SALT LAKE CITY – After several months of discussions, NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman confirmed that the Utah Hockey Club will host an outdoor game in the future.
NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman on an outdoor game in Utah 🏟️ 👀
“An outdoor game is in Utah’s future.”
“Utah is going to get an outdoor game and it’s going to be great because I know the reaction from the community is going to be as good as we’ve ever seen.”
He said they’ve…
— Cole Bagley (@BagleyKSLsports) March 21, 2025
Utah Hockey Club to host outdoor game
During a special broadcast of NashCast on SEG+, Bettman made a special guest appearance with Tyson Nash, Austin Facer and Ryan Smith during Utah’s game against Buffalo.
When asked specifically about the possibility of an outdoor game, Commissioner Bettman confirmed that that Utah will in fact host one in the future.
“An outdoor game is in Utah’s future,” Bettman confirmed.
“Utah is going to get an outdoor game and it’s going to be great because I know the reaction from the community is going to be as good as we’ve ever seen.”
In regard to where the game would most likely be held, Bettman added that the NHL has sent representatives to Rice Eccles Stadium to scout the venue.
However, no official date for the event has been confirmed.
“We’ve had people look at the stadium at the University of Utah,” Bettman said.
“This is just an ideal situation for us. An outdoor game is in Utah’s future but we’re not going to break news because I don’t have a date yet.”
A Winter Classic or Stadium Series for the Utah Hockey Club?
Since 2008, the National Hockey League has hosted a collection of outdoor games headlined by the annual Winter Classic.
Normally hosted on New Years Day, two teams are selected to participate in an outdoor hockey game. In the past, cities such as Buffalo, Philadelphia, Boston, Pittsburgh, Ann Arbor and Seattle have hosted the extraordinary event.
In 2014, the NHL then introduced the Stadium Series to add yet another annual outdoor game to the league’s schedule.
Related: Ryan Smith Says Utah Hockey Club Outdoor Game Is ‘In Motion’
Ahead of the recent stadium series matchup between the Detroit Red Wings and Columbus Blue Jackets, the NHL unveiled a rendering of Ohio Stadium’s transformation to host the event.
An X post of the rendering was then quoted by former Utah Jazz and current ESPN reporter Holly Rowe, who asked Smith if the Utah Hockey Club could do something similar at Rice Eccles or Lavell Edwards Stadium.
Smith then replied, “In motion ..”
Outdoor NHL game coming soon? 👀👀👀 pic.twitter.com/kV3oSAqES5
— Cole Bagley (@BagleyKSLsports) February 27, 2025
Based on other recent conversations involving Bettman and president of NHL content Steve Mayer, an outdoor game in Utah would most likely be a Stadium Series, not a Winter Classic.
According to Mayer, a Winter Classic is not possible because of the possibility that a college football playoff game could conflict.
“In Utah, for example, their football stadium, you could never do a Winter Classic because of the possibility of doing a college football playoff game.”
Next For The Utah Hockey Club
The Utah Hockey Club will host the Tampa Bay Lightning on Saturday afternoon at Delta Center. The game can be viewed on SEG+. Fans can also tune in on air on the KSL Sports APP or on 97.5 and 1280 The Zone. Click here for the full schedule.
Cole Bagley is the Utah Hockey Club insider for KSL Sports. Keep up with him on X here. You can hear Cole break down the team on KSL Sports Zone and KSL 5 TV.
Take us with you, wherever you go.
This post was originally published on this site be sure to check out more of their content.
