from Geoff Baker of the Seattle Times,

On an October day the Mariners were to play one of their first divisional playoff games in two decades, their top ballpark officials met with NHL counterparts about a completely different sporting event featuring the crosstown Kraken.

The culmination of that meeting and others was announced Monday, with the Kraken being awarded their first-ever outdoor game to be played next Jan. 1 at T-Mobile Park against the Vegas Golden Knights. Kraken CEO Tod Leiweke said in a phone interview Monday the NHL’s decision to play the 2024 Discover Winter Classic in a city known for rain this time of year had plenty to do with the Mariners’ flexibility in making their retractable-roofed ballpark available for several weeks.

“They were just so impressed that they were even meeting with them the day of one of their playoff games,” Leiweke said of the meetup, which took place in the hours leading up to a Mariners road contest against the Astros in Houston. “And given the uncertainty of the weather and the risk involved, it helps to have that safeguard in there.”

Beyond the team’s flexibility in making T-Mobile Park available for the lengthy process of building the temporary hockey rink inside, the NHL liked that it would have the ability to only partially close the stadium’s roof directly over the rink if it rains. That would enable them to keep the remainder of the venue in an open-air environment the league believes is crucial to the appeal of its outdoor games.

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