Outdoor Battle Between Wild, Blackhawks Coming To TCF Stadium
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- On a hot summer day, they were outside talking hockey at Minneapolis' TCF Bank Stadium Wednesday for the official prelude to an outdoor NHL game in Minnesota.
"This is an unbelievable day for us," Wild owner Craig Leopold said. "We have worked really, really hard in the last seven, eight years to try to get an outdoor game for our market, for our fans."
NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman says it was a no-brainer to have a game in Minnesota.
"Where better than to play an outdoor game than in the State of Hockey, where there is such great fans and such passion for our game," Bettman said.
What makes it more compelling is who they will play -- the Chicago Blackhawks. And that means something to this team and this community, and it means something to the players who have been eliminated by that team in the past two seasons.
The rivalry is renewed, and there will be plenty of Chicago fans -- and plenty of incentive.
"It's a big rivalry, and they've ended our season the past two seasons I've been with the Wild," Wild forward Eric Haula said. "I'm sure the fans will be excited and everyone's looking forward to it."
It has been tested with the Gophers and it is what every hockey player seems to want; to go back to his roots -- outdoors.
"The whole experience, the days building around it, the buildup that there is and the excitement from the fans, that's what makes this game so good," Wild forward Zach Parise said. "And in a stadium like this, this big with this many people, we're all really looking forward to it."
The NHL Stadium Series game in Minnesota will be at TCF Bank Stadium on Feb. 21, 2016.