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The NHL’s backup plan for the Winter Classic in case it rains

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There’s a lot of talk about how the weather for the 2011 Winter Classic in Pittsburgh won’t be very winter-like. Yesterday, we talked about how some in western Pennsylvania are concerned with the extended forecast that calls for mild temperatures and the possibility of rain. If you think that the NHL wasn’t prepared for any such disaster scenarios, you’d be wrong.

Dan Craig is the man in charge of getting the ice set at Heinz Field and he says that if the temperatures are warm there won’t be a problem.

“We could have ice at 65 [degrees] as long as it is an overcast day,” Dan Craig, the NHL’s ice expert, told ESPN.com last week.

But steady rainfall might create problems, because the rain would not immediately freeze. That could either flood the rink or create uneven ice, which could pose a safety risk to the players.

“There are a lot of variables we have to balance to get where we want to be, and we are always keeping in mind players’ safety,” Craig said, according to the Tribune-Review.


At the Winter Classic press conference in New York City last week it was made clear to us that there will be a broad window of opportunity to play the game on New Year’s Day and if that means there’s a delay to starting the game, they’ll do it. With the game scheduled to start at 1 pm on January 1st, it gives everyone the chance to get as much time on Saturday to get things right.

Sunday January 2nd is also available to use to get the game in should the weather end up being too poor on Saturday. The NHL would ideally not like to compete with the final Sunday of the NFL schedule but if it works out so the Failing all of that, the game will be rescheduled and played indoors at CONSOL Energy Center in Pittsburgh as a regular Penguins home game. That option is an absolute last resort, however.

Special: If you’d like a look in live at Heinz Field while the crews prepare the rink for Saturday’s game, the NHL has a camera running live video from high atop the stadium. It’s worth a look to see how they’re doing everything.