I was surprised when I saw them announce the Stadium Series, because I think it does take some of the fun out of the Winter Classic. But that being said, I don't think outdoor professional hockey necessarily needs to be a super-special once-a-year event.
Given the choice over the long haul, I'd prefer the Stadium Series because it makes the games more accessible to more people. I tried to get tickets to a Winter Classic a couple years ago and it was like getting tickets to the Super Bowl. Prices were outrageous. We scored seats to the Alumni Game the day before, but even that was an arm and a leg.

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I think that having all these outdoor games does take the novelty away from the Winter Classic. I think the Winter Classic should be the only outside game played during the year. If you want to add another outdoor game then I suggest the All Star Game. I think the outdoor stadium would be great venue for the event. You can have the Skills Competition and game played outside. I agree the Rangers should not have had 2 games outside. You could have easily had the Islanders play, Boston, Buffalo, Philly or some other neighboring team. I found it odd that even thou they played in the Bronx, the Rangers were the away team for both games. I can see why they had a lot of outdoor games this year. All the teams want to be involved in one. It is something all hockey fans would like to see for their favorite teams. They need to have the rink a lot closer to where the fans are thou. You need binoculars to sse the game or you are forced to watch it on the big screen. In that case I would rather watch it from home, naked and warm. But there is nothing like being with thousands of your fellow hockey fans routing for your team at the stadium. If outdoor games are going to be more and more frequent then I suggest the teams start building retractable roofs on their building so in nice weather everyone can be outside.

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