SALT LAKE CITY, UT — The Colorado Avalanche will play in the NHL’s annual “Winter Classic” outdoor game in 2027, against the Utah Mammoth at Rice-Eccles Stadium in Salt Lake City.
The exact date of the game is not yet known.
It will mark the 18th edition of the Winter Classic event. The game is one of the NHL’s series of outdoor games, and has been played in iconic outdoor baseball and football stadiums across the country in front of crowds as big as 105,000 at Michigan Stadium.
The latest edition – played on Jan. 2 in front of 36,000 fans – was played in Miami.
Rice-Eccles Stadium, the home of the University of Utah football team, has a seating capacity north of 51,000 and has hosted as many as 53,644 fans. It was the site of the opening and closing ceremonies for the 2002 Winter Olympics.
Colorado has played in three outdoor games: against the Detroit Red Wings at Coors Field in 2016, against the Los Angeles Kings at Falcon Stadium in Colorado Springs in 2020 and against the Las Vegas Golden Knights at Lake Tahoe in 2021.
It will mark the first-ever outdoor game for the Mammoth, who will host the Winter Classic in just their third season since joining the NHL as an expansion franchise in 2024.
It went 38-31-13 in its inaugural season last year. As of Wednesday’s announcement of the 2027 Winter Classic, the Mammoth are 20-20-3.
Colorado is the league’s top team at 31-4-7.
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