Outdoor hockey more than just a novelty
Open-air games have become a yearly fixture, and a chance to grow the NHL’s brand
BMO Field — or Exhibition Stadium as the NHL prefers to call it due to sponsorship issues — is not exactly The Big House, where the Maple Leafs got their first taste of outdoor hockey in 2014.
It’s a really little house by comparison.
But it is starting to take shape. The boards were put in place Monday. The ice is to go in Tuesday. The weather seems just about right. And the 20th outdoor stadium game in NHL history, a rematch between the Detroit Red Wings and Toronto Maple Leafs from three years ago, should go off without a hitch.
“Everything has gone fairly well,” said Mike Craig, the icemaker for the Centennial Classic on New Year’s Day. “We’re not really expecting anything out of the ordinary.”
The outdoor games — which began in 2003 in Edmonton and then arrived for good with the success of the first Winter Classic in Buffalo in 2008 — are no longer out of the ordinary. They are part of the league furniture.
They are, however, important dates on the NHL calendar.
“These games are what you call tent-pole events,” said Vijay Setlur, a sports marketing instructor in the Schulich School of Business at York University. “They can generate significant attention not only from hockey fans, but casual sports fans. The league can bring in its sponsors, and potential new sponsors, leveraging these events to achieve their business objectives.”
In the NHL’s case, it would like to grow revenue to $4.4 billion and it needs to find new fans and new interest to get there.
“These events are good for the league because they’re important for fan development and as a revenue generator,” Setlur said.
The outdoor games were once exclusively played in iconic locations: The Leafs-Wings game at Michigan Stadium drew 104,000 fans, the largest crowd to witness an NHL game.
Fans at games at Fenway Park and Wrigley Field felt like they were a piece of history. Those at this year’s Winter Classic — Jan. 2 at Busch Stadium in St. Louis, with Chicago as the visitor — might feel the same way.
The Centennial Classic, though it will be one of the smallest outdoor games with a crowd of about 39,000, will have its connection to history as part of the team’s 100th season.
And a hockey game, oddly enough, will draw more fans to BMO Field than the soccer team it was built for, or the CFL. TFC drew 36,000 for the MLS Cup, while 33,000 showed up for the Grey Cup. There will be more temporary stands for the Centennial Classic, with the north stands moved forward over the soccer pitch to roughly the goal-line. Dress warm. “We’re outside in the middle of winter,” Craig said. “Dress for the elements.”