For sometime, the concept of the Philadelphia Flyers facing the Pittsburgh Penguins in an outdoor game at Penn State's Beaver Stadium has garnered a great deal of interest among fans. Apparently, that interest is shared by Penn State University.
Penn State expresses interest in Flyers, Penguins outdoor game
Fans have been clamoring for a Flyers-Penguins game at Beaver Stadium since the inception of the Winter Classic. Apparently, Penn State is, too.
Justin K. Aller
Joe Battista, the associate athletic director for Penn State’s Ice Arena & Hockey Operations, stated that if Beaver Stadium was to host an outdoor game, it would likely feature the Flyers and Penguins. In addition to a potential NHL game, school officials expressed interest in hosting a Big Ten hockey game.
The enthused attitude about ice hockey is likely correlative to the school's newly developed program, which will be opening the Pegula Ice Arena this year (funded by Buffalo Sabres owner Terry Pegula).
However, the timing of hosting an NHL game might be an issue. Battista stated the outdoor game would likely occur in December, via WJAC-TV:
“That’s one problem and the other is we usually winterize the stadium, so we’d probably play in December before we did that.”
The NHL is adding the Stadium Series during the 2013-14 season, which will feature auxiliary outdoor games to the Winter Classic. Historically, the Winter Classic has been played in January. Whether the NHL will alter that schedule remains to be seen.
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