NHL Winter Classic "Will Go On" Despite Negative Temperatures

MINNEAPOLIS, MN — The National Hockey League said Tuesday that it plans to continue with its 2022 Winter Classic at Target Field Saturday, despite a forecasted high of negative 3 degrees in Minneapolis.

"As with any outdoor game, weather is a factor," NHL Chief Content Office Steve Mayer said in an NHL news release. "We clearly recognize that when we go to any venue. And as with any game, we're monitoring the weather, and we'll make decisions that are in the interest of our players and our fans, period…As of right now, we are confident the game will go on as planned."

Mayer said the league will continue to monitor the forecast for Saturday, when the Minnesota Wild will play the St. Louis Blues at 6 p.m. CST, and the low might drop to minus 17. It is on track to be the coldest NHL outdoor event, surpassing the zero-degree November 2003 matchup between the Edmonton Oilers and the Montreal Canadiens at Edmonton’s Commonwealth Stadium, according to the NHL. Still, the NHL has rarely canceled or postponed events. At a 13-degree Winter Classic in Michigan on Jan. 1, 2014, 105,491 spectators braved the weather.
Minnesotans are just as hardy: 38,000 spectators are expected to attend the sold-out Winter Classic.

"Looking at past Jan. 1s, 10 degrees, 20 degrees, that's fine," Mayer said. "This would be extreme if it got to minus-10.

"Every time we do an event, I can't tell you when it's going to snow. I can't tell you when the sun's going to shine. We had a lot of people here in Minnesota who told us also how tough a Minnesota fan is, and that was certainly a factor in coming here."