SEATTLE — It stands about 215 feet in the air, weighs more than 11,000 tons, covers an area of nearly nine acres and is powered by 96 10-horsepower engines moving it at the breakneck speed of 50 feet per minute.
And it’s at the crux of why the NHL felt comfortable bringing its marquee event to start the new year in a place known to be rather damp in wintertime.
When the Vegas Golden Knights and Seattle Kraken meet on Monday in the Winter Classic, the NHL hopes the story is centered on the clash between the league’s two newest franchises, one of which happens to be the reigning Stanley Cup champions.
But bringing the game to the Pacific Northwest meant relying on a mechanical structure the league hopes won’t be needed on the day of the game but has proven invaluable in protecting the rink in the leadup to the event — the retractable roof of T-Mobile Park.
That’s part of the story, too.
“I think it’s a good story and it’s part of the story of Seattle,” NHL chief content officer Steve Mayer said. “This is a place that has a little rain.”
The game Monday will be the 39th outdoor game the NHL has conducted. And they have every intent of it being a truly outdoor game, even with the possible protection provided by playing in the retractable roof stadium.
For now, the forecast seems to be in the NHL’s favor. After a stretch of wet days, the weather on game-day looks to be a mix of sun and clouds with temperatures in the mid-40s.
But it’s the leadup to the game where the roof that allows the Seattle Mariners to play baseball games protected from the region’s notorious rain and drizzle has proven invaluable in the process of building a hockey rink.
For previous outdoor games, the league has built contingencies into the construction schedule in case weather became an issue. In Seattle, those contingencies remained, but were mostly not needed. The roof remained closed for the process of building the rink…