IllaZilla Posted January 2, 2020 Share Posted January 2, 2020 Leipold must've done enough whining to get Bettman to finally cave on this one... Wild to host 2021 Winter Classic 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Antti_Laxative Posted January 2, 2020 Share Posted January 2, 2020 All I see are $$$ I'll be stationed either on the Kieran's corner or O'Donovn's corner! After selling I *may* go in even....if the Habs are the opponent. Hopefully the lameass P.A. Guy won't break the Twins sound system with that high-schoolish "Scorrrringggggg for Minnnnnesssssssota!" 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Icechipper Posted January 2, 2020 Share Posted January 2, 2020 If we don't host Winnipeg the NHL is nuts...... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Icechipper Posted January 2, 2020 Share Posted January 2, 2020 Unless.. . Detroit or Chicago to boost TV ratings in the US Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CreaseAndAssist Posted January 2, 2020 Share Posted January 2, 2020 1 hour ago, Icechipper said: If we don't host Winnipeg the NHL is nuts...... Its all about the ratings, as has been stated many times. NBC is the one who really decides who we play. With that being said, I think it will be Chicago or Colorado. Chicago is more of a sure bet, since they've proven they'll travel well and there are plenty of ways to mix in both the more recent and more distant rivalry of the match up. I think if there is anything we can agree on, is that the Winter Classic jerseys are likely to be ugly as hell. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CreaseAndAssist Posted January 2, 2020 Share Posted January 2, 2020 1 hour ago, Icechipper said: Unless.. . Detroit or Chicago to boost TV ratings in the US No way to Detroit. No real rivalry there. As for Winnipeg, casual fans won't care one bit about the Jets even if they may be fun to watch and we know the Jets fans will probably almost make it a Winnipeg home game. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IllaZilla Posted January 2, 2020 Author Share Posted January 2, 2020 It probably will be Chicago. They've been in the most Winter Classics, four. You don't get to go that many times if you're a ratings dog. Although it would be nice to see Colorado, just to change things up, but this game is all about the ratings and the Benjamins... I kind of wonder how long the NHL continues with this gimmick. Ratings have been in a steady decline since it was introduced in 2008. Personally I think the NHL shot itself in the foot by being greedy and adding all those outdoor Stadium Series games as well. The Winter Classic was a unique concept and now they saturated the market with all the other outdoor games... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Icechipper Posted January 2, 2020 Share Posted January 2, 2020 Wearing toques kind of cheesy in Dallas.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Antti_Laxative Posted January 2, 2020 Share Posted January 2, 2020 But they played Chicago in the Stadium Series tilt...I doubt it will be them. The Wilds have zero stars and zero rivalries - the opponent is going to have to bring the star power or this will set a record for lowest viewership of any sporting event in history. Hey! Peradventure they *should* try for that record...schedule Seattle Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tomdog Posted January 2, 2020 Share Posted January 2, 2020 I wish they would drop this and have the all-star game in this format instead. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Puck_Pun Posted January 2, 2020 Share Posted January 2, 2020 Does the NHL actually cover some of the cost of putting up these outdoor rinks or do they just expect the local government to subsidise them? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IllaZilla Posted January 3, 2020 Author Share Posted January 3, 2020 33 minutes ago, Puck_Pun said: Does the NHL actually cover some of the cost of putting up these outdoor rinks or do they just expect the local government to subsidise them? When the Wild hosted the Stadium Series at TCF Bank stadium in 2016, the NHL paid $800,000 to rent the stadium plus other expenses for the game that day. Not sure what those other expenses were, but the NHL didn’t dump everything on the locals. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alexandron Posted January 3, 2020 Share Posted January 3, 2020 5 hours ago, IllaZilla said: It probably will be Chicago. They've been in the most Winter Classics, four. You don't get to go that many times if you're a ratings dog. Although it would be nice to see Colorado, just to change things up, but this game is all about the ratings and the Benjamins... I kind of wonder how long the NHL continues with this gimmick. Ratings have been in a steady decline since it was introduced in 2008. Personally I think the NHL shot itself in the foot by being greedy and adding all those outdoor Stadium Series games as well. The Winter Classic was a unique concept and now they saturated the market with all the other outdoor games... Agree, wish to see a Colorado, for just to change the team to a better one. As well as Chicago team has been too many times already. