NHL, CFL clash over Heritage Classic in Winnipeg

By Vinnie Criscenzo | Jan 20, 2015

Mar 2, 2014; Vancouver, British Columbia, CAN; A general view during the Heritage Classic hockey game between the Ottawa Senators and Vancouver Canucks during the third period at BC Place. Mandatory Credit: Joe Nicholson-USA TODAY Sports /

The NHL and the CFL are having some conflicts over the date the Heritage Classic will take place in Winnipeg.

Winnipeg may have to wait another year for an outdoor NHL game.

During this weekend’s NHL All-Star festivities, the league will announce their plans for next season’s outdoor games. The 2016 Winter Classic will be held at Gillette Stadium and feature the Boston Bruins hosting the Montreal Canadiens. That game will probably be officially announced this weekend, as well as their plans for the Stadium Series and the Heritage Classic.

The Heritage Classic was planned to be hosted by the Winnipeg Jets at the home of the CFL’s Winnipeg Blue Bombers. The NHL most likely planned to reveal who the Winnipeg Jets opponent would be, along with the date and time of the event.

However, it seems that the plans for the Heritage Classic may be postponed.

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According to the Winnipeg Free Press, the NHL and the CFL are having difficulties trying to figure out a date that would work for both parties. The Winnipeg Blue Bombers were awarded to host the Grey Cup in the same year. Originally, Bombers CEO Wade Miller thought it was a good idea that Winnipeg would host both events in the same calendar year. He has since had a change of heart.

They Grey Cup is scheduled to be played on Nov. 29th of this year, and the NHL had originally planned to hold the Heritage Classic in December. Miller is now saying that the events are too close together, and is lobbying for the Heritage Classic to be pushed back to February, or even to next year. February would not work for the NHL due to the All-Star Game festivities that will be taking place in late January or early February.

Miller believes that the Heritage Classic will completely overshadow the Grey Cup and demolish ticket sales and sponsorship deals. He’s not wrong, you have to think that an outdoor hockey game is going to be much more popular than an American football game, even if it is the CFL Championship game. It’s not only the game Miller is afraid of being overshadowed, but all the festivities during the week of the Grey Cup.

A successfully run Grey Cup could generate millions of dollars for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, even if they themselves aren’t playing in it. The Heritage Classic is an NHL run event, meaning they pay all the costs, do all the planning, and collect all the revenue. The only money the Bombers will see is a rental fee that they NHL will pay them for using the stadium. So, obviously, the Grey Cup is much more profitable to them.

What I don’t understand is that Wade Miller agreed to let the NHL host the Heritage Classic in Winnipeg when he already knew that his Bombers would be hosting the Grey Cup that same year. He even said that he thought it was a good idea for both events to be held in the same calendar year. So, what changed? Did he simply not think at the time how the hockey game would overshadow the Grey Cup? That seems like an error on Miller’s part.

Miller is the CEO, so obviously he needs to have the Bombers best interest at heart. Still, this seems like something he should have realized back when he first agreed with NHL to hold the event in Winnipeg.

Perhaps the two parties can agree on a January date, say a week after the Winter Classic. That would give more than a month of time after the Grey Cup, while still being a few weeks before the NHL All-Star Game. If the NHL and CFL can’t come to agreement somehow, the Heritage Classic will most likely be postponed until next season.

H/T to The Winnipeg Free Press for the information.

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