NEW YORK - The final event at Yankee Stadium could be a hockey game involving the New York Rangers.

The New York Daily News reported Monday that the NHL is working toward finalizing an outdoor game next season at Yankee Stadium between the Rangers and an opponent to be determined.

This season will be the New York Yankees' last at their historic ballpark before they move into a new Yankee Stadium two blocks away beginning in 2009.

According to the Daily News, the Yankees are not opposed to closing their 85-year-old building with a hockey game.

"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 plan to conduct another outdoor game gained momentum after the NHL staged the successful "Outdoor Classic" on New Year Day in which the Buffalo Sabres hosted the Pittsburgh Penguins before 73,000 fans at Ralph Wilson Stadium.

The Daily News reported that the Rangers' likely opponent for an outdoor game would be one of their local rivals - either the New Jersey Devils or New York Islanders.

Last week, another "Original Six" team — the Chicago Blackhawks — also expressed interest in hosting an outdoor game.

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