2014 Stadium Series: Winter Classic and Heritage Classic headline six outdoor games

2014 is the year of outdoor hockey for the NHL, as the league is prepared to introduce the Stadium Series to its slate of outdoor games. The Winter Classic was historically successful this year, generating $30 million of revenue ($20 million in profit) set against the backdrop of a picturesque winter wonderland.

In the artist rendering above, you will see a beach volleyball court in left field, a performance stage in right field and a roller hockey rink near home plate. This design structure is similar to previous outdoor games but lacks the winter inspired accoutrements of events from the past. And it’s a nice touch.

Outdoor games have been very successful for the NHL and that will continue again this year, but with a distinctly Canadian flavor. While five of the outdoor games will still be played in the U.S., the Maple Leafs will be the first Canadian team to play in the Winter Classic and the Heritage Classic makes a return as Canada gets in on the spectacle.

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The contest will be held at Chicago’s Soldier Field, home of the NFL’s Chicago Bears, on Saturday, March 1, 2014 at 8 p.m., ET. Coors Light has been announced as the primary sponsor of the game, as well as of the NHL Stadium Series, which makes it clear that more outdoor games are on the horizon.

This will mark the second time in as many years that an outdoor hockey event will be hosted at Soldier Field. In February, the Hockey City Classic was held, which featured a double-header of college hockey action between four different teams.

The Detroit Red Wings will host the Toronto Maple Leafs at Michigan Stadium on New Year’s Day, and according to multiple reports, that game will just be the start of what’s being called a “Stadium Series.” TSN reported on its air Tuesday evening that there will be a total of six outdoor games played in the NHL during the 2013-14 season. SIX OF THEM. That is not a typo.

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One of the more popular aspects of the Winter Classic is the uniforms worn by the participating teams.

They tend to be sort of a mishmash of the teams’ various threads from the past, and the Red Wings and Maple Leafs have both gone in that tradition. I still don’t think they beat the Chicago Blackhawks jerseys from the 2009 Winter Classic -- in my mind, the best of the first set of these events -- but they’re pretty good. Also, the clashing colors will make it like European football, and hopefully will allow teams to go to different formats than the rigid white vs. colors in the future.

The National Hockey League will wipe the slate clean and try again with a Winter Classic in Ann Arbor, Mich.

Today, the NHL and commissioner Gary Bettman announced that the league will stage its premier annual outdoor event at Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor on Jan. 1, 2014. The Toronto Maple Leafs will visit the Detroit Red Wings in a nationally televised game at The Big House. If all of this sounds familiar, well it should: this was the league’s plan for a Winter Classic in 2013, but the lockout took the game away in late November.

The NHL is expected to announce the 2014 Winter Classic this Sunday during a media availability and unveiling at Joe Louis Arena in Detroit.

In addition, the jerseys expected to be worn by both teams were believed to be leaked last month.

Over the course of the last week, news about the 2014 Winter Classic has been popping up like wild fire.

Courtesy of Icethetics:

The Maple Leafs and Red Wings were originally set to face off in the 2013 Winter Classic to be played at the University of Michigan football stadium and had been expected to set a single-game attendance record for the NHL. The Classic was canceled, however, due to the ongoing lockout between the league and the NHLPA that did not come to an end until Jan. 6.

According to McGran, it seems that the NHL is hopeful in not only getting the same teams back in the same venue but also look to be making the event bigger than ever before:

Fehr’s statement seems to indicate that the NHL is not even in contact with the players’ association or is not bargaining at all at this point.

The cancellation wipes out the NHL’s biggest generator of revenue, and there is some concern that with the showcase off the schedule, there is little reason to hold any of the 2012-13 season.

The NHL officially announced the cancelation of the 2013 Winter Classic on Friday afternoon due to the ongoing collective bargaining negotiations with the NHL Players Association.

In turn, the league also announced the refund policy for ticket holders who have purchased tickets to the event.

The 2013 Winter Classic is officially, positively gone. The Detroit Red Wings and Toronto Maple Leafs won’t be playing outdoors at Michigan Stadium on New Years Day.

The NHL announced the cancellation of their annual winter showcase on Friday, just 46 days into the 2012 NHL lockout and two months in advance of the Jan. 1 game. The Leafs and Red Wings will meet at the stadium for the “next” Winter Classic, the league said.

The 2014 NHL Winter Classic will be held at the University of Michigan’s football stadium, according to a report by the Associated Press on Friday afternoon.

