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Report: Weekend in January might feature outdoor games at Dodger Stadium and Yankee Stadium

Yankee Stadium

The new Yankee Stadium is shown on March 31, 2009 in the Bronx borough of New York City. (March 31, 2009 - Source: Ezra Shaw/Getty Images North America)

On Sunday, NHL COO John Collins discussed the possibility of playing multiple outdoor games next season, including potentially one at Dodger Stadium.

A Kings representative confirmed that a Los Angeles outdoor game is “moving in the direction of happening,” according to LA Kings Insider. The rink would be operational for two weeks to allow for an alumni game and other contests. The actual NHL game would be played at night so that the sun wouldn’t be shining onto the ice.

That might just be part one in an ambitious weekend for the NHL though.

The game, which would also reportedly feature the Anaheim Ducks, would take place on Saturday Jan. 25, 2014. The NHL has interest in holding a second outdoor game the next day in New York, ideally in Yankee Stadium, according to the Los Angeles Times.

That’s all in addition to the Winter Classic, which will be between the Detroit Red Wings and Toronto Maple Leafs on Jan. 1, 2014.

The NHL does see a potential downside in holding too many outdoor games.

“There are people who say you’ll dilute what is a good, special thing,” Collins said in a Yahoo! report. “No one would be more concerned about not screwing up a good thing than we would be.”

At the same time there is, as NHL commissioner Gary Bettman put it, “tremendous interest” in outdoor games. There are plenty of cities and teams that want to host them, including those that have already gotten a turn.

“Putting aside its national impact, when you see what it does locally, it’s incredible,” Bettman said.

If these ambitions become a reality, then more cities will be able to experience that local impact.

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Report: NHL exploring outdoor game at Dodger Stadium