[News] Toronto Maple Leafs to host Centennial Classic against Detroit in 2017

[Since1984]

Originally Posted by TheScorpion

What about the Skydome? Would they be able to make that work?

BMO field is super ugly, imo. At the very least, it's quite 'meh'. Not a great place for a Winter Classic at all.

McMahon Stadium is ugly as hell and did a great job hosting the Heritage Classic. BMO Field is 1000 times better than McMahon.

[OzSome]

It shouldn't be called Winter Classics anymore since they have at least 2 or more outdoor games every season now. I bet Toronto will play against Ottawa.

[McG]

the leafs could play the oilers for draft placing. oh wait, that happens without going to the extra work of playing outside.

why go to BMO field though; it only holds 20,000 which is more or less ACC with BMO having good soccer sightlines.

[Resolute 14]

Probably the god damned Blackhawks again.

[Table 5]

[Resolute 14]

Originally Posted by OzSome

It shouldn't be called Winter Classics anymore since they have at least 2 or more outdoor games every season now. I bet Toronto will play against Ottawa.

If anything, it should be Montreal as the only two Original NHL teams in existence. But because it is the Winter Classic, expect an American team, likely original Six. Boston or Detroit is my guess.

[PepsiFree]

It'll be nice in a couple years when Calgary and Edmonton are both relevant again (assuming Edmonton doesn't screw it up, which they tend to) and hopefully the Battle of Alberta can get an outdoor game.

I know they focus on the big draws but I really wish it was more of a rivalry based event. At least for the Winter Classic, make it stand out SOMEHOW.

[jayswin]

Originally Posted by McG

the leafs could play the oilers for draft placing. oh wait, that happens without going to the extra work of playing outside.

why go to BMO field though; it only holds 20,000 which is more or less ACC with BMO having good soccer sightlines.

BMO has been renovated and now seats 30,000.




But still, the biggest problem is I can't really see any room for temporary seating, which means it would be the smallest NHL outdoor game by a lot.

[getbak]

With temporary seating, they should be able to get up around what McMahon had for the Heritage Classic, which was just over 41,000. The games at Wrigley and Fenway were slightly smaller than Calgary's.

The Grey Cup is going to be at BMO Field this year too, so they'll already be adding temporary seating for that. With the hockey rink, they'll also be able to use all the soccer seating in the end zones that will be removed for CFL games.

[Ducay]

Tough to compare 30k vs 100k at the Big House for their last game.

[Slava]

Originally Posted by Resolute 14

Probably the god damned Blackhawks again.

That was exactly my first thought. Surely they won't miss a chance to go with the original six angle yet again?

[hwy19man]

Originally Posted by PepsiFree

It'll be nice in a couple years when Calgary and Edmonton are both relevant again (assuming Edmonton doesn't screw it up, which they tend to) and hopefully the Battle of Alberta can get an outdoor game.

I know they focus on the big draws but I really wish it was more of a rivalry based event. At least for the Winter Classic, make it stand out SOMEHOW.

The majority of the eight Winter Classics have been rivalry based.
There have been five division based games, two conference based games (Flyers-Bruins and Penguins-Sabres), and one inter-conference game.

[PepsiFree]

Originally Posted by hwy19man

The majority of the eight Winter Classics have been rivalry based.
There have been five division based games, two conference based games (Flyers-Bruins and Penguins-Sabres), and one inter-conference game.

I more-so meant classically notable rivalries, not just division games.

For those, I count two.

[CroFlames]

With all due respect to Canadians & Canadian stadiums, Americans just pull this stuff off better.

I went to McMahon in 2011 and it was nice, but a generally unpleasant experience. Credit card terminals were frozen, so vendors couldn't sell stuff and I now don't have any souvenirs from the event. The ATMs then froze up so you couldn't withdraw cash. The beer was legitimately frozen into a slushy-like consistency which was not pleasant, and that's not even the worst part.

The concourse was so packed that it literally came to a halt (on the west stands at least). No one could move.

The bathrooms? Ha, don't make me laugh. Guys pissing in the concourses because the bathrooms were too packed.

Although BMO is a little nicer than McMahon, it's not much better at all. Besides, how can you top the game at Big House last year?

[HOWITZER]

I drove by BMO field early last week and they've been making quite the progress on the new canopy to go around the stadium. Having watched some FC games over the summer BMO has a way better fan experience than McMahon. Should do well hosting an outdoor game, especially given the milder winters.

[cKy]

Originally Posted by CroFlames

With all due respect to Canadians & Canadian stadiums, Americans just pull this stuff off better.

I went to McMahon in 2011 and it was nice, but a generally unpleasant experience. Credit card terminals were frozen, so vendors couldn't sell stuff and I now don't have any souvenirs from the event. The ATMs then froze up so you couldn't withdraw cash. The beer was legitimately frozen into a slushy-like consistency which was not pleasant, and that's not even the worst part.

The concourse was so packed that it literally came to a halt (on the west stands at least). No one could move.

The bathrooms? Ha, don't make me laugh. Guys pissing in the concourses because the bathrooms were too packed.

Although BMO is a little nicer than McMahon, it's not much better at all. Besides, how can you top the game at Big House last year?

So because McMahon is terrible, all Canadian stadiums are now terrible? Ok then!

[CroFlames]

I've been to BMO, and yes it's terrible.

Commonwealth gets a passing grade just because it's got a lot of washrooms, which is a big thing in the offical CroFlames Stadium Rating Guide.

BC Place is OK, post renovation, but it's still not "good". It's amazing how little $600 million gets you.

I've never been to the big O, but I heard it's terrible.

Would you like to back your statement up versus American stadiums?

[jayswin]

I'm glad Canada can't compete with the United States in sports stadiums. For the most part that country is a mess and a lot of it's state of the art sports stadiums are a symbol of everything wrong down there.

It's rather visit stadiums down there than do what they do.

[Kavvy]

Originally Posted by HOWITZER

I drove by BMO field early last week and they've been making quite the progress on the new canopy to go around the stadium. Having watched some FC games over the summer BMO has a way better fan experience than McMahon. Should do well hosting an outdoor game, especially given the milder winters.

I am all for Toronto hosting an out door game - its about time...

However, "milder winters" is a joke. I have never been so cold as I was in the hell that is a humid cold in eastern Canada.

[Locke]

Welp, looks like I have to take a vacation to the other side of the world in order to avoid hearing about this incessantly for the next year.