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Antti_Laxative Posted January 3, 2020 Share Posted January 3, 2020 1 hour ago, Alexandron said: Agree, wish to see a Colorado, for just to change the team to a better one. As well as Chicago team has been too many times already. Again, for those not paying attention...the Avs are hosting a Stadium Series outdoor game this year. Does anyone in here actually pay attention to NHL puck other than what happens other than at 7th and Kellogg? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TonyOday Posted January 3, 2020 Share Posted January 3, 2020 I still don't get the allure of this game. At no time have I ever thought to myself let's go out un sub zero temps to spend $500 watching anyone play hockey. Club Level or better or why go? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hockey-78 Posted January 3, 2020 Share Posted January 3, 2020 26 minutes ago, TonyOday said: I still don't get the allure of this game. At no time have I ever thought to myself let's go out un sub zero temps to spend $500 watching anyone play hockey. Club Level or better or why go? Most of them don't go there to actually watch the game. They have the money, they spend it, they take a few pics and upload to Twitter/Instagram "hey look, we were there!". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CreaseAndAssist Posted January 3, 2020 Share Posted January 3, 2020 2 hours ago, Hockey-78 said: Most of them don't go there to actually watch the game. They have the money, they spend it, they take a few pics and upload to Twitter/Instagram "hey look, we were there!". This is probably true. Although I can say a lot of people were watching the game fairly intensely when I was at the Stadium Series game in 2016. As far as paying attention to the NHL outside of St. Paul, of course...but why would we care about Colorado getting a Stadium Series game this year? Wouldn't that make it LESS likely they'd be our opponent for a Winter Classic? I would think that it would make it MORE likely Chicago gets the bid and @IllaZilla's point about the Blackhawks clearly being a ratings draw is really what matters here. We know that fan base will travel here. They will probably make up nearly half of the fans in attendance and make for a pretty fun game atmosphere. Yea, the rivalry between the Wild and Chicago is nothing like it was between the North Stars and the Blackhawks but its really the closest thing to a historic / regional rivalry that we have. No one said it was going to be Maple Leafs / Canadiens type of a thing. We're going to be a 20-year old franchise who spent the 1st half of its 'life' playing in a predominantly Canadian division. Colorado is the only constant from those days, and Chicago is your only historic rival in the long-term sense...so those are really your two choices. St. Louis or Winnipeg are your dark horses, but I doubt either of them would be the ratings draw Chicago would be. Chicago fans made up half of the fans last time at TCF and luckily the Wild didn't give them much of a chance to be noisy. As far as the Winter Classic getting stale, I'd agree. Its just minor noise on another college football-dominated day. I'm fairly certain I even wrote an article about how I thought it'd be smarter to do this once every 4 years instead of every year, but the NHL couldn't hold themselves back from trying to make it an annual thing which kind of destroys the novelty of it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Antti_Laxative Posted January 3, 2020 Share Posted January 3, 2020 Yes, that's exactly my point to those who say it will be the Avs. They have an outdoor game this year.... So most likely would not play in one next year Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IllaZilla Posted January 3, 2020 Author Share Posted January 3, 2020 Chicago played in an outdoor game in five of the last six seasons: 2014 Stadium Series vs PIT (CHI Home) 2015 Winter Classic vs WAS (CHI Visit) 2016 Stadium Series vs MIN (CHI Visit) 2017 Winter Classic vs STL (CHI Visit) 2018 N/A 2019 Winter Classic vs BOS (CHI Home) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Confrontational Posted January 3, 2020 Share Posted January 3, 2020 I read somewhere many years ago that one stadium series event was essentially the equivalent of like 4 normal arena games. So, no doubt, that's why they keep doing them. The Dallas outdoor game new years day was said to have 86,500 ppl attend - that's a crap ton of $15 beers...! So, some may feel it's being overplayed - but if they're continuing to do it - no doubt thousands of others don't think that. A game at Target Field would be pretty cool - but like someone mentioned - it would be somewhat of a novelty event - something to attend at least once to say you've tried it... Too bad they couldn't match that up with Hockey Day MN... