NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman announced Wednesday that the Minnesota Wild will host the 2021 Winter Classic.
The annual New Year’s Day outdoor game will be played Jan. 1, 2021 at Target Field in Minneapolis.
“Of all the markets in the United States, yeah we’re biased, but come on, this is the State of Hockey. This is where pond hockey started in the United States, was in Minnesota. We’re glad to have it here,” Wild owner Craig Leipold said, via Wild.com’s Dan Myers.
“It’s been a few years coming, but that’s all fine. We’re excited. We’re going to have a great time doing it. Our fans are going to be great and we’re expecting a fun week, not just a fun day.”
The NHL has not yet announced Minnesota’s opponent for the Winter Classic, but ESPN’s Greg Wyshynski recently reported that potential opponents include the Chicago Blackhawks, St. Louis Blues, Colorado Avalanche and Winnipeg Jets.
The Winter Classic will mark the second outdoor game for the Wild, who hosted the Blackhawks in a Stadium Series game at TCF Bank Stadium in 2016.
“The Bridgestone NHL Winter Classic is about taking hockey back to its outdoor roots – and there is no better place to celebrate the incredible strength surrounding our game than in Minnesota,” said NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman in a release.
Ticket information will be released at a later date.
