Buffalo Sabres Could Host 2028 Winter Classic, Bettman Announces

NHL Winter Classic Could Return to its Origins in 2028

NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman has hinted at the possibility of the league holding the twentieth anniversary of its annual Winter Classic in Orchard Park, New York, the place where this outdoor event originated. Bettman, present at the Sabres’ inaugural game in Buffalo on Thursday night, stated that the league is seriously considering the possibility of hosting the commemorative event.

I’m not making an announcement or committing, but we are focused on whether we can do it around the twentieth anniversary of the original Winter Classic.

Gary Bettman, NHL Commissioner

Bettman’s reference to Highmark alludes to the current stadium of the Buffalo Bills of the NFL, which will also give its name to the new $2.1 billion facility that is being built and will be inaugurated in July.

The first Winter Classic was held on January 1, 2008, at the former stadium, then called Ralph Wilson Stadium. The event captivated the imagination of the NHL and its fans, with a combination of snow and a stadium packed with 71,217 spectators, creating a snowball effect for the international television audience.

The then-rising NHL star, Sidney Crosby, secured the victory for the Pittsburgh Penguins over Buffalo with a decisive goal in the penalty shootout. Since then, the NHL has organized 16 Winter Classics in various prominent stadiums across the United States, including Wrigley Field in Chicago, Fenway Park in Boston, and the Cotton Bowl in Dallas, in a game usually played on New Year’s Day. The league has added other outdoor games to its schedule, totaling 41 since the first Winter Classic, with this year’s game scheduled for LoanDepot Park of the Miami Marlins on January 2nd. Bettman joked about how the NHL predicted the instant success of the Winter Classic, adding that he was joking about what began as a unique proposal that the Sabres and NBC presented to the league.

We are grateful to have done it here first. And we will be back, I promise.

Gary Bettman, NHL Commissioner

Logistically, it helps that both the Sabres and the Bills are owned by Terry Pegula. Highmark Stadium also hosted an international hockey game between the United States and Canada in December 2017, when Buffalo hosted the World Junior Championship.