Ohio
Report: NHL conducts site survey of Ohio Stadium for possible Columbus Blue Jackets game
There may be hope for an NHL Winter Classic to be held some day in Columbus after all.
According to a report by TSN’s Darren Dreger, NHL reps visited Ohio Stadium this past weekend for a site survey. That’s a preliminary step to potentially getting the league’s premier outdoor game, but a lot more steps are needed for it to happen. The Blue Jackets are one of four teams that have yet to participate in one of the NHL’s outdoor extravaganzas, along with the Arizona Coyotes, Florida Panthers and Seattle Kraken.
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Ohio Stadium, nicknamed “The Shoe” for its former horseshoe design, is one of the most iconic stadiums in the country. Blue Jackets fans have long dreamed of watching their favorite team play there, but Ohio State has thrown up multiple road blocks ― including the cost of winterizing the stadium ― that NHL commissioner Gary Bettman has cited as the main holdup for scheduling an outdoor game in Columbus.
Ohio State’s top rival, the University of Michigan, hosted the 2014 NHL Winter Classic at Michigan Stadium and drew 105,491 for a game between the Detroit Red Wings and Toronto Maple Leafs. Ohio Stadium has an official capacity of 102,780 but hosted a crowd of 110,045 for the annual rivalry game between Ohio State and Michigan in 2016.
Getting a site survey doesn’t guarantee anything for the Blue Jackets, who are off to a 4-8-4 start this season after finishing last year as one of the NHL’s two worst teams. It’s highly unlikely the league would schedule them into an outdoor game until results on the ice begin to improve significantly.
That could take several more years for Columbus to finally get the biggest stage in the NHL’s regular season to pay a visit.
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