The Confluence
One of These Years, Mother Nature Won’t Cooperate with Winter Classic
by Tony on 12/14/10 at 09:15 AM ET
Comments (6)
In my opinion, this is something that most hockey fans have thought to themselves, but not a lot want to admit it.
The previous three episodes of the Winter Classic have pretty much gone off without a hitch, a tad bit too much snow in Buffalo not withstanding. The weather conditions in Buffalo, Chicago and Boston couldn’t have been much better for outdoor hockey, creating fantastic atmospheres for the NHL.
But as we all know, Mother Nature can sometimes be a testy dame.
At the time of this writing, some 18 days before the 2011 Winter Classic between the Penguins and Capitals at Heinz Field in Pittsburgh, the extended forecast doesn’t predict that the temperatures will go above freezing any time through late December. So while of course things can change in reference to the weather pretty quickly, things look pretty good weather-wise for Jan 1st.
This time.
For as more and more teams and their respective cities vie for future Winter Classics and the revenue that comes along with it, the more chance that the annual rolling of the dice with the weather will come up snake eyes.
Sure, some locations are much better suited than others. It’s a pretty good bet that a future Winter Classic at Michigan Stadium, similar to the recent outdoor game between Michigan and Michigan State, won’t have very many weather concerns, relatively speaking. Or Minnesota, or somewhere in New England.
But then there are locations that are much more risky. Even Pittsburgh is risky, although it appears that the weather will be conducive on Jan 1st. New York? There’s no guarantee there, either. Of the locations that have been speculated in the past, Fedex Field in the Washington, D.C. area would be the riskiest move yet, as much as Capitals owner Ted Leonsis is lobbying for a Winter Classic to call his own. I lived (stationed) in D.C. for nearly four years. And while Northern Virginia had one of their worst winters in recent history in 2009, there are also winters that are quite mild. It would not be a stretch at all for a January 1st temperature to easily be in the mid 40’s. And sunny. That would equate to a huge problem for the NHL. Of course, they have contingencies in place, such as playing the next day, or in the worst case scenario, playing back in the arena. But the millions of dollars lost in revenue would be just another embarrassing moment for the league.
By the way, I’m narrowing this discussion to U.S. venues. Naturally, Canadian locations would be ideal, but let’s face it, the primary objective of the Winter Classic is money, and NBC simply won’t be having a Canadian team on the Winter Classic during primetime viewing on New Years Day.
I think it’s only fair to state the Devil’s Advocate point of view for these types of things. Overall, I think the three Winter Classics have been great for the NHL. Let’s just hope that Mother Nature keeps cooperating.
Filed in: | The Confluence | Permalink
Tags: NHL-Hockey, Pittsburgh+Penguins, Washington+Capitals,
Comments
Of course, that all is to say that mid-forties (or even mid-fifties!) and sunny would actually be just fine for the Winter Classic. And at the worst, the ice would probably be roughly equivalent to the terrible ice in the Verizon Center or Madison Square Garden.
Posted by Wheeler on 12/14/10 at 10:38 AM ET
Anywhere is a risk, even here in Michigan. Two or three years ago the 1st week of January it was in the mid-60’s and rained every day for three straight days. We’ve even had 70’s in January. One of these years it WILL happen.
Posted by John W. from a bubble wrap cocoon on 12/14/10 at 11:50 AM ET
How would it be embarrassing? “Ha, stupid NHL can’t control the weather.”
Outdoor games come with risk. As long as the contingency plan is reasonable and reasonably successful, there’s no embarrassment. It’s just unfortunate and “better luck next year.”
The numerous successes have proven it’s a good idea, and when they draw the Queen of Spades one year, that’s just the price of doing business.
Posted by jonquixote on 12/14/10 at 01:32 PM ET
I remember the Chicago WC pundits like Pierre were claiming the wind was a big factor.
Posted by redxblack from Akron Ohio on 12/14/10 at 04:35 PM ET
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According to the NHL, they can make ice reliably outdoors at temperatures up to 65 degrees on the portable rink they use for the winter classic. Other, more permanent installations can make ice at even higher temperatures; there was even an exhibition game played outside on a rink in Las Vegas, in September, in 85 degree weather. (http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9D0CE3DD133AF93AA1575AC0A967958260).
The key factor is humidity and rain. Higher temperatures mean that the air can hold more moisture, which can subsequently condense and freeze on the ice surface, which would slow the game down and result in a lot of weird bounces. This, of course, is less of a concern if you’re playing in a more arid environment (such as Phoenix, California, or Colorado) than in a more humid location (Atlanta, Florida, or Carolina).
Rain, of course, would absolutely ruin a Winter Classic. That’s the real danger when it comes to Washington.
Posted by Wheeler on 12/14/10 at 10:35 AM ET