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Pittsburgh Penguins celebrate a goal against the Buffalo Sabres during the first period of
the NHL Winter Classic outdoor hockey game at Ralph Wilson Stadium in Orchard Park,
N.Y. (AP)
Pittsburgh Penguins celebrate a goal against the Buffalo Sabres during the first period of
the NHL Winter Classic outdoor hockey game at Ralph Wilson Stadium in Orchard Park,
N.Y. (AP)
Basketball and Hockey Take it Outside
July 18, 2008 3:37 PM
Following the success of the NHL’s 2008 Winter Classic, the NHL, NBA and WNBA are all staging games outdoors this season.
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On July 19, the WNBA’s New York Liberty will play outdoors at Arthur Ashe Stadium, the first outdoor professional basketball game ever played in the United States. The game comes just days after the NHL officially announced that it will play a game at Chicago’s Wrigley Field, part of what may become an annual outdoor event.
There have been several professional outdoor games in the 20th century—the NBA and NHL played exhibition games in 1972 and 1991—but the current trend for outdoor games began in the NCAA. In 2000, the Arizona State women’s basketball team hosted 16,000 fans in an outdoor baseball stadium.
A year later, Michigan State held a hockey game against archrival Michigan in its football stadium. The game attracted 74,554 fans—a record for a hockey game—and was considered a resounding success. “This could be a breakthrough game for the sport of hockey,” said Michigan coach Red Berenson.
It was; that success encouraged the Edmonton Oilers to host an outdoor game in 2003, and more than 57,000 fans braved sub-zero temperatures to see it.
On New Year’s Day 2008, the NHL held its second outdoor regular-season game, this time in Buffalo. Some 70,000 fans and the NHL’s largest American television audience in 12 years watched the Sabres and Penguins play through wind and snow, a rare ratings success for the NHL. The league hopes to make the “Winter Classic” an annual event.
The NBA and WNBA are now looking to capitalize on the outdoor trend. The NBA will play an exhibition game on a California tennis court in October.
There have been several professional outdoor games in the 20th century—the NBA and NHL played exhibition games in 1972 and 1991—but the current trend for outdoor games began in the NCAA. In 2000, the Arizona State women’s basketball team hosted 16,000 fans in an outdoor baseball stadium.
A year later, Michigan State held a hockey game against archrival Michigan in its football stadium. The game attracted 74,554 fans—a record for a hockey game—and was considered a resounding success. “This could be a breakthrough game for the sport of hockey,” said Michigan coach Red Berenson.
It was; that success encouraged the Edmonton Oilers to host an outdoor game in 2003, and more than 57,000 fans braved sub-zero temperatures to see it.
On New Year’s Day 2008, the NHL held its second outdoor regular-season game, this time in Buffalo. Some 70,000 fans and the NHL’s largest American television audience in 12 years watched the Sabres and Penguins play through wind and snow, a rare ratings success for the NHL. The league hopes to make the “Winter Classic” an annual event.
The NBA and WNBA are now looking to capitalize on the outdoor trend. The NBA will play an exhibition game on a California tennis court in October.
Headline Links: Upcoming outdoor games
On Saturday night, the New York Liberty will host the Indiana Fever at Arthur Ashe Stadium, home of tennis’s U.S. Open. The court has already been installed, and pictures can be seen on WNBA.com. The Liberty are used to playing in unusual venues; during the 2004 Republican National Convention, they were forced to play their home games in Radio City Music Hall.
Source: WNBA.com
The NBA will hold its first modern outdoor game on October 11, when the Phoenix Suns and Denver Nuggets play an exhibition game at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden in Palm Springs, Calif.
Source: NBA.com
The Chicago Blackhawks will host the Detroit Red Wings on New Year’s Day 2009 at Chicago’s Wrigley Field, baseball’s oldest major-league stadium. The NHL had hoped to hold the 2009 Winter Classic at Yankee Stadium, but the game would have delayed the stadium’s demolition process.
Source: NHL.com
Background: History of indoor sports played outdoors
Hockey
Though many players grew up playing on outdoor ponds, outdoor high-level hockey games were a rare event in the 20th century. Perhaps the most famous was 1957 final of the World Championships, played before 55,000 in Moscow’s Lenin Stadium. The only known NHL game was played in 1991 at the Caesars Palace outdoor arena in Las Vegas: the Rangers and Kings played a full exhibition game despite 85-degree weather. “For all the hockey derring-do Friday night,” wrote The New York Times, “the exhibition game seemed more an engineering feat than an athletic achievement.”
Source: The New York Times
The 2001 “Cold War” game between Michigan and Michigan State set the standard for outdoor games. Held in Michigan State’s football stadium, it attracted a record 74,554 fans to watch a thrilling 3-3 draw. “This could be a breakthrough game for the sport of hockey,” Michigan coach Red Berenson. “But it’s also a throwback game for the older people in the crowd. And it’s good for the young guys to experience playing outdoors. This was the best of everything. The crowd. The rink. The competition. The importance of the game. It had all the ingredients of a great game and it was.”
Source: USA Today
The Cold War inspired the Edmonton Oilers to play outdoors two years later. The “Heritage Classic” also included a pregame exhibition between retired Oilers and Canadiens. The game is most remembered for the sight of Montreal goaltender Jose Theodore wearing a knit cap over his helmet. “When I was 11 or 12 years old, I remember my mom always said, ‘Put a tuque on, you’ll catch a cold,” Theodore explained. “I just wanted to make sure she’s not going to say anything when I go back home, so I put a tuque on.”
Source: CBS Sportsline
Two other prominent outdoor hockey games followed: an NCAA game at Green Bay’s Lambeau Field in 2006 and a Swiss league game in 2007. The NHL’s second outdoor regular-season game was a heavily marketed New Year’s Day game at Buffalo’s Ralph Wilson Stadium. Playing through snow and wind, the Sabres and Penguins went to a shootout, where wunderkind Sidney Crosby scored the winning goal. Following the rare marketing success, the NHL declared it would look to play more outdoor games in the future.
Source: ESPN
Basketball
In 1972, the NBA played its only two known outdoor exhibition games. The games, played between the Suns and Bucks, received almost no news coverage and weren’t organized well. “One game was in a baseball stadium with fans behind chain-link fences,” writes Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic, “and one was in a covered arena with no side walls to keep birds off the court.”
Source: USA Today
The Arizona State women’s basketball team has played twice at Chase Field, home of baseball’s Arizona Diamondbacks: in 2000 and 2006. Both games were played in 50-degree weather and the second game was called because of rain with 4:18 remaining. “A basketball game has never been rained out before, so I think it’s really cool to be a part of that,” said ASU player Emily Westerberg.
Source: ESPN
© 2008 Dulcinea Media, Inc.
