'A bucket-list item': Winter Classic makes Stars part of hockey history

At the heart of the NHL's Winter Classic is a feeling that you will return to a simpler time when kids played hockey on outdoor rinks and felt the cold biting at their face.
It's tough to get the cold and memories of outdoor hockey in Dallas, but with the announcement that the Stars will play host to a Winter Classic Game on Jan. 1, 2020, they certainly will have the memories of a simpler time.
In choosing Cotton Bowl Stadium as the venue, the NHL and the Stars will invite fans to a building that will be almost 90 years old, a building that embraces history, a building that embraces Texas. It is an unexpected curveball that probably helped get one of the league's biggest events to Dallas.

"There's just so much history there," said Stars president Brad Alberts. "While we were doing the background work, you learn more and more about the building and you see just how perfect it is for this event. I'm really excited about the potential here."
Alberts said the Stars were thinking about an outdoor game in Dallas and understood all of the previous plans that included AT&T Stadium or Globe Life Park when they decided to simply take a trip down to the Cotton Bowl and look around in the fall of 2017. The more they looked, the more they liked, and when NHL executives were in town for the NHL Entry Draft in June, they took them down to check out the building.
"They really liked what they saw and that allowed us to start having talks with the City of Dallas on whether we could make this happen," Alberts said. "Then, we brought them back for the Texas-OU game to show how the stadium functions during an event, and that went well too."
The NHL Events people then made a recommendation to the Board of Governors, and the Stars became big winners.
"Going to Texas and playing at the Cotton Bowl," NHL commissioner Gary Bettman told NBC Sports. "It'll be fun seeing the Cotton Bowl in use on January 1st."
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Stars CEO Jim Lites said that Alberts led an impressive charge that made things happen in short time.
"Brad worked so hard for this, and he put it together very quickly," Lites said. "I think when you look at it, the Cotton Bowl is the perfect venue, not only because of its history, but because we'll have access to do so many things with it and around it. We won't be rushed, we'll be able to do everything right, and the Fair Grounds present so many opportunities to do even more things. We think it's as good a venue as you can have."
There is much still to be determined, including the opponent, but Alberts said this will be more than just one game. There will be a youth tournament that coincides with the week leading up to the event (with championship games on the outdoor rink), and there also will be tributes to hockey teams that have called Dallas home.
"I love the fact the game will be in Dallas, because there is hockey history here," Alberts said. "It will be a celebration of hockey in Dallas."
That celebration is starting to become a bit of a confirmation that Dallas is a great place for hockey and a great place for big events. The Stars held the 2018 Entry Draft and received a ton of positive feedback.
"I definitely think that the city and the Stars are earning the respect of the league," said Marty Turco, President of the Stars Foundation, and former Stars goalie. "I think the draft was a great opportunity to let the city shine, and now we'll get an even bigger opportunity."
Turco never played in an outdoor game, but said he knows the players will be excited.
"It's right up there with the greatest experiences you can have, I think," Turco said. "If I would have had the chance, I know I would have really been pumped."
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While Alberts said the capacity for the game has not been decided yet, estimates put the expected crowd around 70,000. To get that many hockey fans, Alberts said they will push to get people from throughout the Southwest to make the trip to Dallas for this unique experience.
"We'll need people from Austin, from Houston, from San Antonio, from Oklahoma City," Alberts said. "This is about hockey in Texas and beyond, and we think a lot of hockey fans will want to be there."
Monica Paul, the executive director of the Dallas Sports Commission said early estimates on the economic impact of the game on the area is $30 million. She said she expects people to travel into Dallas and stay for a couple of days.
"It's a bucket-list item," Paul said. "I think people will be able to come in and stay for a few days and experience New Year's Eve in Dallas. It's really quite exciting."
And all because the Stars found the right venue.
"It's a Dallas tradition," Lites said of Cotton Bowl Stadium. "It hasn't changed much. They have kept it updated, and they make it very functional, but it is old school. You feel like you're in the 60s, and I think that's perfect for the vibe we're seeking."
Which is a sort of hockey-palooza, Texas-style.
"We have a chance to get the entire community behind it," Lites said. "It's a great, great opportunity to create a real event."
The Dallas Stars will host Bridgestone NHL Winter Classic® on Jan. 1, 2020 at Cotton Bowl Stadium in Dallas, Texas. For more information about the game and to enter for a chance to win tickets, visit DallasStars.com/WinterClassic.
This story was not subject to the approval of the National Hockey League or Dallas Stars Hockey Club.
Mike Heikais a Senior Staff Writer for DallasStars.com and has covered the Stars since 1994. Follow him on Twitter @MikeHeika, and listen to his podcast.