According to the AP, the league will still allow the Red Wings to host the next Winter Classic and will in essence move this year’s game to next. The report did not mention whether the Maple Leafs would still remain the opponent in the game, but it seems unlikely that the league would pull them from the event.

According to LeBrun, the decision was made on Friday morning in an internal meeting at the league offices in New York. Due to several logistical issues, it was determined that putting on the annual event this year would prove too problematic.

This year’s event was scheduled to involve several games besides the actual Winter Classic, such as two alumni games at Comerica Park and a two-week festival called the “Hockeytown Winter Festival,” which will feature games ranging from high school to college hockey.

The NHL has informed sponsors of the 2013 Winter Classic that it will be canceling the event later on Friday, according to a report by Nick Kypreos of Sports Net. The official announcement could come some time around 2 p.m. ET on Friday.

Earlier on Friday, a report surfaced from Canada’s Globe & Mail, which stated that the annual event was not going to be canceled and that the hard deadline for a decision could come no earlier than Nov. 15. However, that report was quickly contradicted by several other outlets who cited sources saying that the event was going to be canceled on Friday.

Here’s the deal with the Winter Classic:

Oh, OK. That’s contrary to everything we’ve believed for two weeks. ... or, wait, maybe not?

The NHL will not be canceling the 2013 Winter Classic on Thursday as several outlets have received confirmation that no announcement is scheduled. Last week, reports began to surface that the league was going to cancel the annual event due to the ongoing labor negotiations with the NHL Players Association.

Of course, it still remains unclear whether the league will cancel the event some time in the near future, potentially as early as Friday. According to previous reports, the scale of this year’s event is far more broad than previous years, which requires the league and its organizers to begin planning the related events months in advance.

The 2013 NHL Winter Classic will be canceled by the league on Thursday, according to a report by Katie Strang of ESPN New York. Citing a source familiar with the NHL’s plans, Strang reported that the league will be announcing the cancelation of the event on Thursday due to the ongoing collective bargaining negotiations with the NHL Players Association.

This development remains consistent with a report from Michael Russo of the Star Tribune last week, which stated that due to the size of this year’s event in Detroit, that preemptive decisions would need to be made sooner than usual. With millions of dollars in non-refundable payments scheduled to begin this week, the league needs to evaluate whether it is possible to continue with the planning of the event.

The NHL Winter Classic and All-Star Game will be canceled next week, according to a report by John Buccigross of ESPN. Citing league sources, Buccigross originally said that the games would be canceled Monday before issuing a correction.

The agreement between the NHL and the University of Michigan, owners of Winter Classic venue Michigan Stadium, calls for a payment of $250,000 from the league to the university on Friday, Nov. 2. That payment is non-refundable in the event of the cancellation of the game. If the league cancels before Nov. 2, they’ll lose the initial $100,000 payment already sent to the university.

If the NHL and NHLPA are unable to conclude the ongoing labor dispute by Nov. 20, then the 2013 Winter Classic will be cancelled, according to a report by Ansar Kahn of MLive.com.

As of Friday afternoon, the NHL had already announced the cancellation of the NHL schedule through Nov. 1.

If the 2013 Winter Classic is cancelled, it’s expected that the plans will be pushed back and the Red Wings and Maple Leafs will play in Ann Arbor in 2014.

NHL staff visited the site in September, and were scheduled to return in October to do logistics scouting to help prepare for the event. However, the first two weeks of the season have been cancelled, and there’s little hope of a quick resolution to the situation.

Contrary to previous reports that the NHL lockout wouldn’t guarantee that the 2013 Winter Classic would be cancelled, a league source told The Toronto Star that, barring a settlement, commissioner Gary Bettman plans to cancel the New Years Day game.

A source close to the players said that the NHLPA had heard similar news.

Each team also features three legends who will roam the bench as coaches and ambassadors. Ron Ellis, Jim McKenny and Johnny Bower will represent the Leafs, and Gordie Howe, Ted Lindsay and Alex Delvecchio will represent the Wings.

Expect more names to emerge. The Alumni “Game” will actually be a doubleheader on Dec. 31 at Comerica Park in Detroit. Red Wings general manager Ken Holland said that he expects around 25 players for each team, meaning as many as 100 former greats between the two storied franchises could make an appearance.

Phew.

The Michigan Senate passed a bill Wednesday that will allow the NHL to use a temporary 30-day liquor license to serve beer at the Winter Classic, which will take place on Jan. 1, 2013. The same bill was approved by the state’s House of Representatives on May 24.