Skip navigation
Favorites
Sign up to follow your favorites on all your devices.
Sign up

Flyers, Penguins remain unsure about Beaver Stadium game

Beaver Stadium

A general view of Beaver Stadium as snow falls before the game between the Penn State Nittany Lions and the Illinois Fighting Illini on October 29, 2011 at Beaver Stadium in State College, Pennsylvania. (October 28, 2011 - Source: Justin K. Aller/Getty Images North America)

Over the summer, Philadelphia Flyers president Peter Luukko expressed interest in playing an outdoor game in Penn State’s Beaver Stadium against the Pittsburgh Penguins.

That has the makings of a great match. The Flyers and Penguins’ rivalry has been fierce and Beaver Stadium can hold over 100,000 fans for a football game. All the same, the NHL is cautioning that such a contest isn’t a lock to happen.

“It’s always fun to come up with those scenarios in the league office or as a third party, but at the end of the day it does require a club to give up a home game,” said NHL chief operating officer John Collins, according to the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review.

“We haven’t broached that yet.”

Beaver Stadium is a neutral site between Pittsburgh and Philadelphia, but obviously it would have to count as a home contest for one of the teams. That’s not necessarily a small factor as the NHL rather than the hosting club gets an undisclosed share of the gate revenues from outdoor games.

Pittsburgh has already played in two Winter Classics and they will head to Chicago for a third outdoor game on March 1. Philadelphia also knows what these events involve after hosting the 2012 Winter Classic.

Still, they haven’t played each other in an outdoor game. Despite the consideration that Collins raised, we might still see such an event in the coming years.

Follow @RyanDadoun