Stadium Series Announced

Oh the Outdoor games. The NHL has been sending games outside since 2008 and have been a big hit ever since. It started out actually in 2003 with the Heritage Game between Edmonton and Montreal. Since 2008, New Years Day has seen the Winter Classic. Now we've added the Stadium Series. All of those events have been a big hit. Two more outdoor games have been announced, both for next season.

The Winter Classic with be played at Fenway Park for the 2nd time in history the the opponent for the Bruins to be announced. The Stadium Series will take place February 18th at Carter Finley Stadium as the Carolina Hurricanes play host to the Washington Capitals. Having Carolina host next season takes a team off the list that has never played in an outdoor game. With that, it leaves Arizona, Florida, Columbus and Seattle (brand new team) to have never played in an outdoor game since the concept was introduced by the NHL

The stadium series and winter classic has done a lot for the game, and putting on display some of the other markets in the league. Look what happened in Nashville late last month in the game between the Predators and Lighting. Over 20,000 fans made the trip from Tampa Bay to Nashville to support their Lightning. This has been amazing for the expansion of the game of hockey and putting it in different spots around the league.

The only thing that sticks out with me at least is that it seems like we see the same teams a lot. Pittsburgh, Washington, Boston, Rangers, Blackhawks. Nothing wrong with that, its getting exposure for the game. You do have other teams around the league and it would be even better exposure for the talent that this league has.

This concept has worked wonders for the NHL. Baseball had success with it on a larger stage last year with the Field of Dreams game. IF we even have baseball this year, but that's a whole different debate which we will get into at another time. Basketball should give it a go with a concept ideas for like a blacktop game. Or do what college basketball did, and play on something like an air craft carrier, which they did in 2011 and 2012. Sometimes, if done correctly, these games could be even bigger draws for the league, whichever ones can pull it off the right way