BOSTON– The Seattle Kraken will host the Discover NHL Winter Classic 2024 against the Vegas Golden Knights on January 1, 2024 at T-Mobile Park.
The first NHL outdoor game in Seattle sees the two newest NHL recruits go head-to-head at the home of Major League Baseball’s Seattle Mariners.
“We’re pretty excited,” said Kraken CEO Tod Lewieke. “I think in a way we hoped this would happen, these are the things we dreamed would happen. But it is a great honor that in our third season we will host a truly international event.”
The Kraken are in their second season since entering the NHL as the 32nd team for the 2021-22 season.
“It’s a big deal, every other team thinks about this kind of event and every other team wants to host these events,” said Leiweke. “We had to prevail. The city is great for big events. But it fundamentally required a partnership between the Mariners, the beautiful T Mobile and the entire organization.”
The game will be broadcast exclusively on TNT in the United States and on Sportsnet and TVA Sports in Canada. A time will be announced at a later date.
“We’re thrilled that Discover will be the primary title sponsor and title partner, having just renewed our relationship of more than a decade,” said NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman during the TNT Pregame Show for the Discover 2023 NHL Winter Classic. “And what makes them great is how much they activate during gameplay. So we’re excited, and I think the storylines, Seattle vs Vegas, speak for themselves.”
The Kraken becomes the 29th NHL team to compete in an outdoor regular-season game. It is the second appearance for the Golden Knights, who played the Colorado Avalanche at the 2021 NHL Outdoors in Lake Tahoe on February 20, 2021.
“It’s going to be pretty cool,” said Mark Stone of the Golden Knights. “These games are definitely fun. You don’t really understand it until you’re actually there. I have played outdoor games before and the environment in the facility is much better than what you see on TV. So this is going to be pretty fun. I am sure we will be able to bring a family to Seattle to enjoy a few days. It will be funny.”
In addition to playing at Lake Tahoe, Stone also played for the Ottawa Senators when they defeated the Montreal Canadiens on December 16, 2017 outdoors in NHL 100 at Lansdowne Park in Ottawa, Ontario.
Seattle will become the first Pacific Division team to host the Winter Classic, which has never been played west of the central time zone.
The Edmonton Oilers, Calgary Flames, Los Angeles Kings, Vancouver Canucks and San Jose Sharks have hosted outdoor games, but none were the Winter Classic. The Oilers, Flames and Canucks hosted Heritage Classic games; The Kings and Sharks hosted Stadium Series games.
T-Mobile Park will be the 14th diverse venue and eighth ballpark to host the NHL’s premier regular-season event since its inception in 2008.
Fenway Park, home of MLB’s Boston Red Sox, has hosted the event twice, in 2010 and again this year.
The other baseball stadiums hosting the Winter Classic are Wrigley Field in Chicago (2009), Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia (2012), Nationals Park in Washington (2015), Busch Stadium in St. Louis (2017), and Citi Field in New York (2018) and Zielfeld in Minneapolis (2022).
T-Mobile Park features a retractable roof that allows the NHL to build the rink and set up the on-field stage along with decorations throughout the facility in all weather conditions. The goal will be to play the game with the roof open.
“The roof doesn’t hurt,” Leiweke said. “So if the weather doesn’t cooperate, put a roof over it so we can have an outdoor game protected from the weather. A big factor was the Mariner’s willingness to lean in. We’ve been a huge enthusiastic supporter of the Majors League Baseball All-Star Game (slated for 2023) come here.”
The ballpark has a capacity of 47,929 and has been open since July 15, 1999. It has also hosted college football and soccer games, WWE’s WrestleMania in 2003, and concerts.
The NHL has played 36 outdoor regular-season games, including the Discover NHL Winter Classic 2023 between the Boston Bruins and the Pittsburgh Penguins on Monday at Fenway Park.
The Carolina Hurricanes and Washington Capitals will play in the 2023 Navy Federal Credit Union NHL Stadium Series on February 18 at Carter-Finley Stadium in Raleigh, North Carolina.
The NHL announced Saturday that the Calgary Flames and Edmonton Oilers will play Tim Horton’s 2023 NHL Heritage Classic on Oct. 29 at Commonwealth Stadium in Edmonton, Alberta.