Yankee Stadium, the historic 85-year-old home of baseball's legendary New York Yankees, might host a rare outdoor National Hockey league game as it's final event in late 2008 or early 2009.

The New York Daily News reported Monday that momentum is building to sign a deal that would have the "House That Babe Ruth Built" closed with a home game of the New York Rangers, with the Yankees "completely on board" with the idea.

"It's something we've spoken both to the Yankees and to the city about," NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly told the newspaper. "But it's not a done deal. There are still other possibilities and a lot of moving pieces."

The venue is set to close when the Yankees play their final game of the upcoming season at the Bronx sports shrine, with a new stadium for the Yankees set to open next door in 2009.

Muhammad Ali, Joe Louis, Rocky Marciano, Gene Tunney, Max Schmeling, Ezzard Charles and Sweden's Ingemar Johansson have won heavyweight crowns at Yankee Stadium in title bouts staged there from 1928 to 1976.

Tunney stopped Tom Heeney in the 11th round 80 years ago in the first world heavyweight title fight staged there. Ali captured the most recent back in 1976 when he won a unanimous decision over Ken Norton.

The last fight could be between hockey player, though, as the league and the Yankees could capitalize on the excitement created from the NHL's two prior outdoor games, the most recent on New Year's Day in Buffalo.

NHL and television network officials have visited Yankee Stadium to see what would need to be done to stage the event, the News reported.

The newspaper reported that local rivals, the New York Islanders and New Jersey Devils, would likely not be the opponent, with one of the other older NHL clubs such as Boston or Detroit believed to be the likely Rangers' foe.

The Yankees had been reluctant to stage an outdoor game at the stadium previously, concerned about how laying refrigeration pipes for a temporary ice rink might damage a baseball playing surface.

That would no longer be a factor after October and the NHL would have months to set up the rink for the Rangers, who will open next season with a game against Tampa Bay in the Czech Republic.

In Buffalo, the league had only eight days after the final American football game of the Buffalo Bills to prepare the stadium rink for the NHL Buffalo Sabres to face the Pittsburgh Penguins in the NHL's first US outdoor game.

The NHL's first outdoor game was played in Edmonton, Canada, in November of 2003.

AFP