DALLAS, TX – When the league first developed the Winter Classic outdoor game concept, unveiled in Buffalo on New Year’s Day 2018, the platform was pretty much a rink with a little trimming around the edges. Since then, the entire platform is nothing short of spectacular and it will be even better than prior years when the NHL takes the fastest team game in the world to the Cotton Bowl on New Year’ Day 2020.
The Winter Classic won’t be played inside a barn or on a prairie, but it may look like it.
The NHL will create a ranch-like aesthetic for the Winter Classic between the Stars and Predators at the Cotton Bowl, according to NHL chief content officer Steve Mayer and NHL Vice President of Creative Services Paul Conway.
Creating this environment here so it’s almost the Bridgestone NHL Winter Classic Ranch,” Conway said.
The Winter Classic on Jan. 1 will be the southernmost outdoor game in NHL history, and the first outdoor game for both the Stars and Predators franchises. The game will draw at least 83,000 people, Mayer said, and will be the second-highest attended NHL game in league history.
The NHL will transform the Cotton Bowl’s look with wood-textured trim, and will attempt to bring the State Fair onto the field. Mayer said there will be animals in an area of the field dedicated to the State Fair and a theatrical element that comes to life during pregame, timeouts and intermission.
Mayer referenced the 2018 Winter Classic at Citi Field in New York, when the field was decorated with taxis and the field design “came to life” during breaks in action, including actors playing construction workers and the taxis moving.
“The goal with all these is that you take a shot of our field and you know immediately as a fan in Chicago or a fan in Iowa or a fan in Florida, they’re playing the game in Dallas,” Mayer said. “That’s something that we take a lot of pride in.”
In past locations, the NHL has drawn on specific elements to illustrate where the outdoor game is being played. Last year at Notre Dame Stadium, it used shamrocks on the field. In St. Louis in 2017, it used a music theme and put a guitar on the field. In Los Angeles in 2014, the league put a beach volleyball court in left field of Dodger Stadium.
“It’s always exaggerated,” Mayer said. “Like in New York, taxis. That’s exaggerated to the rest of the world. Is New York about taxicabs? No, but that’s a visual cue in our mind that tells you where we are. … It’s our job to balance it a bit, but it’s also our job to honor where we are and let people from not here, but around the world quickly let them know where we are.”
The musical stage will be in the north end zone opposite of the tunnel. Mayer said the game will also have a house band to play during timeouts instead of strictly canned music played over the speakers.
The addition of an oversized ranch entry arch featuring the NHL Winter Classic logo flanked by the Stars’ NHL Winter Classic jersey crest and the Predators’ sabre-toothed tiger head logo will greet guests. The wood motif in the hanging welcome sign is featured throughout the stadium.
Two-time, GRAMMY-nominated band Texas band Midland will open the game day festivities with a performance.
The formal anthem ceremony will begin with the on-field arrivals of the Stars and Predators, escorted by the Dallas Police Department Mounted Unit. Four horse riders carrying U.S., Texas, Predators and Stars flags will take the field, followed by a performance of “The Star Spangled Banner” by newly crowned “The Voice” champion Jake Hoot. The Corpus Christi, Texas native is currently living in Cookeville, Tenn., and will return to his home state after his big win on the four-time Emmy Award-winning musical competition series.
In a salute to the rich history of Cotton Bowl Stadium, Cotton Bowl Hall of Famers Troy Aikman and Ricky Williams will take part in a ceremonial puck drop.
GRAMMY Award-winning duo Dan + Shay will perform in the first intermission presented by Ticketmaster. Dan + Shay continue their rapid rise and are taking the music world by storm. The last twelve months have seen GRAMMY, Billboard, ACM, CMT, Teen Choice, BMI, CMA and American Music Awards wins – most recently snagging two GRAMMY nominations for Best Country Duo/Group Performance and Best Country Song for “Speechless,” the accumulation of four billion career streams globally, several mega-hit, chart-topping songs and more.
During the second intermission, the NHL will pay homage to the biggest attraction in Texas and most Texan place on Earth – the State Fair of Texas. Fans will enjoy some Texas-sized fun as the NHL regulation-size rink shares the field with jugglers, a rodeo clown, a sword swallower, a fire breather, trick roping and horse riding, SMU Mustangs and Texas A&M Aggies dance teams and a rodeo show.
The boots belonging to Big Tex, the internationally known, 55-foot talking cowboy that welcomes the more than 2.5 million visitors to the State Fair of Texas each year, will sit alongside the rink, joined by a rodeo clown and longhorn steer.
Dallas/Fort Worth-band, The 8tracks, will serve as the house band with performances throughout the game.
Leading up to game time and continuing until several hours into the evening, ticketed fans can enjoy the Truly Hard Seltzer NHL PreGame — the fan fest at Fairgrounds — the league will open the Midway for fans to attend from 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. It will re-open after the game and close at 8 p.m.
The fan fest will have interactive games, live music and a chance to take a picture with the Stanley Cup. Rides like the Texas Star Ferris Wheel, Top o’ Texas Tower, Texas Skyway, Pirate Ship and Lone Star Scooters will be free to ride.
The 2020 Bridgestone NHL Winter Classic® will mark the first NHL regular-season outdoor game for both the Stars and the Predators. The matchup on Jan. 1 continues the tradition the League established in 2008 of hosting a regular-season outdoor game at the onset of the new year. This year’s game will be the 29th NHL regular-season outdoor game and the 12th NHL Winter Classic
Dennis Morrell has a lengthy background in the great game as a hockey writer, photographer, goalie coach, player and currently active USA Hockey-certified referee with over 1,000 games in his striped jersey. His passion for the game began in the early 70s with his first glance at skaters in Clayton’s Shaw Park. He can be reached at dennis.morrell@prohockeynews.com and you can follow him on Twitter at DMMORRELL.
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