Pittsford, N.Y. (WBEN) - The Buffalo Sabres made history back in 2008 when the team hosted the first NHL Winter Classic against the Pittsburgh Penguins at, then, Ralph Wilson Stadium. Since then, the Winter Classic has become a timely tradition right around the New Year in the NHL.
Since then, though, the Sabres have only taken part in two other outdoor games in the NHL. The first was in 2018 when they played the New York Rangers at Citi Field to mark the 10th anniversary of the Winter Classic. Then the Sabres played the Toronto Maple Leafs three years ago outdoors at Tim Hortons Field as part of the Heritage Classic.
2028 is set to mark the 20th anniversary of the NHL Winter Classic, and Sabres' Chief Operating Officer Pete Guelli has made it known to league officials that the City of Buffalo wants to host the annual event once again.
"They would love to bring that game back to Buffalo," said Guelli during an appearance on WGR with the "Jeremy and Joe Show" at Bills training camp at St. John Fisher University. "They would love to do something, potentially, around the 20th anniversary of the old Winter Classic. And they would love to do something in the new building. I feel very good about that process, and the opportunity to bring a game like that to Buffalo."
Guelli does acknowledge, though, there might be a challenge with being able to host the NHL Winter Classic at that time of the year that maybe wasn't so prevalent back in 2008.
"The way the NFL schedule is now, and when you would put a game in there and how you would then prepare for the next one, it makes it challenging," he said. "But the Stadium Series we could absolutely execute. We have had conversations with the league, talked to Gary Bettman about it."
With the new Highmark Stadium set to open come next summer, Guelli knows the experience of taking in a hockey game at the new facility will be totally different from the very first outdoor game at the current stadium.
"That building, you remember the old Winter Classic and how it was kind of in the middle field and everything was so far away, this building that we have now, the new Highmark Stadium, is a technology masterpiece. And executing events like this and bringing them in-and-out are gonna be a lot easier than they were in the past," Guelli said.
As for construction progress with the new Highmark Stadium, Guelli says it's now more so about the finer details rather than hitting any particular milestones with the facility.
"The field's starting to go in, the lockers have arrived, the escalators are going in. We've got to get that structure closed so the final pieces over the winter, we don't want to lose any time working. So enclosing the entire structure is going to be a big part of it," he noted.
Having recently been in the building as of last week Friday, the Bills' COO is still blown away by how far construction has come along over the course of two-plus years.
"The thing that jumps out, to me, the most is we've got this great training facility right across the street. Everything that's at that training facility is at the stadium. So it's a more seamless experience on game days," Guelli noted. "When the players show up, they don't have to really come to the training facility. They can go right to the stadium and get to work."
And while Guelli acknowledges there may be some "punch-list items" still to take care of once the team is officially handed the keys to the building next July, he is confident the stadium will be fully ready to go to begin welcoming the fanbase.
"There's a lot of testing that needs to take place. There's nowhere else to play. Unless we're going to All-High Stadium to play a game, we are playing in that facility in 2026. So it'll be open," Guelli said. "I don't think anything more than any normal construction project that anyone's ever seen. So it'll be ready to go."
So what is being considered, at this point, for the first big event to take place at the new Highmark Stadium once it opens next summer?
"I think what I've come to realize is the first thing that needs to happen on that field, big, there's got to be a football game," Guelli said. "You're opening up this spectacular, $2 billion stadium, it's a football-first facility. It's for the team, first-and-foremost, so when we get into preseason, we want to make sure it's tested. But as far as events go, that'll be the first big event."