SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Outdoor hockey is coming to Utah.
Utah Mammoth will host the 2027 Winter Classic at Rice-Eccles Stadium against the Colorado Avalanche. A date for the University of Utah football game has not been announced.
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This will be the first outdoor game for the franchise formerly known as the Phoenix and Arizona Coyotes and, before that, the Winnipeg Jets. All other 31 active teams took part, leaving Utah last to participate.
Commissioner Gary Bettman praised owners Ryan and Ashley Smith for nearly everything they've done since then. buying a team and moving it in Salt Lake City in 2024.
“It’s a dream come true,” Ryan Smith said. “We actually came here early in the acquisition process because we said this is what we want. We wanted our players to be able to have it.”
Rice-Eccles Stadium hosted the opening and closing ceremonies of the 2002 Winter Olympics and is slated to do so again when the Games return to Salt Lake City in 2034. It seats 51,444 people.
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“This stadium is very well located from a vantage point,” Bettman said. “There's an intimacy here. We expect over 50,000 people to be here.”
Colorado will compete outdoors for the fourth time. The Avalanche were 1-2-0 in previous outdoor competition.
“The Avalanche organization always prides itself on highlighting significant events such as this,” Colorado State President of Hockey Operations Joe Sakic said in a press release. “We look forward to meeting a great team and representing the Rocky Mountain region in a game that will appeal to these two markets in this part of the country.”
Utah's heritage as a winter sports destination makes the Winter Classic a natural fit for the state and a natural attraction for the community, Ryan and Ashley Smith said.
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“We don’t hide from the winter here,” said Ashley Smith. “We live in the mountains. This is what we breathe. It’s very authentic to us and to all of Utah.”
Alcohol sales at the stadium will be allowed during the Winter Classic as the event is considered a private event. Sporting events involving the University of Utah prohibit the sale of alcohol in the stadium during those events.
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