Winnipeg Heritage Classic postponed due to cold weather concerns (Update)
While another Winter Classic in another Northeastern city in another nondescript building appears to be gaining steam (yawn), an outdoor event that’s actually pretty cool appears to be on the outs for next year.
According to a report in the Winnipeg Free Press, the Heritage Classic, which was hoped to be played in the great prairie city of Winnipeg next year will likely be postponed to 2016-17.
Says the report by Gary Lawless:
The NHL and Winnipeg Blue Bombers have struggled to find a date that works for all parties.
The NHL wants to play the game in late December while the football club is pushing for a February date.
The Bombers don’t want the game played that close to the Grey Cup while February won’t work for the NHL due to its all-star game and other soon-to-be announced outdoor games.
A January date was deemed unsuitable by the Winnipeg Jets due to weather concerns. January is the colder of the three months.
Cold weather in Winnipeg in January? Glad the Jets figured this out. Just look at these temperatures from climatemps.com. The average temp in December (all are in Fahrenheit) is six degrees. In January it’s minus-1. In February it’s five degrees. Umm, so the difference is?
In all sincerity, this stinks. Considering Winnipeg’s fan support of its team since the NHL’s reintroduction to the city, this would have been a ton of fun. Also, Earl’s Main would have rocked!
Also, though the Winter Classic is the NHL’s ‘signature’ regular season event, the Heritage Classic has a cooler more rustic feel to it – probably because it’s based in Canada, and most of the environs are frikken freezing, which is exactly the type of temps you need to make ice. Wow, who knew?
There has been the idea – planted by yours truly – to have the Jets play in Iceland! But then again, what do I know.
Update: The Jets sent out a release confirming this report. The statement is below:
“True North Sports & Entertainment Limited and the Winnipeg Football Club, along with the National Hockey League, would like to formally announce that they were unable to finalize a date to hold the Heritage Classic at Investor’s Group Field during the 2015-16 NHL season. All parties are very hopeful that a date can be secured early in the 2016-17 NHL Season and will continue working toward that objective. The game will be an exciting celebration of hockey in our province and our city, one which both True North and the Bombers look forward to hosting at a time which works for all parties involved.”
- - - - - - -
Josh Cooper is an editor for Puck Daddy on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at puckdaddyblog@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @joshuacooper
MORE FROM YAHOO HOCKEY
