Report: NHL finalizes deal for Blackhawks and Red Wings to play at Wrigley Field for '09-10 outdoor game

Hockey is about to be welcomed into the friendly confines of Wrigley Field.

According to the Minneapolis Star Tribune, the Chicago Blackhawks will host the Stanley Cup-champion Detroit Red Wings on New Year’s Day, 2009 at one of baseball’s most hallowed parks.

This would mark the third outdoor game in recent years for the NHL after Edmonton hosted Montreal in 2003 and Buffalo played host to Sidney Crosby and the Pittsburgh Penguins in the “Winter Classic” last Jan. 1.

The report states the game was cemented last week when NHL commissioner Gary Bettman met with the Hawks, Chicago Cubs and Chicago mayor Richard Daley.

However, an official announcement isn’t likely to come until closer to the middle of July.