BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) — NHL commissioner Gary Bettman hinted at the possibility that the league’s Winter Classic tradition could soon return to Buffalo.
Bettman, who has been the league’s commissioner since 1993, said that the league is considering the 20 year anniversary of the first Winter Classic, which was held at what was then called Ralph Wilson Stadium on Jan. 1, 2008 as the Sabres hosted the Pittsburgh Penguins.
“I’m not making an announcement or committing to it, but we’re kind of focused on whether or not we can do it around the 20th anniversary of the original Winter Classic,” Bettman said at the Sabres’ home opener on Thursday night. “We’ve already had discussions about the possibility of an outdoor game at [new] Highmark [Stadium] and that’s something we’d think would be great.”
Construction at the new Highmark Stadium is set to be complete this summer ahead of the Bills 2026 season. If it indeed falls on the 20th anniversary of the first Winter Classic, it would be held on or around New Year’s Day 2028.
“You couldn’t have scripted it any better,” Bettman said of the first outdoor game. “The crowd was great, the building was full, the game was great, the weather conditions gave you the snow globe effect … we’re grateful we did it here first and we’re gonna come back, I promise. Got to look at the schedule, and it’s going to be great to put it in a new building.”
The Sabres technically hosted the Winter Classic in 2018 at Citi Field in New York City against the New York Rangers, but that was due to tax exemption rules that prevent the Rangers from playing home games outside of Madison Square Garden.
The NHL has hosted 41 more outdoor games since the first Winter Classic. The Sabres last played in an outdoor game in March 2022, facing the Toronto Maple Leafs in the Heritage Classic at Tim Hortons Field in Hamilton, Ontario. That game was also technically a Sabres home game.
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