The NHL ice hockey league’s 2018 Winter Classic event between the Buffalo Sabres and the New York Rangers will be held at Citi Field, home of Major League Baseball franchise the New York Mets.
Citi Field will be the sixth baseball ground to host the annual New Year’s Day game, which is a regular-season match played in an outdoor arena.
The 10-year anniversary of the event will see both teams making a second appearance in the Winter Classic since 2008 at the 41,922-capacity stadium.
The MLB venues that previously hosted the annual game are Wrigley Field in Chicago in 2009, Fenway Park in Boston in 2010 (pictured), Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia in 2012, Nationals Park in Washington in 2015 and Busch Stadium in St. Louis in 2017.
“The Winter Classic made its debut under snowy Buffalo skies in 2008, and we look forward to celebrating the 10th anniversary of that landmark event by matching the Sabres with their intrastate rivals, the New York Rangers, in the 2018 Bridgestone NHL Winter Classic at Citi Field,” NHL commissioner Gary Bettman said.
“With New York City as its host, the renewal of our New Year’s tradition will continue to inspire hockey memories for our clubs, our players and our fans.”
Rangers president Glen Sather added: “The New York Rangers are honoured to once again be a part of one of the NHL’s signature events.
“The Bridgestone NHL Winter Classic represents everything that is great about our game. Playing in the Winter Classic and Stadium Series in recent years was a tremendous experience for our organization and we look forward to yet another opportunity to celebrate the game of hockey, together with all our fans, in New York City.”
The Sabres and Rangers have met twice in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, with the former winning both best-of-seven series, including the most recent matchup in the 2007 Eastern Conference semi-finals.
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