ST. LOUIS -- There is something to be said for the St. Louis Blues being involved in a Winter Classic again.
It was announced by broadcasting rightsholder TNT (done by Chicago Blackhawks rookie Connor Bedard) that the Blues and Blackhawks will be the league's featured outdoor game in the 2025 Discover NHL Winter Classic at Wrigley Field.
Date and time will be announced at a future date.
For the Blues, it will be their third entrant into the event in nine times since hosting the Blackhawks at Busch Stadium in 2017 and second time in four games after playing the Minnesota Wild at Target Field in 2022.
The Blues and Blackhawks drew a 1.5 rating and 2.6 million viewers for the 2017 Winter Classic, according to Nielsen ratings."In part, it is a statement about how the league thinks about our team and if you will, the brand that the Blues bring and it's power," Blues president and CEO of business operations Chris Zimmerman said Wednesday morning at Enterprise Center. "And it's our ability to bring audiences to a national television stage that obviously has to be one of the objectives. It says something about where we stand in terms of how the league looks at us as an entity that can help carry the league because this is a national platform for us."
Zimmerman, who joined the Blues in 2014, was ecstatic when he got the news the Blues would be Chicago's opponent and from an organizational standpoint, was more than grateful.
"Getting the news about the Winter Classic was incredibly exciting," Zimmerman said. "I actually had a text exchange with Steve Mayer (chief content officer and executive vice president) from the NHL last week when I found out and I gave him one of the more exuberant responses within the text to that news. This event is one of the best events, certainly one of the best regular season events for the league, an event in a game that our players love to do and all of those things. Our fans obviously have responded, whether it's playing at Busch Stadium or going up to a very cold Minneapolis. This is going to be pretty cool to get to Wrigley (Field)."
There is (and already has been) criticism that the NHL continues to go back to the same teams when it comes to holding outdoor games, particularly this, it's featured game; what have the Blues done to deserve to be in another game; why are the Blackhawks in another game (their sixth overall)? For the Blues, it will be their third and for the Blackhawks, it will be their fifth in the Winter Classic, but the league values rivalry games, fan participation, which will be easily accessible for both sides being connected to Interstate 55, and really important, TV ratings, which have been on the decline the past four years. The 2024 Winter Classic between first-timers Vegas and Seattle set an all-time low of 1.1 million viewers.
"There are a number of constituencies going into that decision," Zimmerman said. "You have the league and the network. It's their event, so you start there, but then obviously the facility and the home team. We're really at the end of that chain. There's some lobbying going on. I would tell you that the Blackhawks, who are obviously a key stakeholder in this decision, for them, they really saw the value of the Blues-Blackhawks rivalry, what that's meant over the years, what the Cardinals-Cubs rivalry means and so our ability getting into Wrigley, getting these two teams there and taking and creating a new stage of that rivalry, particularly as they're having some generational change (is) pretty cool.
Jordan Kyrou (left), Scott Perunovich (middle) and Robert Thomas (right) will each get the opportunity to play in their second Winter Classic, respectively, in 2025 against the Blackhawks at Wrigley Field."Getting the opportunity to getting onto Wrigley Field, Bedard will be (two) years into his career, we've got guys advancing and their careers evolving, I just think that that's the chance on that stage to really boost it. Often rivalries come from regular season play or those great playoff rounds, but I think that having this game and the way the guys feel about this game, I think all those things are going to be valuable.
"Even as a road team we play a role in the marketing and the success. How we, St. Louis, shows up, will be a part of it. Among the things I have zero concern is how St. Louis will show up. Tickets will be in high, high demand. There's right around 41,000 seats at Wrigley, so a little but less than Busch Stadium. In a rivalry and an opportunity that's not going to come around again, so if you ever get an opportunity to see the Blues and the Blackhawks at Wrigley Field, it's in this event. It's a great opportunity for our season ticket holders. They first and foremost will be rewarded and have the opportunity to purchase tickets. If I have one concern, it will be getting every person who we'd love to have at Wrigley Field into the stadium."
