Question: When was the game announced that the St Louis Blues played in for the first time?

Context paragraphs:
2017 NHL Winter Classic: The 2017 NHL Winter Classic (officially the 2017 Bridgestone NHL Winter Classic) was a regular-season outdoor National Hockey League (NHL) game that was held on January 2, 2017.  The game featured the St. Louis Blues taking on the Chicago Blackhawks at Busch Stadium in St. Louis, Missouri, home of Major League Baseball's Cardinals.  The game was announced on March 9, 2016, after news of the matchup had been leaked on February 7 before the details had been finalized, and was one of four outdoor regular-season games during the 2016–17 NHL season.

2016–17 St. Louis Blues season: The 2016–17 St. Louis Blues season was the 50th season for the National Hockey League franchise that was established on June 5, 1967.  The team played in its first Winter Classic game on Monday, January 2, 2017, beating the Chicago Blackhawks 4–1 at Busch Stadium with 46,556 in attendance.  It was only the third time in the nine Winter Classic games where the home team won.  It was the Blues' first participation in a NHL Winter Classic game, while the Blackhawks lost for the third time in three appearances in the event.

Kansas City Blues (ice hockey): The Kansas City Blues were a minor-league hockey team based in Kansas City, Missouri that played in the Central Hockey League from 1967 to 1972, and again in the 1976-77 season, mainly as an affiliate of the in-state St. Louis Blues of the National Hockey League.  The 1967 Blues were owned by Missouri Lieutenant Governor (1968-1972) William S. (Bill) Morris, and represented the return of hockey to Kansas City for the first time in over 30 years.  Morris was determined to bring an NHL team to Kansas City and tried to lay the groundwork by convincing his friend Sid Soloman, owner of the St. Louis Blues, to create a farm team in Kansas City.  The Blues made history on February 21, 1971, when Blues goalie Michel Plasse became the first goaltender to score a goal in a professional hockey game, scoring against the Oklahoma City Blazers.  This goal was unfortunately witnessed by few as a snow storm was moving through the Kansas City area causing even the team's owner to leave the arena early.

St. Louis blues (music): St. Louis blues is a type of blues music.  It is usually more piano-based than other forms of the blues and is closely related to jump blues, ragtime and piano blues.  It is sometimes performed to a "Saint Louis shuffle" beat: a drum rhythm with heavy on-the-beat accents.  A band performing St. Louis blues typically consists of one or a few singers, a pianist and a few other musical instruments (used primarily for rhythm), but it is also common for a guitarist to take the lead, even to play parts normally played on piano.

Jerzy George Kossek: Jerzy "George" Kossek is a nationally and internationally recognized educator, blues theorist, and blues promoter.  He has actively promoted blues music in Poland over the last three decades.  Known to many as "Doctor Blues," George has been teaching African-American history, culture, literature, and blues music since 1979 when he started his first ‘American Club’ in collaboration with American Consulate General in Kraków, Poland under communism.  His courses expose students to blues research, blues journalism and literature, blues performances, blues organizations, blues charities, and others.  In his courses, George educates about African-American history and the role the blues played in that history.  At the same time, he focuses on blues theory, ways to preserve the blues, and how to implement the blues in teaching methods.  He actively promotes creative writing of blues texts and poetry at Blues Poetic Café at international Rawa Blues Festival held yearly in Poland, Katowice.  George founded the European Academic Blues Center at the Academy of Business in Dąbrowa Górnicza, Poland, which researches all aspects of the blues as a cultural phenomenon, and the Ethnic Studies Center in Katowice, Poland.  George has been involved in organizing educational conferences and seminars focusing on the blues.  He hosts a weekly, blues oriented radio show every Sunday at 96.2 FM on Radio Silesia.  In 2015, he has been awarded a Fulbright Senior Research grant to research the blues at six major U.S. universities.  In 2015 he was awarded the Blues Keeping Alive award for blues education by the Blues Foundation.  This organization presents the KBA Awards to individuals and organizations that have made significant contributions to blues music.  The KBA ceremony is held in conjunction with the International Blues Challenge in Memphis, Tennessee.

