List of Ice Hockey Games With Highest Attendance

List Of Ice Hockey Games With Highest Attendance

This is a list of ice hockey games with the highest attendance on record. All of the games on this list were held in stadiums designed for field sports such as association football, gridiron football, and baseball. Four of the "games" listed were actually doubleheaders, in which a single ticket provided admission to two games held back-to-back. The fixed-roof Ford Field in Detroit hosted one doubleheader and a single game, and another was held at the retractable-roof Veltins-Arena in Gelsenkirchen, Germany (with the roof closed for that game); all other games on the list were held in open-air venues. Most of these games were staged as special events, and all but one were played in the 21st century.

Attendance in the 30,000 range was once quite common for major international matches held outdoors in the 1940s and 50s in Moscow's Lenin Stadium. Figures of this type are still common in bandy, a relative of ice hockey played outdoors.

The record for a Stanley Cup playoff game is 28,183, set on April 23, 1996, at the Thunderdome during a Tampa Bay Lightning – Philadelphia Flyers game.

A new record was set on December 11, 2010 when the University of Michigan's men's ice hockey team faced cross-state rival Michigan State in an event billed as "The Big Chill at the Big House". The game was played at Michigan's (American) football venue, Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor, with a capacity of 109,901 as of the 2010 football season. When UM stopped sales to the general public on May 6, 2010 with plans to reserve remaining tickets for students, over 100,000 tickets had been sold for the event. Ultimately, a crowd announced by UM as 113,411, at that time the largest in the stadium's history (including football), saw the homestanding Wolverines win 5–0. Guinness World Records, using a count of ticketed fans who actually entered the stadium instead of UM's figure of tickets sold, announced a final figure of 104,173.

Rank Attendance Location Date Event Home team Final score Visiting team
1 113,411 (announced)
104,173 (certified)		 Michigan Stadium, Ann Arbor 02010-12-11December 11, 2010 The Big Chill at the Big House Michigan Wolverines 5–0 Michigan State Spartans
2 77,803 Veltins-Arena, Gelsenkirchen 02010-05-07May 7, 2010 2010 IIHF World Championship United States 1–2 Germany
3 74,554 Spartan Stadium, East Lansing 02001-10-06October 6, 2001 Cold War Michigan State Spartans 3–3 Michigan Wolverines
4 71,217 Ralph Wilson Stadium, Orchard Park 02008-01-01January 1, 2008 2008 NHL Winter Classic Buffalo Sabres 1–2 Pittsburgh Penguins
5 68,111 Heinz Field, Pittsburgh 02011-01-01January 1, 2011 2011 NHL Winter Classic Pittsburgh Penguins 1–3 Washington Capitals
6 57,167 Commonwealth Stadium, Edmonton 02003-11-22November 22, 2003 2003 Heritage Classic Edmonton Oilers 3–4 Montreal Canadiens
7 55,031 Camp Randall Stadium, Madison 02010-02-06February 6, 2010 Camp Randall Hockey Classic Wisconsin Badgers (women) 6–1 Bemidji State Beavers (women)
Wisconsin Badgers (men) 3–2 Michigan Wolverines (men)
8 55,000 Lenin Stadium, Moscow 01957-03-05March 5, 1957 1957 World Ice Hockey Championships Soviet Union 4–4 Sweden
9 52,051 Soldier Field, Chicago 02013-02-17February 17, 2013 OfficeMax Hockey City Classic Notre Dame Fighting Irish 2–1 Miami RedHawks
Wisconsin Badgers 3–2 Minnesota Golden Gophers
10 50,000 Stadion Nürnberg, Nürnberg 02013-01-05January 5, 2013 Deutsche Eishockey Liga Thomas Sabo Ice Tigers 4–3 Eisbären Berlin
11 46,967 Citizens Bank Park, Philadelphia 02012-01-02January 2, 2012 2012 NHL Winter Classic Philadelphia Flyers 2–3 New York Rangers
12 45,808 Citizens Bank Park, Philadelphia 02011-12-31December 31, 2011 NHL Winter Classic Alumni Game Philadelphia Flyers Alumni 3-1 New York Rangers Alumni
13 45,653 Citizens Bank Park, Philadelphia 02012-01-06January 6, 2012 2012 AHL Outdoor Classic Adirondack Phantoms 4–3 Hershey Bears
14 41,022 McMahon Stadium, Calgary 02011-02-20February 20, 2011 2011 Heritage Classic Calgary Flames 4-0 Montreal Canadiens
15 40,890 Lambeau Field, Green Bay 02006-02-13February 13, 2006 Frozen Tundra Hockey Classic Wisconsin Badgers 4–2 Ohio State Buckeyes
16 40,818 Wrigley Field, Chicago 02009-01-01January 1, 2009 2009 NHL Winter Classic Chicago Blackhawks 4–6 Detroit Red Wings
17 38,472 Fenway Park, Boston 02010-01-08January 8, 2010 Frozen Fenway Northeastern Huskies (women) 3–5 New Hampshire Wildcats (women)
Boston College Eagles (men) 2–3 Boston University Terriers (men)
18 38,456 Fenway Park, Boston 02012-01-07January 7, 2012 Frozen Fenway 2012 UMass Minutemen 3-2 Vermont Catamounts
Maine Black Bears 5-4 New Hampshire Wildcats
19 38,112 Fenway Park, Boston 02010-01-01January 1, 2010 2010 NHL Winter Classic Boston Bruins 2–1 Philadelphia Flyers
20 37,592 Ford Field, Detroit 02010-04-10April 10, 2010 2010 NCAA Men's Hockey Championship Game Boston College Eagles 5–0 Wisconsin Badgers
21 36,644 Helsinki Olympic Stadium, Helsinki 02011-02-05February 5, 2011 2011 SM-liiga Winter Classic (Talviklassikko) Jokerit 3–4 HIFK
22 34,954 Ford Field, Detroit 02010-04-08April 8, 2010 2010 Frozen Four Semi-Finals Wisconsin Badgers 8–1 RIT Tigers
Miami RedHawks 1–7 Boston College Eagles

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