Comments on: Leonsis: D.C. won’t host Winter Classic in 2013

By: tonyseesred

tonyseesred — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 18:50:30 +0000

Obviously not going to happen in the next few years, but they could def bring the winter classic to south florida. Do it in the Miami marlins arena..retractable stadium..could close it for a couple weeks, build perfect ice and then open it for the classsic…would likely be better ice conditions for the classic than in years past =] Traditionally, the panthers play the habs right around new years…ALWAYS a sell out game. and everyone watches the winter classic regardless of who is playing. why? because we’re hockey fans. So yes, bring it to south florida, you snowbirds can come get away from your miserable cold weather and come enjoy south beach and the winter classic while wearing a t-shirt and shorts. doesnt get better than that.

By: hague507

hague507 — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 14:28:09 +0000

Since we’re talking 2014 at the earliest I think Nats stadium will work perfectly. The issue there right now is the parking and the lack of attractions in the surrounding area. I was in the area in late August and notice that construction of condos in the area is underway and new hotels gave been added as well as restaurants. I think by 2014 or beyond the Park will be a great solution.

I also agree 100000% that Snyder should be kept as far away from the project as possible !!!

By: danphipps01

danphipps01 — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 01:43:33 +0000

So, what, floor hockey then? Wait, you mean the NHL?! D:

By: e5again

e5again — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 23:13:51 +0000

But is the interior of the stadium going to be built to withstand winter conditions? I guess it only would need to be open for a few hours.

By: polegojim

polegojim — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 23:08:27 +0000

Yep E – that’s exactly the point. Retract is included in the plan — beautiful ice.

By: polegojim

polegojim — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 23:07:21 +0000

???? an OUTSIDE game in Phoenix or Florida???? You been drinking T?

By: e5again

e5again — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 23:06:10 +0000

The new vikings stadium would have a retractable roof and I’m pretty sure it would not be built for the winter conditions.

By: t16rich

t16rich — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 18:47:38 +0000

Phoenix or Florida one day is where it should be. Give the fans what they want

By: polegojim

polegojim — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 17:38:42 +0000

Book it Dan-o

Big House 2013

Mile High 2014

New Vikings Stadium 2015

By: govtminion

govtminion — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 17:28:55 +0000

Oh don’t get me wrong, I’d rather a football stadium as well- in MOST cities (Denver, for example). But here in D.C., as I said, you have the very poorly maintained RFK, which just wouldn’t work, and FedEx.

So, why not FedEx, one of the largest-capacity stadiums in North America? Well, for one, Dan Snyder is as slimy as any person out there, and I hate to see him be able to get his mitts on this thing. If you’re not familiar with Snyder, he’s the owner of the Redskins- and if you’re not familiar with the decade-and-change failure he’s made that once-proud franchise into, it’s not hard to find evidence of it.

In addition, hit Google Maps if you’ve not looked at the metro area- Landover, MD (where FedEx is) is a ways out of downtown. So all those great ‘fluff’ shots the cameras like to get of downtown Philly/Chicago/Boston/wherever that they’ve done the past few years? Forget it- you can’t see the downtown monuments from Landover, not without the cameras in the aircraft showing just how far away downtown is from the game. Think of it being basically like Boston- Fenway let you look at downtown Boston from the stadium, but Foxboro is just too far away. Same with Landover- it’s not the boonies by any means, but it’s also not very convenient. It’s also not really Metro-accessible, for what that’s worth.

But Nats Park? Right near the Navy Yard, not far from the Capitol, looking right out on the Potomac, and no Snyder-stench. Win-win.

By: miketoasty

miketoasty — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 17:05:39 +0000

Not a big fan of hosting the one of the biggest event’s in hockey at a baseball park. Not that I have any problem with baseball parks or baseball in general but the seating just doesn’t look like it works properly. Certain points just seem too far away. I would try and limit it to football stadium for the viewing angles along with the amount of people you can fit into a football stadium.

By: govtminion

govtminion — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 16:20:19 +0000

I agree on RFK (poorly maintained) and FedEx (keep Dan Snyder away from the Classic, for God’s sake!)… but what’s the problem with Nats park? I don’t see any problems with it that we haven’t seen from other baseball stadiums already. Parking is kind of a pain, but it does have Metro access to make up for that somewhat. It looks right over on the Capitol Dome for the TV shots. Aerial coverage might be a little awkward with the D.C. no-fly zones, but I’m sure they can make some changes for the day.

Seems like the ideal solution to me.