The NHL Thursday officially announced that Michigan Stadium will host the Maple Leafs-Red Wings '13 Winter Classic and that a Hockeytown Winter Festival will take place at Comerica Park with a "slew of games and events," according to Ted Kulfan of the DETROIT NEWS. NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman, who "expects 150,000 to 200,000 fans to attend the games and events" at Comerica Park, said, "This could be the best of both worlds." The "main attraction" of the Hockeytown Winter Festival "will be an ice rink built on the Comerica Park field -- the rink extends from shallow left to right fields -- with the alumni game between the Red Wings and Maple Leafs the featured showcase." In addition, the ballpark will host an AHL Grand Rapids Griffins-Toronto Marlies game, the Great Lakes Invitational college hockey tournament, youth games, a sled hockey game and a pair of OHL contests. There are "no details yet as to when or how tickets for the Winter Classic or Hockeytown Winter Festival will be sold or distributed." Bettman is confident that the Winter Classic "will set a new attendance record." Bettman: "We don't think we'll have enough tickets to satisfy demand at The Big House" (DETROIT NEWS, 2/10). Maple Leafs President & GM Brian Burke said that league officials "originally called him and asked if he thought Toronto fans would buy 40,000 tickets, and he told them it could be accomplished in 48 hours." They "called back and asked if Toronto fans would buy 50,000 tickets; he said it would take 72 hours." Burke: "If they give us 80,000 tickets, we will sell them all" (USA TODAY, 2/10).
TALE OF TWO CITIES: In Detroit, Bob Wojnowski writes the event is a "win-win-win." Bettman "got what he wanted, and shouldn't have a problem squeezing 115,000 people into the Big House." The Univ. of Michigan "got what it wanted -- $3 million and a $250,000 scholarship contribution." And the Red Wings and Owner Mike Ilitch "got what they needed -- a connection to downtown Detroit with a week of hockey events at Comerica Park." Ilitch Thursday admitted that he "wanted no part of the event if Detroit wasn't part of it." What the sides settled on "makes perfect sense, hosting multiple outdoor events on multiple days in multiple locations." It is a "showcase for the entire area." Ilitch, who also owns the Tigers, said, "Comerica was first -- you feel that's your responsibility and that's where it should be. But then they proposed the Big House and figured out the economics and how it's gonna help tremendously there and here" (DETROIT NEWS, 2/10). ESPN.com's Craig Custance noted the NHL "was deliberate in making this a Detroit event as much as it is an Ann Arbor one," and for the "first time, the league has already reserved a block of thousands of hotels downtown" (ESPN.com, 2/9). ESPN's Barry Melrose said he liked the set-up in Detroit for the Winter Classic “because it’s different." Melrose: "That is going to be the challenge of the NHL, to make things different each year. If Philadelphia was the same as Boston that was the same as Chicago, this game would get old. They’ve got to find ways to make it fresh, and to play the game at ‘The Big House’ is one way to keep it fresh." He added, "With all the stuff that is going to happen in Comerica Park, we’re going to have two ice sheets, we’re going to have two centers of attention" ("Hockey Today," ESPN.com, 2/9).
READY FOR THE CAMERAS? Bettman said that there has been "no confirmation yet of a tie-in between the HBO series and the Wings and Leafs." Bettman: "We have to work that out with HBO. We're hopeful it will continue but we have other broadcast partners, we have the NHL Network, but we feel HBO and 24/7 have been nothing short of spectacular, it gets rave reviews, and hopefully we'll do it again with them because we think they're great" (DETROIT NEWS, 2/10). Burke said that he "would rather the cameras focus on the players' day-to-day activities." Burke: "I don't want to be involved with that at all. But I think it's a great inside look at the game and I think the fans love it." Red Wings coach Mike Babcock said that the "thought of opening up in front of cameras didn't thrill him." Babock: "I'm not embracing that. What you do and what you say and what you do to get your job done sometimes isn't something I think my kids need to hear on a regular basis." (SPORTS.YAHOO.com, 2/9). Maple Leafs coach Ron Wilson acknowledged that he "may have to tone down his act for the cameras." Wilson: "I don't care what anybody says, it does change what you're going to do. In my case, with two granddaughters, I'm going to clean up my act for sure" (GLOBEANDMAIL.com, 2/9). Melrose said of "24/7," “All of us love it so much and enjoy it so much that we just take it for granted that it’ll happen again because we like it. Obviously, a major network like HBO and all the great programming they have still has to make sense to them ratings-wise. I think we all hope that it happens again, but I don’t think it’s a given that it’s going to happen again.” ESPN's Pierre LeBrun added, “Especially with a Canadian team involved, I wonder if that’s going to be part of the discussion there” ("Hockey Today," ESPN.com, 2/9).
HOUSE GUESTS: Michigan AD Dave Brandon Thursday said if the NHL is successful in breaking Michigan Stadium's attendance record, it would then be his job "to figure out a way to beat it." But he said that he "doesn't expect Michigan Stadium to be used for concerts, partly because the only way to enter is through the tunnel." Brandon: "This place is not well set up for a lot of those kinds of things. You're not going to get any semis down here to build stage setups for stadium concerts. It's a facility that -- it's a football facility. We'll do some other things, we'll play some lacrosse matches here. Some other things. We consider this to be a rather unusual one-time event. I would never say never" (DETROIT FREE PRESS, 2/10). In Detroit, Angelique Chengelis notes Brandon "has essentially ruled out a night game" for UM's football team this fall. The school played its first night game at Michigan Stadium last season, and Brandon said, "I am just reluctant to have a night game here unless it's going to be really big. I think we set the bar high with the first one and I want the second one to be every bit as good" (DETROIT NEWS, 2/10).
