SALT LAKE CITY — While Utah Hockey Club fans continue to fill Delta Center during the team's inaugural season, they'll soon have to button up to enjoy the game in the elements.
Speaking on the NashCast during Utah's game Thursday night, NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman confirmed the team will host one of the league's popular outdoor games.
“Utah is going to get an outdoor game and it’s going to be great because I know that the reaction from the community is going to be as good as we’ve ever seen,” the commissioner said.
Bettman added that the league has already scouted Rice-Eccles Stadium on the University of Utah campus where the game will likely take place.
"This is just an ideal situation for us," Bettman said. "So yes, an outdoor game is in Utah's future."
Any excitement about an outdoor game in Salt Lake City will have to be tempered a bit by Bettman adding that no date has been set, but that the league is "working on it."
The NHL has hosted outdoor games since 2003 and continues to draw fans who might never attend a regular game inside an arena. The most recent outdoor game held at Ohio Stadium on the campus of Ohio State University drew 94,571 fans, the second-largest crowd in league history.
