The Blackhawks may be the next National Hockey League team to host an outdoor game, and that’s just one of the ideas in store for an iced-over Soldier Field:

[Park District Supt. Timothy] Mitchell said the district would like the hockey plan to include a college contest and a way to allow people to use the rink for pleasure skating in a week-long event.

“We think there would be a great interest in citizens skating inside Soldier Field between the colonnades,” said Mitchell.

A practical Windy City winter wonderland. Hopefully the Bears will cooperate by tanking their season and avoiding the NFL playoffs.

Interesting reaction from the Blackhawks’ new brass:

But Blackhawks president John McDonough said discussions about Soldier Field have “been informal on a what-if basis,” adding, “I have friends at all of the venues: Wrigley, U.S. Cellular. I think they’d all like to take a run at it.”

McDonough, of course, just landed in Blackhawkland after a lengthy executive career with the Chicago Cubs. So I guess it’s natural that he’d tap the two area baseball stadiums as first choice, because they and their overseers are known quanitities to McDonough.