Tweet
Washington Capitals owner Ted Leonsis announced Saturday his team will serve as the host for the 2015 Bridgestone NHL Winter Classic on Jan. 1, 2015.
"The excitement of the Bridgestone NHL Winter Classic continues to grow, and bringing the 2015 event to the D.C. area will write another chapter in the game's great history of entertainment," NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman said. "We are looking forward to being in Washington with the Capitals' great fans."
Attending the team's Capitals Convention, Leonsis admitted that he had been lobbying the NHL to host a Winter Classic since 2008, when he saw the Buffalo Sabres host the Pittsburgh Penguins at Ralph Wilson Stadium in the first iteration of the annual spectacle. It took some time, but he finally got the big game in the nation's capital.
"The very first time I saw the Winter Classic was in Buffalo. I started emailing [NHL Chief Operating Officer] John [Collins] and our commissioner and said 'I want one of those.' It looked so spectacular," Leonsis told the convention crowd. "The whole hockey world watches. It's an event that really signifies that we've come a long way as a hockey community. The League believes we can support it. That our city is ready to be the host city for an event of that magnitude."
The site for the game as well as the opponent will be announced at a future date. http://www.nhl.com/ice/news.htm?id=6...d=nhl:topheads
"The excitement of the Bridgestone NHL Winter Classic continues to grow, and bringing the 2015 event to the D.C. area will write another chapter in the game's great history of entertainment," NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman said. "We are looking forward to being in Washington with the Capitals' great fans."
Attending the team's Capitals Convention, Leonsis admitted that he had been lobbying the NHL to host a Winter Classic since 2008, when he saw the Buffalo Sabres host the Pittsburgh Penguins at Ralph Wilson Stadium in the first iteration of the annual spectacle. It took some time, but he finally got the big game in the nation's capital.
"The very first time I saw the Winter Classic was in Buffalo. I started emailing [NHL Chief Operating Officer] John [Collins] and our commissioner and said 'I want one of those.' It looked so spectacular," Leonsis told the convention crowd. "The whole hockey world watches. It's an event that really signifies that we've come a long way as a hockey community. The League believes we can support it. That our city is ready to be the host city for an event of that magnitude."
The site for the game as well as the opponent will be announced at a future date. http://www.nhl.com/ice/news.htm?id=6...d=nhl:topheads
Comment