NHL Announces 2023-2024 Outdoor Events in Seattle and Edmonton

The 2024 NHL Winter Classic will be January 1, 2024, at T-Mobile Field in Seattle between the hometown Kraken and the Vegas Golden Knights, the league announced on Monday.

The Kraken, who began play in the 2021-2022 season, will be playing in their first regular-season outdoor game and will become the 29th team to participate in such a game. It will be the second outdoor appearance for the Golden Knights, whose first season of play was 2017-2018. In their first outdoor contest, on Feb. 20, 2021, the Golden Knights fell to the Colorado Avalanche by a score of 3-2, in the 2021 NHL Outdoors at Lake Tahoe at Edgewood Tahoe Resort.

Home to the Seattle Mariners, T-Mobile Park opened in 1999 with sweeping views of Seattle’s downtown skyline. In addition to Mariners home games, the venue has also hosted various entertainment and sporting events.

The game will be broadcast on TNT in the U.S. and on Sportsnet and TVA Sports in Canada between the league’s two most recent franchise additions. The 2024 Discover NHL Winter Classic continues the tradition the league established in 2008 of hosting a regular-season outdoor game at the onset of the new year.

“We are absolutely thrilled to announce our partnership extension with Discover on the same day as the 2023 Discover NHL Winter Classic and have them remain as title sponsor of one of the marquee events on the league’s calendar,” said Kyle McMann, NHL senior vice president, North American business development.

It will be the first time the Winter Classic is played on the West Coast and the Kraken will become the 29th different NHL franchise to participate in an outdoor game. Only Columbus, Florida and Arizona are yet to participate in an outdoor game.

2023 Tim Hortons NHL Heritage Classic to feature Flames against Oilers

The NHL also announced the 2023 Tim Hortons NHL Heritage Classic will feature the Calgary Flames and Edmonton Oilers on October 29, 2023, at Commonwealth Stadium in Edmonton, Alberta, home of the Edmonton Elks of the CFL.

The Heritage Classic will return to Edmonton’s Commonwealth Stadium, celebrating the 20-year anniversary of hosting the first-ever NHL regular-season outdoor game in the 2003 NHL Heritage Classic, a 4-3 win for the Montreal Canadiens over the Oilers in front of 57,167 fans on Nov. 22, 2003.

Including that game there have been 35 regular-season outdoor games played to date, attended by 1,755,438 fans. The Flames–Oilers matchup will mark the seventh Heritage Classic.

The Flames will be playing in their third NHL regular-season outdoor game. Calgary defeated the Montreal Canadiens at McMahon Stadium at the 2011 Heritage Classic. In the 2019 Heritage Classic, the Flames were defeated in overtime by the Winnipeg Jets.

The Oilers will also be making their third appearance in an NHL regular-season outdoor game. In addition to the inaugural Heritage Classic on Nov. 22, 2003, the Oilers defeated the Winnipeg Jets 3-0 in the 2016 Heritage Classic.