Only two years into their existence, and the Seattle Kraken have been tabbed to host an outdoor game.
NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman made the announcement during the pregame show for the Penguins vs. Bruins outdoor game at Fenway Park Monday afternoon.
The game will take place on January 1st 2024 at T-Mobile Park and will pit the Kraken vs. the Vegas Golden Knights in a battle of the league’s two most recent expansion teams.
T-Mobile Park has a capacity of a little over 47,000 and also boasts a retractable roof which will allow the NHL to build a high quality ice surface for the outdoor affair. The goal however remains to play the game itself with the roof open.
Thus far the NHL has hosted 36 outdoor games, with 29 franchises, including the Kraken, having been selected for participation. T-Mobile Park represents the 8th baseball stadium, and 14th different venue, to host the Winter Classic since its inauguration in 2008.
While Boston and Pittsburgh are currently renewing hostilities at Fenway, the league also has several other high profile outdoor games lined up in 2023.
Carolina and Washington are set to meet in the NHL’s Stadium Series at Carter-Finley Stadium on Feb 18th, while Edmonton and Calrgary will clash at Commonwealth Stadium on October 29th in the 2023-24 season.
Kraken COO Victor De Bonis hasn’t been shy about his franchise’s desire to host one of the NHL’s marquee events. Whether it was an outdoor game, the NHL Draft, or the All-Star Game, Seattle has put their name forward for virtually every event on the league calendar since they launched.
“We’ve always expressed interest in doing these events as we start a new franchise and build our fan base here,” De Bonis said in a previous interview.
T-Mobile Park ultimately beat out other Pacific Northwest finalists which included Husky Stadium (University of Washington Football Stadium), and Lumen Field (home of the Seattle Seahawks).
The game will also mark the 2nd time that Vegas has taken part in an outdoor game following their clash with Colorado at Lake Tahoe in 2020-21.
Photo: Sounder Bruce. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license.