Desperate for viewers, the NHL is considering having its next Winter Classic Game played outdoors on the Vegas Strip, or even the Rose Bowl.

SPORTSbyBROOKS.com has the story:

You can see why the league is interested in expanding the idea of outdoor hockey: the Winter Classic game between the Red Wings and Blackhawks on New Year’s Day drew the highest rating for the NHL in 34 years. With as desperate as the NHL is for TV viewers, it’s a little shocking that the league hasn’t just gone ahead and made every game an outdoor game.

The NHL has some experience with outdoor hockey in Las Vegas – an exhibition game between the Kings and the Rangers in September 1991 drew 13,000 fans, who were able to see a sloppy game played on miserable, melting ice. Having the game on Jan. 1 would mean colder temperatures and better ice conditions (unless they have one of those pesky monsoons they get in the desert).

Of course, having the game on Jan. 1 might be a problem if they select the Rose Bowl as an event location, since I believe the venue has something scheduled for Jan. 1, 2009. And 2010. And 2011. Other possibilities thrown out by NHL officials include Yankee Stadium (a contender for this past year’s game) and Penn State’s Beaver Stadium.

If the game ends up on the Vegas strip, I could pretty much promise a sell-out, if only from the guys who stand on the street and hand out the pornography. It also would be another step towards Las Vegas finally getting a pro sports team – since they kind of bombed out with the NBA after the All-Star game in 2007, the NHL might need to be their fallback plan.

That’s a pretty sweet idea. There should be more professional sporting events held in Vegas considering the electricity and excitement that the city breeds. And hookers…you can’t forget about the hookers that the city breeds, too.

Here’s a time-lapse video of Wrigley Field being converted into a hockey rink. The Blackhawks are playing the Red Wings at Wrigley on New Year’s Day at 1:00PM ET.