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

Ted Leonsis

Sorry Capitals fans, it looks like the Winter Classic won’t be coming your way next year.

Caps owner Ted Leonsis has heard the rumors about the Caps possibly hosting the Winter Classic as soon as next year and took to his own website to say that while Washington D.C. looks forward to one day hosting the event, it won’t be happening next year.

“So – to set the record straight – there has NOT been any communication to us on a formal basis as to a Winter Classic coming to DC in a specific year. I have been told that the Winter Classic will NOT be coming to DC next year though. I have also been assured that because of the size of our fan base – and the beauty of our city – that a Winter Classic would come to Washington DC; at some point in the future. And that is good enough for me. “

The speculation through the weekend in Philadelphia was that the front-runner for next year’s Winter Classic was Detroit/Ann Arbor. The lure of playing the game at Michigan’s Big House is there and the possibility of drawing more than 110,000 fans for the Winter Classic might be too big to ignore.

As it is now, D.C. would have to figure out where they’d like to play it. Some want to see the game played on The National Mall, but Leonsis said that would be nearly impossible to do. FedEx Field, RFK Stadium, and Nationals Park aren’t overly appealing. Baltimore’s Camden Yards is more pleasing to the eyes, but would likely make Caps fans ticked off about going to Baltimore to see their team.