TSN’s Gino Reda said that NHL officials “were at Ohio State" over the weekend “conducting a site survey of Ohio Stadium” as a potential venue to host the Winter Classic. On an appearance of “Insider Trading” Reda said he was “sure” the Blue Jackets are “looking forward to this becoming official.” Adding it was “not official yet,” but in the “preliminary stages” (“Insider Trading,” TSN, 11/14). In Columbus, Brian Hedger wrote the visit was a “preliminary step to potentially getting the league’s premier outdoor game,” but a “lot more steps are needed for it to happen.” The Blue Jackets are one of four teams that have yet to participate in one of the NHL’s “outdoor extravaganzas,” along with the Coyotes, Panthers and Kraken. The Kraken are hosting this year’s Winter Classic at T-Mobile Park. Meanwhile, Blue Jackets fans have “long dreamed” of watching their favorite team play at Ohio Stadium, but Ohio State has “thrown up multiple road blocks” for hosting the event. NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman has said that OSU’s “main holdup” for scheduling the event has been the “cost of winterizing the stadium.” Hedger also noted it is “highly unlikely” the league would schedule them into an outdoor game until “results on the ice begin to improve significantly" (COLUMBUS DISPATCH, 11/14).
