The National Hockey League tomorrow will make official that Michigan Stadium will host next year’s Winter Classic matchup between the Detroit Red Wings and the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Today, the University of Michigan Board of Regents agreed to lease the college football stadium for a pro hockey game for three million dollars.
Big time hockey in the open air is rare, but not unheard of. For example, this won’t be the first hockey game at the Big House. More than 104 thousand fans watched U of M defeat MSU on a specially built ice rink on the Michigan Stadium field in 2010. The NHL matchup is expected to draw as many fans, and possibly more, to Ann Arbor.
The largest crowd ever to see an NHL hockey game was 71 thousand at Buffalo’s Ralph Wilson Stadium in 2008.
This will be the second time the Red Wings have skated in the National Hockey League’s Winter Classic.
Since its inception in 2008, the Winter Classic has become a popular event on the NHL schedule.
