Mayor Watson meets with NHL to push for Heritage Classic
Posted Oct 2, 2014 04:24:02 PM.
This article is more than 5 years old.
OTTAWA — Mayor Jim Watson met with NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman and Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly in Ottawa Wednesday.
Watson made a pitch for the Ottawa Senators to host the NHL Heritage Classic in December, 2017.
He said the meeting was a positive experience, claiming the commissioner recognized the importance of 2017 in the capital, and the entire country as the 150th anniversary of Confederation.
“Gary Bettman knew very well how important this is to the city and the country to have an outdoor classic in Ottawa, the nation’s capital,” said Watson, “He certainly knew the exact date when that first NHL game took place a hundred years ago in December right in Ottawa”
The game would mark the centennial anniversary of the first NHL game between Ottawa and Montreal on December 19, 1917.
“We see this as not just one hockey game outdoors in front of 40 or 50,000 people, but very much as a week of celebration of hockey…” said Watson.
An outdoor game in Ottawa would presumably be played at TD Place at Lansdowne Park.
