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Stars-Predators, Avalanche-Kings complete ‘19-20 NHL outdoor schedule

Texas v Oklahoma

DALLAS, TX - OCTOBER 12: Exterior, general view of the Cotton Bowl on October 12, 2013 in Dallas, Texas. (Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images)

Getty Images

The NHL finalized its outdoor scheduled for the 2019-20 season on Friday afternoon when commissioner Gary Bettman announced that the Dallas Stars will be hosting the Nashville Predators in the 2020 Winter Classic at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas, Texas.

We had known for several weeks now that the Stars would be hosting the event for the first time at the iconic college football venue, but their opponent was a mystery until Friday.

This will be the first outdoor game for both franchises.

From the NHL:

Located just east of downtown Dallas, the historic Cotton Bowl® Stadium becomes the sixth football stadium to host the NHL Winter Classic. Cotton Bowl® Stadium is the third college football venue to host the game, joining Michigan Stadium (2014) and Notre Dame Stadium (2019). From 1937 to 2009, the venue hosted the Cotton Bowl® Classic, an annual NCAA Division I bowl game. Since 1932, the annual University of Texas/University of Oklahoma “Red River Showdown” football game has been held at Cotton Bowl® Stadium during the State Fair of Texas. Along with college football, the stadium has served as the home field for the Dallas Cowboys of the National Football League and the Dallas Texans of the American Football League. Both the Southern Methodist University Mustangs football team and FC Dallas of Major League Soccer have called Cotton Bowl® Stadium home on several occasions. Cotton Bowl® Stadium also served as a venue for the 1994 FIFA World Cup, one of nine stadiums in the United States selected to host matches during the international event.

Along with that announcement, the league also announced that the Colorado Avalanche will be hosting the Los Angeles Kings in the Stadium Series game to be played at the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colorado on Feb. 15.

This will be the second outdoor game held at one of the military academies, following the Washington Capitals-Toronto Maple Leafs game at the Naval Academy a year ago.

From the NHL:

The game at Falcon Stadium will mark the second time the NHL has brought the NHL Stadium Series™ to a U.S. Service Academy following the Washington-Toronto matchup at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium in Annapolis, Md. in 2018. Standing in the base of the Rampart Range of the Rocky Mountains, Falcon Stadium opened on Sept. 22, 1962, when a then-overflow crowd of 41,350 saw Air Force defeat Colorado State 24-0. The stadium was originally built solely for football, but lacrosse plays all of its home matches in the stadium, which is also the site of the Academy’s annual graduation. The 2020 NHL Stadium Series™ will be the first-ever outdoor hockey game held at Falcon Stadium.

This will be the Avalanche’s second outdoor game and the third for the Kings.

The third outdoor game, which had already been finalized, will be the Heritage Classic between the Winnipeg Jets and Calgary Flames. That game will take place Oct. 26 in Regina, Saskatchewan. This will be the fifth Heritage Classic game and the first since the 2016 season.

Adam Gretz is a writer for Pro Hockey Talk on NBC Sports. Drop him a line at phtblog@nbcsports.com or follow him on Twitter @AGretz.