DJMax Technika: DJMax Technika (Korean: 디제이맥스 테크니카; abbr. : DMT) is an arcade music game published and developed by Pentavision in South Korea.  This was the first game announced as part of the "DJMax METRO PROJECT".  An international version of the game was released in North America by PM Studios.  A sequel to the game, "DJMax Technika 2", was announced on 4 March 2010.  DJMax Technika Tune is an adaptation of the game for the PlayStation Vita. " DJMax Technika Q" for the iOS and Android platforms was announced September 2013 The global version was released 25th march.  On December 9, 2013, it was announced that the online service for "DJMax Technika 2" and "DJMax Technika 3" will be closed on December 31, 2013.

April Daye: April Daye (born 1937) was a burlesque dancer, fine arts painter, recording artist and jazz singer.  She is the daughter and only child of a well known St Louis Musician, John Brunelli.  Brunelli is from a St Louis show business family.  He is a well known jazz guitarist and violinist who died at age 32.  He was a recognized studio musician who had played for Carmen's Cavallero's recording sessions.  Brunelli was part of the 5 piece combo led by Cavallero in St Louis in the 1930s.  He was considered to be a young violin master.  Another well known musician of this family was Nick Mucchi of the Nick Mucchi Orchestra.

Battle of Lucas Bend: The Battle of Lucas Bend took place on January 11, 1862 near Lucas Bend, four miles north of Columbus on Mississippi River in Kentucky as it lay at the time of the American Civil War.  In the network of the Mississippi, Tennessee and Ohio rivers, the Union river gunboats under Flag Officer Andrew Hull Foote and General Ulysses S. Grant sought to infiltrate and attack the Confederate positions in Tennessee.  On the day of the battle, the Union ironclads "Essex" and "St Louis", transporting troops down the Mississippi in fog, engaged the Confederate cotton clad warships "General Polk", "Ivy" and "Jackson" towing the gun platform "New Orleans" at a curve known as Lucas Bend in Kentucky.  The "Essex", under Commander William D. Porter, and the "St Louis" forced the Confederate ships to fall back after an hour of skirmishing during which the Union commander (which one?)  was wounded.  They retreated to the safety of a nearby Confederate battery at Columbus, where the Union vessels could not follow.

1995–96 St. Louis Blues season: The 1995–96 St. Louis Blues season was the 39th in franchise history.  The Blues hired Mike Keenan as coach and general manager.  The hard nosed Keenan rubbed many Blues players the wrong way, but brought a tough, winning style of play.  One of Keenan's first moves was trading Brendan Shanahan to the Hartford Whalers for Chris Pronger.  With Brett Hull in Keenan's dog house, the general manager made a bold move by acquiring Wayne Gretzky for the 1995–96 stretch run, reuniting him with former Oilers such as Glenn Anderson, Charlie Huddy, Craig MacTavish, Grant Fuhr and others.  The 'Great One' couldn't do a whole lot during his limited time in St. Louis once goalie Grant Fuhr was hurt in the final game of the regular season.  The Blues defeated the Toronto Maple Leafs in the Western Conference Quarter-finals.  It would be the last playoff series ever played at Maple Leaf Gardens.  In the Western Conference Semi-finals, the Blues played the President's Trophy winners, the Detroit Red Wings.  The Blues had seven current Hockey Hall of Fame members during the season (Gretzky, Hull, MacInnis, Anderson, Fuhr, Hawerchuk and Pronger).

Big Muddy Records: Big Muddy Records is an independent American roots music record label based out of St Louis, Missouri.  Founded by Chris (Kristo) Baricevic in 2005, Big Muddy Records has been a pivotal element in the development of many of St Louis' roots music acts, ranging from garage rock, punk, country, traditional jazz, blues, and folk music.

Supporting paragraphs: 2016–17 St. Louis Blues season 2017 NHL Winter Classic
Answer: March 9, 2016