The National Hockey League announced that their 15th-ever Winter Classic will be held in Seattle next year as the league’s newest franchise will serve as host for their first-ever outdoor matchup.
The Kraken will take on their Pacific Division-rival Vegas Golden Knights at the regular home of the Seattle Mariners, T-Mobile Park. NHL commissioner Gary Bettman announced the news on the 2023 version of the game’s pregame show.
The @Discover 2024 NHL #WinterClassic is heading to the West Coast! 🦑⚔️
The @SeattleKraken will be hosting the @GoldenKnights in the annual showdown. pic.twitter.com/eWxcafqhuZ
— NHL (@NHL) January 2, 2023
“So, I’m supposed to break news,” Bettman started on TNT. “For the Discover Winter Classic, we’re going to Seattle. We’re going to play at T-Mobile Park and the Seattle Kraken are going to play the Vegas Golden Knights. We’re thrilled that Discover is going to be the main title sponsor, title partner, that we’ve just extended our more than decade-old relationship. And what makes them great is how much they activate around the game. So, we’re thrilled, and I think the storylines, Seattle against Vegas, speak for itself.”
The battle between the two newest teams in the NHL will take place when the game normally takes place which is New Year’s Day 2024. The 2023 version between the Boston Bruins and Pittsburgh Penguins had to wait until January 2.
The #WinterClassic is heading to Seattle 👀
The Kraken and Golden Knights will face-off outdoors in 2024 ❄️ pic.twitter.com/pMzplmPv63
— B/R Open Ice (@BR_OpenIce) January 2, 2023
The Kraken will become the 29th NHL team to participate in a regular-season outdoor game. It will be Vegas’ second appearance after they played the Colorado Avalanche in 2021 outdoors at Lake Tahoe.
Seattle will also be the first Pacific Division team to host the Winter Classic, which the league states has never been played west of the central time zone. T-Mobile Park will be the 14th different venue and eighth baseball stadium to host the event. The stadium holds a capacity of 47,929 and features a retractable roof.
More from the NHL:
2024 Discover NHL Winter Classic Visits Seattle as the Kraken Host the Vegas Golden Knights on New Year’s Day
NEW YORK (Jan. 2, 2023) – The National Hockey League (NHL) today announced details for the 2024 Discover NHL Winter Classic®. The outdoor contest will feature the Seattle Kraken hosting the Vegas Golden Knights on Monday, January 1, 2024, at T-Mobile Park, home of the Seattle Mariners, and will be broadcast exclusively on TNT in the U.S. and on Sportsnet and TVA Sports in Canada. In addition, Discover Financial Services (NYSE: DFS) and the NHL announced a multiyear extension of their U.S. partnership that includes Discover maintaining its status as the Official Credit Card and Official Bank of the NHL® in the U.S.
The 2024 Discover NHL Winter Classic® will match the NHL’s two most recent franchise additions. The Kraken, who began play in the 2021-22 season, will be playing in their first regular-season outdoor game and will become the 29th team to participate in such a game. It will be the second outdoor appearance for the Golden Knights, whose first season of play was 2017-18. In their first outdoor contest, on Feb. 20, 2021, the Golden Knights fell to the Colorado Avalanche by a score of 3-2, in the 2021 NHL Outdoors at Lake Tahoe™ at Edgewood Tahoe Resort. The 2024 Discover NHL Winter Classic® continues the tradition the League established in 2008 of hosting a regular-season outdoor game at the onset of the new year, with the 2024 edition marking the 16th anniversary of the first NHL Winter Classic® in Buffalo. A complete history of NHL regular-season outdoor games can be found here.
Discover, an NHL supporter since 2010, will remain as title partner of the NHL Winter Classic® broadcast on TNT in the United States for the duration of the partnership. Discover will also activate at NHL Stadium Series™ and NHL® All-Star Weekend, including sponsoring one skill during the 2023 NHL All-Star Skills™ in Sunrise, Florida on Friday, Feb. 3.
Discover will continue creating compelling and engaging integrated programs and content that will be supported across multiple channels, including new Digitally Enhanced Dashboards, the League’s advanced approach to dynamic dasherboard advertising, and virtual slot in-ice ads, that will appear during each nationally broadcasted game in the United States throughout the regular season and Stanley Cup® Playoffs.
“Discover is proud of our long-standing partnership with the NHL. We are looking forward to continuing to support the league as the Official Credit Card and Official Bank of the NHL in the U.S, as well as the title sponsor of the NHL Winter Classic–one of the league’s most prestigious and highly-anticipated events of the season,” said Jennifer Murillo, senior vice president and chief marketing officer at Discover. “Our relationship with the NHL allows Discover to make meaningful connections to consumers who are looking to achieve a brighter financial future, and to deliver great experiences to passionate hockey fans.”
“We are absolutely thrilled to announce our partnership extension with Discover on the same day as the 2023 Discover NHL Winter Classic and have them remain as title sponsor of one of the marquee events on the League’s calendar,” said Kyle McMann, NHL Senior Vice President, North American Business Development. “Over the more than ten years of our fantastic partnership, Discover has delivered creative and best-in-class activations to engage our passionate fans in the United States. We look forward to developing more unique programs and platforms tied to Discover’s payment and banking products to reach even more NHL fans and Discover customers this NHL season and beyond.”
Discover is continuing its engagement with hockey fans of all 32 NHL teams by offering its NHL Discover it® card. NHL fans can apply for an NHL Discover it® card and choose the NHL Shield or their favorite team’s logo here.
Home to the Seattle Mariners, T-Mobile Park opened in 1999 and has gained a reputation locally, regionally and nationally as one of the best settings in sports. With sweeping views of Seattle’s downtown skyline, breathtaking sunsets over Puget Sound, and excellent sightlines of the field no matter your location, T-Mobile Park provides fans with an unparalleled experience. In addition to Mariners home games, the venue has also hosted various entertainment and sporting events.
Additional details for the 2024 Discover NHL Winter Classic®, including ticketing information and the game’s start time, will be announced when available. Fans can sign up for news and updates on the 2024 Discover NHL Winter Classic® by clicking here.
