5 NHL Winter Classic venues we’d love to see in the future
By Marci Rubin
2. Unnamed Las Vegas Stadium (New York Rangers @ Vegas Golden Knights)
The next pick on our list hasn’t been built yet, so it will be a while before this could come to fruition. We’d love to see an outdoor game at the future MLB stadium where the Oakland Athletics are relocating. It will be built on the Las Vegas Strip in Nevada. The anticipated opening of this stadium is 2028. The new stadium is expected to have a retractable roof, although plans haven’t been solidified. A Winter Classic at the new stadium would bring hockey fans out to welcome baseball to Las Vegas.
An outdoor game in Las Vegas would feature the NHL expansion-era franchise, The Vegas Golden Knights. Founded in 2017, the Golden Knights are already Stanley Cup Champions. Vegas has embraced the love of hockey. The Golden Knights participated in the NHL Outdoors at Tahoe Lake in 2021, where they played the Colorado Avalanche. This season, they’ll take on the Seattle Kraken in Seattle, Washington in the Winter Classic. In the future, we’d love to see the Golden Knights host the Winter Classic.
Although the Golden Knights have never hosted an outdoor game, Vegas itself hosted an outdoor game back in 1991. The preseason game in the Caesars Palace parking lot between the Los Angeles Kings and the New York Rangers was the first outdoor game between two NHL teams. It would be fitting for the Rangers to return to play in the first-ever outdoor game that is hosted by the Golden Knights. The Rangers are at the top of their game this season.
Why highlight a venue that hasn’t been built yet? Well, Vegas is a prime location, and the city doesn’t have viable options for an outdoor game. The future of Sam Boyd Stadium, the former home of the University of Nevada, Las Vegas Rebels, is unclear. Allegiant Stadium, home of the Las Vegas Raiders and the UNLV Rebels has a roof, so it’s not outdoors. Despite this, Allegiant Stadium might be a solid choice for a Stadium Series instead of a Winter Classic. If the NHL wants to bring a Winter Classic or Stadium Series to Vegas before the new ballpark is ready, perhaps they'd opt for an indoor-outdoor game like our suggestion for Florida.
Las Vegas is a prime city for a New Year’s Day game. Vegas is a hotspot for New Year’s Eve celebrations. NHL fans who don’t live in the Vegas area could come to town and ring in the new year the night before the game. Then New Year’s Day, it would be time for outdoor hockey.