NHL sets 2026 Winter Classic in Utah on New Year’s Eve

SALT LAKE CITY — The NHL Winter Classic for the 2026-27 season will likely be performed on New Year’s Eve, league commissioner Gary Bettman introduced on Friday.

The Utah Mammoth will host divisional rival Colorado Avalanche at Rice-Eccles Stadium on the University of Utah campus.

Bettman was in Salt Lake City for Game 3 of the first-round sequence between Utah and the Vegas Golden Knights.

Mammoth proprietor Ryan Smith mentioned different occasions will likely be put collectively in conjunction with the Winter Classic to run all through the vacation weekend – highlighted by a postgame live performance on the Delta Center on New Year’s Eve.

“Our hope is this is a whole weekend that is a version of an all-star game where we can come in and we can program and activate our state and show our state off,” Smith mentioned. “You can expect a weekend of full programming of events, sports, concerts, and activities that will be pretty special.”