The NHL is planning an aggressive approach to outdoor hockey in 2013-14, as six contests will be played beyond the confines of an indoor facility. This schedule includes a visit to Dodger Stadium where the Anaheim Ducks will meet the Los Angeles Kings.
Stadium Series 2014: Ducks, Kings won’t have outdoor alumni game
The Anaheim Ducks and Los Angeles Kings won’t have an outdoor alumni game this January at Dodger Stadium.
Jeff Golden
The outdoor games have embodied the NHL’s attempt to embrace its storied past. This has typically included alumni players coming back to participate in one more game for their former teams. However, that won’t be the case at Dodger Stadium, as the Ducks and Kings will not be having an alumni game, according to Kelly Cheeseman the Chief Operating Officer of AEG Sports.
Cheeseman informed Jon Rosen that the alumni game would not be held in an attempt to preserve the ice surface for the NHL sanctioned outdoor game, via LA Kings Insider:
“We went through that exercise ad nauseum to try to make that work, because...we were very excited about that possibility. But, unfortunately, just the logistics and the timing of our game, and the concerns of the ice conditions, aren’t going to allow us to pull off an alumni game, unfortunately. We got pretty far down the line. We looked at all the possibilities, and then we just said for the good of the game and for protecting the ice conditions, we needed to make sure that we held that integrity.”
In speaking about the game’s presentation, Cheeseman stated that it would be unique to Southern California.
The Ducks and Kings will meet at Dodger Stadium on Jan. 25.
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