The NHL has announced that the 2027 Discover NHL Winter Classic will feature the Utah Mammoth hosting the Colorado Avalanche at Rice-Eccles Stadium, the on-campus football venue at the University of Utah.

The regular-season outdoor game will be televised exclusively on TNT in the U.S. and on Sportsnet in Canada.

Additional details for the 2027 Discover NHL Winter Classic, including ticketing information and the game’s date and start time, will be announced when available.

“We couldn’t be more excited, more thrilled,” NHL commissioner Gary Bettman said. “If I would have suggested such an announcement three years ago before this team even existed, people would have thought we were making it up, but this is great for this franchise. (Utah co-owners Ryan and Ashley Smith) have done so much. The fan response and the corporate response and the community response has been incredible. We’re delighted to share this event with this great community.

“It was a long time coming for some franchises, but for this franchise, long overdue, but the circumstances and the ownership in the community has made it right. And just to add to that, in the very early discussions I had with Ryan about the possibility of franchise here, the thing that impressed me most was he was focused on big things for Utah. What could they do to make a difference to bring big things to Utah? Franchise, obviously the Olympics, what’s going to go on downtown, all part of big things. But this is a big thing, and we’re happy to share it with members of the NHL family that now reside in Utah.”

The 2027 Discover NHL Winter Classic will mark the first regular-season outdoor game for the Mammoth, in what will be the franchise’s third year of play.

It will be the fourth regular-season outdoor appearance for the Avalanche, which holds a record of 1-2-0 in previous outdoor action. That record includes a 5-3 Stadium Series loss to the Detroit Red Wings at Coors Field in Denver in 2016, a 3-1 defeat to the Los Angeles Kings in the 2020 Stadium Series at Falcon Stadium in Colorado Springs, and a 3-2 victory over the Vegas Golden Knights in the 2021 NHL Outdoors at Lake Tahoe at Edgewood Tahoe Resort.

“We’re excited and honored that the League selected us for the Winter Classic,” Colorado president of hockey operations Joe Sakic said. “The Avalanche organization is always proud to be in consideration for marquee events like this. We’re looking forward to being matched up with a great team and represent the Rocky Mountain region in a game that appeals to these two markets in this part of the country.”

The game continues the tradition the league established in 2008 of hosting a regular-season outdoor game at the onset of the new year, and next season’s edition will mark the 18th NHL Winter Classic and the 47th NHL regular-season outdoor game overall. The Mammoth will become the 32nd NHL franchise to participate in an outdoor game.

A complete history of NHL regular-season outdoor games can be found here.

“I think this venue is going to be incredible,” Ryan Smith said. “If you look at the proximity to where it kind of sits down where the ice is, everyone’s going to be able to actually watch hockey from here, which I think some it’s been a little different. So I’m excited, I’m excited about that. This is a dream. We actually came up here early in the process of even getting the team because we said this is what we want.

“We wanted our players to be able to have it, but we also wanted our community to be able to say, you know, this is what hockey culture and the hockey fan base, and this is like the ultimate celebration of the sport. And it’s cool to be able to not just have it be a celebration but also education as well for so many people to get back. That’s kind of what this franchise has been. It’s a little bit about the sport that a lot of people in the state didn’t know they really needed in their lives.”

To date, the Mammoth and Avalanche have met six times in regular-season action, with Colorado holding a five-point edge over Utah (COL: 4-1-1—9 points; UTA: 2-4-0—4 points), including three matchups this season (COL: 2-0-1—5 points; UTA: 1-2-0—2 points). The two clubs still have one head-to-head meeting remaining this season, Feb. 25 in Utah.

Rice-Eccles Stadium has served as the home of the University of Utah Utes football program since opening in September of 1998. The venue, which sits 4,657 feet above sea level, features spectacular scenic views of the nearby Wasatch Mountain Range of the Greater Rockies.

In addition to Utes football, Rice-Eccles has hosted multiple other major sporting events, most prominently the Opening and Closing Ceremonies of the 2002 Salt Lake Winter Olympic Games. The venue is also set to host the Opening and Closing Ceremonies for the 2034 Utah Winter Olympic Games.

Photo rendering/Utah Mammoth

— Matt Mackinder

(January 19, 2026)

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