Where is the 2024 NHL Winter Classic? How is the location decided?

The Vegas Golden Knights are set to take on Seattle Kraken in the NHL Winter Classic 2024 (3 p.m. ET / 12p.m. PT), in what is another edition of the outdoor series. This time, the game will put the two newest expansion teams up against each other on January 1, with the excitement building as the game draws closer.

Ahead of the game, Seattle Kraken beat the Philadelphia Flyers 2-1 at their Climate Pledge Arena while Vegas Golden Knights beat Los Angeles Kings 3-2, ending their 4-game losing streak.

The Golden Knights joined the NHL in 2017 and won the Stanley Cup for the first time last season; the Kraken joined in 2021 and qualified for the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the first time last season.

Where is the 2024 NHL Winter Classic?

T-Mobile Park is the venue for the game. The 47,929 capacity venue in Seattle’s SoDo neighbourhood was first used in 1999 and since then has gone on to host various sporting events such as MLB games, USMNT matches and WrestleMania XIX.

The estimated capacity will be close to 47,000 people, including some standing-room tickets.

“This building will be completely filled come Monday,” NHL senior executive vice president and chief content officer Steve Mayer said on Friday: “This is what it’s going to be all about. We knew from the very beginning that this has become quite a hockey town. Seattle is amazing. What the Kraken have done in their first three years is really incredible and their team and the Vegas Golden Knights will be on full display on Monday and they’re playing to a sold-out crowd.”

How is the location decided?

Due to the popularity of the event, every NHL team has requested to participate in the Winter Classic either as the host or the visiting team. It takes around a week to put down the ice field and given the popularity, NFL stadiums are generally chosen as the place to hold the event. The stadium must have a retractable roof as the game can’t take place entirely ‘indoors’ which was why the other option, Lumen Field, despite having a larger capacity, was not chosen.

Who will sing the national anthem?

13-year-old guitarist Nikhil Bagga has the honour of singing the American national anthem ahead of the game, while Sir Mix-A-Lot will perform during the player introductions and rock-band Heart will perform during the first intermission.