Jan 09, 2026
3 min read
The Utah Mammoth will host the Colorado Avalanche for the 2027 Winter Classic.Ryan Smith talks about why it's worth it.
As soon as the ball flew to Utah's NHL franchise, the folks at Smith Entertainment Group started thinking about the possibility of an outdoor game in the NHL's newest home state.
"When (NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman) is in town one of those times, we have their team here at the U," Utah Mammoth owner Ryan Smith said."And we said, 'Hey, we want to do this at Rice-Eccles and go check it out.'
"At that point, they weren't looking, they weren't in the process, they weren't there. But we felt that if we could get them up here, do the work early and see it ... if they saw the visual, they might accept it. It will probably speed things up. We talked to the U and said we were working on it, and one thing led to another."
He called it "an artistic demonstration of the possible."
"It should be here on rotation. It's like Pebble Beach and the U.S. Open. It's every other year. That's where it should be."
Smith is an alumni of BY and a Cougars fan.
Lavelle Edwards Stadium holds about 12,000 more people than Rice-Eccles Stadium, so there would have been a natural fit.But it was important to Smith that the game be played in Salt Lake City
“I want it here in Salt Lake,” he said."I mean, I've been there (in Provo) enough. That's my NIL contribution. That's good."
He said he is also checking many other issues - some of which he is still considering.
"It's really cool because there's not a lot of space around the sides and the end zone, which is what people love about this stadium. It's like you're on top of each other — and I think that's really special."
The Mammoth will face the Colorado Avalanche in the 2027 Winter Classic, the NHL's outdoor game.The date has yet to be determined, although the last time the NHL will host the event is on January 2nd. Since this is a Saturday, it is better to think that this is the day.
