The NHL approached Hotopp about the Winter Classic in the spring. In addition to being based in Seattle, the company had previously worked on NHL events and with the Kraken since they joined the league as an expansion team in 2021-22. Wichansky and his team knew the landscape.
“They developed a lot of concepts based on all the resources we gave them and they came back with the set pieces that you see here,” Conway said.
Hotopp had talked to the Kraken in the past about using a shipwreck in some form but had never done it before, so Wichansky pitched the idea to NHL chief content director Steve Mayer.
“He was like, 'Oh yeah, that's cool,'” Wichansky said. “And then it was just a matter of figuring out technically how to do it and where to put it.”
A baseball stadium requires more field space to be filled than a football stadium, and the front row of bleachers is particularly high in left and center field at T-Mobile Park. This meant the NHL could place things higher than usual on the field without obstructing the line of sight.
“We do line-of-sight studies throughout the court design, and typically the maximum range is about 4 to 5 feet,” said Greg Mueller, NHL vice president of creative services. “This creates the opportunity for a larger building.”
A TNT set would go in on the left, disguised as a boathouse. A shipwreck would happen in the middle. Wichansky and about half of his staff have experience in set design and worked with the Seattle Shakespeare Company to create it.