Dallas Stars to host 2020 Winter Classic at Cotton Bowl
The 2020 Winter Classic will be hosted by the Dallas Stars. It will be held at the Cotton Bowl, though their opponent is currently unknown.
In recent years, the NHL has started to get a bit more deliberate with their venue choices when it comes to Winter Classics. They’ve been going with more college football stadiums each year. This trend began with the 2018 Stadium Series game at the Naval Academy. It continued with the 2019 Winter Classic at Notre Dame. Now it will continue at the 2020 Winter Classic, with the Dallas Stars being the generous hosts at the Cotton Bowl.
The Cotton Bowl is better known as the home of the State Fair Classic, Red River Showdown, and the First Responder Bowl. It used to be the home of the Cotton Bowl Classic from 1932 to 2009.
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Though fans were clamoring for AT&T Stadium, the Cotton Bowl is a very nice stadium to have an outdoor game at. It’s a historical stadium and Dallas fans will surely enjoy seeing a game at such a meaningful and historical venue.
While the Stars opponent is unknown, several teams stand out as contenders. The NHL could go with the Chicago Blackhawks, Nashville Predators, or Minnesota Wild, all of whom are natural rivals of the Stars. The Predators have never been in an outdoor game while the Hawks and Wild have both made appearances.
If the league is worried about the draw of those rivalries, they might go with someone like the New York Rangers or Toronto Maple Leafs, who would command a significant audience.
This is the furthest south an outdoor NHL game has been played. It’s also the first time the Stars will participate in an outdoor game. They nearly got a preseason game in 2011 at Reliant Stadium, but it didn’t work out. 20 of the 28 metropolitan markets in the NHL will have hosted an outdoor game with the Stars getting involved.
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It’s been a long time coming for Dallas to be the center of attention of the hockey universe. The Stars have earned this shot. We’ll keep you updated as the opponent and other details are released.