1/06/2008

Fenway Freezer?

According to SelfLaugh.com, the success of the Pittsburgh Penguins at Buffalo Sabres game in Buffalo last week has the Boston Bruins thinking....

Sweet Caroline! Hockey at Fenway?
It’s not the first time the idea of turning Fenway Park into a winter wonderland for hockey fans has been floated. In fact, Boston College and Boston University were going to host hockey teams from the Midwest on a rink at Fenway in 2005 before the plans were put on ice.

But Bruins [team stats] owner Charlie Jacobs yesterday said he will lobby league headquarters to have the NHL’s next outdoor spectacular in Boston.

He said such games strike a special chord with hockey fans, many of whom grew up playing on ponds in their back yards.

“It is just old-fashioned fun, digging the puck out of the snow,” Jacobs said. “It just pulls at your heart strings.”

There is a link to The Hockey News blog at the bottom of the story. Writer Jason Kay believes that outdoor games shouldn't be every year and shouldn't be used to chase a national US fanbase. Instead, these types of games would be better: to serve as a celebration and reward for people who are already fans of the game.

Kay's top ten outdoor facilities for a hockey game (six of which are baseball stadiums) are:

1. Fenway Park, Boston (39,195)
2. Yankee Stadium, New York (57,545)
3. Wrigley Field, Chicago (41,118)
4. Coors Field, Denver (50,445)
5. Comerica Park, Detroit (41,070)
6. Texas Stadium, Irving, TX (65,812)
7. Heinz Field, Pittsburgh (65,050)
8. McMahon Stadium, Calgary (35,650)
9. Dodger Stadium, Los Angeles, (56,000)
10. Lincoln Field, Philadelphia (68,532)

Well, the field at Heinz Field can't get any worse. Dodger Stadium would be a bit tricky. The others would be a lot of fun.

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