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CreaseAndAssist Posted January 3, 2020 Share Posted January 3, 2020 I am not sure how the revenues split. I think the league probably gets a lion's share of the $$$. But no doubt, the local owners get a big boost and they often use it to leverage people into buying season tickets to get the preferential seating at the Winter Classic. The one thing they've acknowledged is that Target Field is about half the size of the Cotton Bowl, even if they add extra seats as some have speculated. However, I find it funny that they've stated that ticket prices will not be 3x more than what you'll pay for a normal regular season game. They bilked people pretty bad last time at TCF and I can only imagine they'll put a steeper premium on buying tickets to a Winter Classic. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IllaZilla Posted January 3, 2020 Author Share Posted January 3, 2020 23 minutes ago, CreaseAndAssist said: I am not sure how the revenues split. I think the league probably gets a lion's share of the $$$. But no doubt, the local owners get a big boost and they often use it to leverage people into buying season tickets to get the preferential seating at the Winter Classic. The one thing they've acknowledged is that Target Field is about half the size of the Cotton Bowl, even if they add extra seats as some have speculated. However, I find it funny that they've stated that ticket prices will not be 3x more than what you'll pay for a normal regular season game. They bilked people pretty bad last time at TCF and I can only imagine they'll put a steeper premium on buying tickets to a Winter Classic. That's right! They'll be four times! It is odd that they went with Target Field which seats a good 10,000 less than TCF Bank Stadium before they add the extra seats. Sounds like they want to have this whole Winter Festival thing. I wonder if the ticket prices won't be more, but in order to get the tickets, you have to buy a package for this Winter Festival thing that will boost the prices... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CreaseAndAssist Posted January 3, 2020 Share Posted January 3, 2020 25 minutes ago, IllaZilla said: That's right! They'll be four times! It is odd that they went with Target Field which seats a good 10,000 less than TCF Bank Stadium before they add the extra seats. Sounds like they want to have this whole Winter Festival thing. I wonder if the ticket prices won't be more, but in order to get the tickets, you have to buy a package for this Winter Festival thing that will boost the prices... Its a distinct possibility. Majka was saying on Russo's Straight from the Source podcast that ticket prices will be close to what people paid at the Stadium Series game. But he tried to avoid saying much more about the festival other than saying they have a lot of ideas. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CreaseAndAssist Posted January 3, 2020 Share Posted January 3, 2020 26 minutes ago, IllaZilla said: That's right! They'll be four times! It is odd that they went with Target Field which seats a good 10,000 less than TCF Bank Stadium before they add the extra seats. Sounds like they want to have this whole Winter Festival thing. I wonder if the ticket prices won't be more, but in order to get the tickets, you have to buy a package for this Winter Festival thing that will boost the prices... I agree, I thought that was odd too. But it sounds like the Minnesota Twins lobbied hard because they like the cross-promotion angle of it all. They'll spend a bunch of $$$ on winterizing bathrooms for a one-time event but they'll sit back and not upgrade their pitching. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IllaZilla Posted January 3, 2020 Author Share Posted January 3, 2020 30 minutes ago, CreaseAndAssist said: Its a distinct possibility. Majka was saying on Russo's Straight from the Source podcast that ticket prices will be close to what people paid at the Stadium Series game. But he tried to avoid saying much more about the festival other than saying they have a lot of ideas. Um, that's nowhere near what a regular season game costs. Even if you add in all the TicketRapester fees... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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