After days of speculation and conflicting media reports, the National Hockey League today canceled the Jan. 1 Winter Classic at Michigan Stadium.

University of Michigan Athletic Director David Brandon confirmed to Crain's this afternoon the game is canceled.

The game between Detroit Red Wings and Toronto Maple Leafs, which was scheduled to air nationally on NBC, has been scrapped because of the league's ongoing labor dispute between the owners and players.

The cancellation means college and minor-league hockey games scheduled for a temporary ice rink on the field at Comerica Park as part of a downtown Detroit celebration won't happen.

The Red Wings have said alternative plans for those games will be announced at some point after the NHL confirmed the Winter Classic has been canceled.

Loss of the hockey events could be a $75 million blow for the Detroit-Ann Arbor region — the amount of economic impact the NHL predicted would happen during the events in the two cities.

Officials had predicted the New Year's Day game could break a record as the most-attended hockey game ever. The UM and Michigan State University hockey teams played at Michigan Stadium in front of 113,411 on Dec. 11, 2010.

Winter Classic tickets ranged from $89 to $279. The Comerica Park games were $18 to $38.

The league has ticket refund information at nhl.com/winterclassicrefund.com.

“The logistical demands for staging events of this magnitude made today’s decision unavoidable. We simply are out of time,” NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly said in a statement.

The NHL has held the open-air Winter Classic since 2008. In the 2009 game, the Wings beat the Chicago Blackhawks 6-4 in front of 40,818 fans at Wrigley Field.

Reports this week from a variety of news outlets said the game would be canceled Thursday, the day before the NHL was to make another payment to the University of Michigan for the stadium rental.

However, it took another 24 hours for the league to make the decision. No explanation was provided.

Crain's broke the news last week that the Hockeytown Winter Festival at Comerica Park would be canceled if the Winter Classic isn't played.

The Ontario Hockey League and American Hockey League games are expected to be moved to OHL venues. The college games could be played at Joe Louis Arena, where they have been played in the past.

The downtown festival is scheduled to begin Dec. 27 with the UM, MSU, Western Michigan University and Michigan Tech in a college hockey tournament.

On Dec. 28-29 would be OHL and AHL games, followed by a Red Wings and Maple Leafs alumni games Dec. 31.

The NHL was to pay up to $2.8 million to rent 110,000-seat Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor starting Dec. 1 for the game.

The UM board of regents approved a deal with the NHL on Feb. 9 to host the game at the football stadium. The contract includes language allowing the league to cancel the game up to the day it is to be played if players are locked out, among other issues.

UM Athletic Director David Brandon said there will be no upfront financial loss to the university if the game isn't played.

The league paid $100,000 when it signed the contract with UM in February, and the school gets to keep the money even if the game is canceled.

An additional $250,000 is due today if the game isn't canceled, but it's unclear whether that payment has been made and if the school would get to keep the money. The NHL would pay $1 million on Dec. 7 and another $1 million on Dec. 28, and $650,000 on Jan. 18, 2013, according to the contract.

The league won't reschedule the event if it's canceled, it said this week.

NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly last week rejected the National Hockey League Players Association's request to restart talks. None are currently scheduled, and the sides haven't met since Oct. 18.

The lockout began Sept. 15. All games through the end of November have been canceled.

The key labor issue is the league's 30 owners seek to reduce the players' share of revenue from the current 57 percent, which reportedly represents a roughly $450 million swing. The league also wants to exempt some revenue sources from the players.

The union has rejected taking such a large pay cut, and insiders say the lockout could consume the entire season, as it did in 2004-05.

The NHL generated $3.2 billion in leaguewide revenue last season.

Other issues include the NHL's desire to increase the service threshold for unrestricted player free agency to 10 years from the current seven years and to limit contracts to five years. Contracts now have no time limits.

The league also wants to abolish salary arbitration.