The WHL's #1 reporter, Gregg Drinnan, has unearthed the fact that the WHL is actually planning TWO outdoor games this season. The second game is not finalized yet and as such may not happen, but it certainly sounds like they are pretty far along in the planning for it anyway.
So, the Calgary-Regina game may not be the only one.....in fact, it may not even be the first one, depending on when the "second" game gets scheduled in.
Gregg threw out Regina, Edmonton, Vancouver, Portland, and Kamloops as possible locations. Maybe it's just me but Vancouver and Portland can't be serious candidates due to the mild winter weather there. Vancouver is one of the warmest cities in Canada in winter and (according to Environment Canada) on average has only five days a year with temperatures below freezing. Portland is even further south and also has daily average lows of above freezing. So while it is possible that these cities could have adequately cold weather to support an outdoor rink on game day, it's pretty risky as more likely you are looking at having temperatures of well above freezing. It definitely could not be done without an ice plant to keep the ice frozen and once you do that you might as well put a roof on it....it's not really a "real" outdoor game when you're using artificially frozen ice, is it?
And yes, I know the NHL installs an ice plant for all their outdoor games and so the game in Calgary will have one....doesn't change the fact that they don't need to use that plant to keep the ice frozen if the weather is already doing that for them.
Regina and Edmonton make sense as they are known for their cold weather in the winter - every city in the Eastern conference is fine for those reasons actually. Kamloops also tends to have winter temperatures slightly below freezing, so it'll probably work there too. Wherever it ends up, I just hope they stick to putting it in places with actual winter weather.....lets not make the spectacle any goofier than it already is. Remember the NHL played an exhibition game outside Caesars Palace in Las Vegas once too....is that what we want to see again?
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I can see Vancouver doing it at the new Empire Field with it being their 10th Anniversary and having Stu Ballantyne in the fold now. The cost to setup could be offset by increased gate revenue and/or Giants being one of the have's in the league showing appreciation to their fan base for 10 years of great support.
Somebody commented on Drinnan saying the word in Spokane is a Tri City vs Spokane outdoor game is rumoured, it would have to be in Spokane I would think..
Also -- seems unlikely that Regina would be involved in two outdoor games in the same season
Allen I thought you were the #1 reporter on the WHL. As for teams to do an outdoor game I am sure every team wants to participate even if it means they are the visiting team. Same has been said for the NHL teams with their Outdoor games.
Kamloops has mild winters there as much as Vancouver. I doubt it would work out there.
NHL doesn't play their outdoor games on naturally frozen ice, its always controlled by the ice plant for optimium conditions.
George - I know they install an ice plant. I said as much in the post.
However, if it's -20, that ice is going to be frozen no matter what the ice plant is doing.
That is what I'm saying - in the cold climates there is at least a chance of having "naturally" frozen ice and not requiring the ice plant to do the freezing.
I mean, we've already seen they can make ice in a parking lot in Las Vegas. But does that in any way recreate the "pond hockey" experience that these games are meant to represent? Of course not.
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