SALT LAKE CITY — The Utah Mammoth is heading to the great outdoors to play in one of the most popular games on the NHL schedule.
In a big announcement Wednesday, the Mammoth were named hosts of the NHL Winter Classic set for Rice-Eccles Stadium in 2027. The Colorado Avalanche will face off against Utah in front of 50,000 fans on the campus of the University of Utah — about triple the capacity compared to the Mammoth's indoor home games.
The exact date of the game has yet to be announced.
Almost since the Mammoth dropped the puck in Salt Lake City last season, rumors continued to skate through the hockey-sphere that Utah would eventually host an outdoor game at the stadium.
"We actually came up here early in the process of even getting the team because we said, 'This is what we want,'" said Mammoth owner Ryan Smith. "This is, like, the ultimate celebration of the sport."
Those rumors peaked on Tuesday when former NHL player and league insider Paul Bissonnette reported on the 'Spittin Chiclets' podcast that Utah would get an outdoor game next season.
For two decades, outdoor games at iconic stadiums and locations have become highly anticipated events each NHL season. Games have been played at places like Wrigley Field, Yankee Stadium and the Cotton Bowl in Dallas. The Florida Panthers and New York Rangers faced off in the most recent outdoor game on Friday at LoanDepot Park in Miami.
"This venue is gonna be incredible... This is a dream," Smith said.
Mammoth star player Logan Cooley agreed that it's a dream come true — a childhood dream.
“As a little kid, everyone grows up playing on the pond or, you know, your backyard... I've always done that," Cooley said. "The little kid of us will kind of come out."
Co-owner Ashley Smith shared her husband's excitement and talked about how Utah is the perfect place for a Winter Classic.
"We don't hide from the winter here — we own it," she said. "We're skiing before work and we're skating with our kids... We live in the mountains, so it's like, what we breathe. It's very authentic to us and to all of Utah, and for sure this fan base."
And as for the weather? Everyone involved hopes it's more winter-like here in Utah than it has been so far this season.
"I hope it's pretty cold and there's a lot of snow," Cooley said. "I don't want it to be a lot of plays out there — I want it to be, you know, you're just pushing the puck."
"You want bad ice?" asked NHL on TNT host Jackie Redmond.
"Yeah, exactly!" Cooley said with a laugh.
"A light snowfall, 26 degrees would be perfect," added NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman.
