Quote:
Originally Posted by Resolute 14
The problem the NHL has is that the Winter Classic is NBC driven, and NBC only cares about the seven or eight teams that drive TV viewers. That leaves 22-23 in the lurch.
The Flames campaigned for years to host an outdoor game, and it was through the debt the league felt it owed Harley Hotchkiss that it agreed to revive the Heritage Classic name. When Calgary crushed Pittsburgh's WC for revenue and sponsorship (despite nearly 30,000 fewer seats capacity), that pretty much cemented the ability to host more than one outdoor game.
The Stadium Series is the American version of the Heritage Classic - games meant to appeal more to the local markets, and designed for the teams NBC doesn't care about so much. They did four last year to generate revenue out of the lockout. The league seems to think that two a year is a good number. There was only one this year because of concerns over legal problems caused when Philly cheated its season ticket holders at their WC.
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Yes, I know all the reasons.
Doesn't mean I still can't consider it to be dumb.