Denver's Coors Field is "very likely" to be awarded an outdoor NHL game next season, according to sources cited by Adrian Dater of the DENVER POST. The Avalanche would take part in the "first outdoor game for Denver since the NHL started what has become a wildly successful concept." The game is "expected to be part of the Coors Light NHL Stadium Series," not the Bridgestone Winter Classic on New Year's Day. The Winter Classic "never has been farther west than Chicago, with most of the games having been in big, Eastern cities where colder winter weather is more predictable." Still, the NHL "has proven that outdoor games can be held in warmer western climes." The Avalanche's opponent "has not been determined" (DENVER POST, 11/14). MLB.com's Thomas Harding noted Rockies Owner Dick Monfort "mentioned the possibilities last offseason during a social media chat, and again during Spring Training." Rockies COO Greg Feasel "has been negotiating with the parties involved." Feasel said, "We've been talking with everybody. We've been talking with the NHL, MillerCoors and the Kroenke Sports & Entertainment folks. Nothing has happened yet, but we're still talking" (MLB.com, 11/13). THE HOCKEY NEWS' Jared Clinton wrote it "would seem fitting that the next foray into the west will be a Stadium Series in Colorado, and Coors Field is a great venue that can seat over 50,000 people." If there were to be an outdoor game west of Illinois, it is "likely either Colorado or Minnesota would be the venue." A game next season in Colorado would be the "perfect opportunity for the NHL to gauge the potential of revisiting Denver in the future" (THEHOCKEYNEWS.com, 11/13).
