Wrigley Field to hold college hockey games after Winter Classic (2024)

CHICAGO — The Big Ten Conference has held football games at Wrigley Field. Now, it will turn to hockey at Chicago’s historic ballpark.

The Big Ten and the Chicago Cubs announced Thursday they will hold four outdoor hockey games at Wrigley Field on Jan. 3 and 4, 2025, just days after the NHL puts on its Winter Classic between the Chicago Blackhawks and St. Louis Blues at the venue on Dec. 31.

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The event, which is being called The Frozen Confines: Big Ten Hockey Series, will include three men’s hockey games and one women’s hockey game. On Jan. 3, two men’s games will be played with Penn State facing Notre Dame and Ohio State playing Michigan. On Jan. 4, Wisconsin and Michigan State will play in the final men’s game, and Ohio State and Wisconsin will play in the women’s game, which is technically a Western Collegiate Hockey Association matchup.

“As it’s been said a billion times, for us, it’s all about the growth of hockey,” NHL senior executive vice president and chief content officer Steve Mayer said. “The more that we can do on our ice, the better. It’s just going to promote the game of hockey. I don’t care whether it’s college, youth hockey, whatever it is, we respect that and we really lean into that. So to be able to do what they’re doing here, which is awesome, is something that’s worked before.

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“We’ve done other games where college has followed us, and it’s been really cool to see. The amount of people that when you think about it over the course of a week’s time come to see hockey, it’s amazing. Here, we’re talking over 100,000 people within a week watching hockey. That’s when we win.”

Mayer also said the NHL is preparing for its second Winter Classic at Wrigley Field, with the first coming in 2009 when the Blackhawks played the Detroit Red Wings. Mayer said the rink will be laid out similarly to 2009 when it was oriented from first base to third base.

“That 2009 was a long time ago, that was the second year of these games,” Mayer said. “We’ve learned a lot. We keep growing as an events team. We’ve done a significant amount of these games, well over 40 now. I think the most important thing — I’ve been here for a couple of days — those who attended in 2009 are going to get a completely different experience. Like, aside from the fact you’re going to watch a hockey game and the Blackhawks are going to be playing in the game, that much will be the same. And let’s face it, the stadium is so different than it was in 2009.”

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(Photo: Guy Rhodes / USA Today)

Scott Powers is a senior writer for The Athletic covering the Chicago Blackhawks. Previously, he covered the Blackhawks and the White Sox for ESPN Chicago. He has also written for the Daily Herald and the Chicago Sun-Times and has been a sportswriter in the Chicagoland area for the past 15 years. Follow Scott on Twitter @byscottpowers