On Monday, the NHL announced a new take on their yearly tradition of the winter classic. Instead of choosing an outdoor venue that can seat tens of thousands of people, the NHL has decided, due to COVID-19 restrictions, to choose a venue that is completed surrounded by nature’s beauty.
As NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman said:
“Ever since we began staging outdoor games in 2003 and made it a regular feature of our annual schedule in 2008, we have considered myriad non-stadium settings, but they always were rendered impractical because of the sheer volume of demand from our fans to attend.”
The Lake Tahoe region offers scenic views of a vast lake with snow-covered mountains in the background, making it out of any hockey player’s dreams.
The Colorado Avalanche and Las Vegas Golden Knights are set to play here on Saturday, February 20th at 3 pm, while the Boston Bruins and Philadelphia Flyers are set to play the next day, on Sunday, February 21st, also at 3 pm.
The game’s exact location is on the 18th hole fairway at Edgewood Tahoe Resort in Stateline, Nevada.
Although there were six other locations in contention for the events, NHL chief content producer Steve Mayer said:
“[The Lake Tahoe area] has hosted major events before. We felt very confident, especially in a short time frame, that we would be able to hold a world-class event, and Tahoe will be a great host. It was a pretty easy decision.”
Although the current COVID-19 pandemic has put a huge dampener on sporting events, the upcoming Lake Tahoe hockey games serve as a reminder of how we can take the current circumstances and make something truly unique.
