The National Hockey League has scheduled two outdoor-hockey games at Yankee Stadium during the last week of January 2014, with the three New York City metropolitan teams slated to hit the ice.
The 2014 NHL Stadium Series will see the three New York City metropolitan NHL teams play a pair of games at the home of the New York Yankees. The New York Rangers will face the New Jersey Devils at 12:30 p.m. ET on Jan. 26, 2014, and the Rangers will face the New York Islanders at 7:30 p.m. ET on Jan. 29, 2014.
This is the second NHL event scheduled for a ballpark in 2014: the Los Angeles Kings and the Anaheim Ducks will face off at Dodger Stadium on Jan. 25, 2014.
It will mark the first time hockey has been played at the new Yankee Stadium, which opened in 2009 across the street from the original. The new stadium seats 50,287 for baseball.
“The innovative nature of the Stadium Series affords the opportunity to have all three NHL teams in the New York-New Jersey metropolitan area play, outdoors, at one of the most-recognized stadiums in the world,” NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman said. “We’ll be able to create a multi-faceted, multi-day experience for our fans, and we thank the teams, Coors Light, the New York Yankees and Yankee Stadium for their support of this memorable NHL event.”
While a number of NHL teams have used the ice rink in Central Park for practice, the games will mark the first time professional hockey has been played outdoors in New York City.
“We have long thought that Yankee Stadium would be a great venue for outdoor hockey,” said Lonn Trost, New York Yankees Chief Operating Officer. “In addition to being a first-class baseball facility, Yankee Stadium was designed to house unique and memorable events, such as the NHL Stadium Series. Hosting two of the NHL’s classic rivalries at Yankee Stadium will be a great kickoff for the worldwide sporting events in the New York/New Jersey metropolitan area scheduled in early 2014.”
Photo by John Dalton via flickr.com.
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