About 115,000 fans are expected, a world record for hockey attendance.
A spokesman for the Michigan athletic department said Monday that the university had heard nothing from the league about cancelling the game.
“We haven’t heard anything from the NHL, so as far as we’re concerned, there is no change in the current status,” said David Ablauf, the associate athletic director for media and public relations at Michigan.
According to the NHL’s contract with the university, the league can cancel as late as the day of the game and pay only a minimal penalty. The contract does not grant the league access to the stadium for rink-building purposes until Dec. 1.
But Brian Cooper, the president of the Toronto sports management company S&E Sponsorship Group, said there were many reasons the league would need to cancel the Winter Classic as much as two months in advance.
“There are so many arrangements associated with an event of this magnitude — about 109,000 tickets have already been sold,” he said. “For companies attending the game or doing business there, you’ve got to book hotels, transportation. There are bands playing that have to book dates. All that has to be in place six to eight weeks in advance at the latest.”
Union officials have said privately that they expected the league to cancel the Winter Classic early as a pressure tactic. Last week, the league cancelled games from Nov. 2 through Nov. 30, but some of those games could be restored if the lockout ends in the next couple of weeks. No negotiations are scheduled.
While the sponsorship arrangements surrounding the Winter Classic may require an early decision on cancellation, the physical setup of the rink could be done relatively late.
Rink-building preparations for last year’s game at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia began Nov. 21, when workers started laying down armour decking to protect the grass field. But the year before, crews did not start building the rink at Heinz Field in Pittsburgh until after the Steelers’ last home game on Dec. 23, just nine days before the Winter Classic. In 2009 at Fenway Park in Boston, rink construction began on Dec. 10.
If the league cancels the Classic before Saturday, it will forfeit $100,000 (all numbers U.S.) of its $3-million rental fee. If the league cancels at any point from Saturday until Jan. 1, it will forfeit the same $100,000 and whatever expenses the university incurs up to the time of cancellation.
In both cases, the university would refund the remainder of the NHL’s $3-million rental fee to the league.
But while the logistics of setting up Michigan Stadium for the Winter Classic could be relatively easy, the same may not be true for as associated slate of outdoor events at Detroit’s Comerica Park.
Those events include games between Red Wings and Maple Leafs alumni, as well as American Hockey League, NCAA and junior games. The first of those games at the Detroit baseball stadium is scheduled for Dec. 27, with a doubleheader involving Michigan, Michigan State, Western Michigan and Michigan Tech.
The Red Wings announced last Friday that Comerica Park games would take place only if the Classic is played.