Outdoor hockey is coming to the Sunshine State.
After staging outdoor games in warm-weather climates and/or nontraditional hockey markets like Los Angeles, Dallas, Nashville and Raleigh in the past, the NHL announced Wednesday that it is planning to hold a pair of outdoor games in Florida in the 2025-26 season.
The 2024 Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers will host the 2026 Winter Classic against the New York Rangers at the Miami Marlins’ loanDepot park on Jan. 2, 2026, and the three-time Stanley Cup champion Tampa Bay Lightning will host the Boston Bruins in the 2026 Stadium Series at the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ Raymond James Stadium on Feb. 1, 2026.
The games are part of a monthlong, state-wide celebration of the growth of hockey in Florida and the success of the Panthers and Lightning, who have long wanted a showcase.
“The reason to go there isn’t the uniqueness of the market,” Keith Wachtel, the NHL’s president of business, told the Athletic. “It’s the success of those two teams on the ice. It’s ownership. What (Panthers owner) Vinnie Viola has done, (Lightning owner) Jeff Vinik has done in those markets is incredible. Hockey is now a preeminent sport in Florida.
“You look at the success over the last decade on the ice — unprecedented. And it’s the success of the market from a fan standpoint. The growth of hockey registration in the state of Florida has been up over 212 percent since (1999). Female registration alone last year was up 16 percent in that market. So you look at the success they’ve had on the ice, you look at what it’s had off the ice, and you say, ‘We have to figure out a way to play games there.’”
Added NHL commissioner Gary Bettman in a statement: “Stanley Cups, strings of sellouts and the exponential growth of youth and high school hockey throughout the state have demonstrated that Florida is a hockey hotbed. Outdoor NHL games in the Sunshine State? Never let it be said that our league isn’t willing to accept a challenge.”
For the first time next season, when the 44th and 45th outdoor games are staged, the NHL plans to connect the Winter Classic and Stadium Series in the same year in the same state.
“We’re going to do a grassroots road tour celebrating hockey — whether it’s playing ball hockey, using synthetic ice, things like that — in cities from South Florida all the way up to Orlando — east and west, finishing in Tampa,” Wachtel told The Athletic. “So we don’t want the circus to leave town and everyone forget about it. We want to do things that really make it exciting for fans all over the world, to see how this is coming about for that full month in between those two games.”
How did this come about?
These games are a long time coming.
In 2018, after the Lightning hosted the All-Star Game at Amalie Arena, the Tampa Sports Commission purchased a billboard for the day Bettman, deputy commissioner Bill Daly and president of NHL content and events Steve Mayer headed for the airport to leave town. The billboard thanked the league for coming and not so subtly hinted that it was time for the market to host an outdoor game.
Tampa Bay has been lobbying for an outdoor NHL game for years. (Photo courtesy of the NHL)
For nearly seven years, Vinik and the Lightning have implored the league to bring the game to the Gulf Coast of Florida.
Behind the scenes, the NHL has discussed the possibility and logistics for years. With the Panthers’ recent success — winning last season’s Stanley Cup and making the Final a year earlier — putting two games in Florida became an even more compelling idea.
“This celebration of our game is an honor earned by our fans,” Panthers president of hockey operations and general manager Bill Zito told The Athletic. “They have supported our players and franchise while consistently growing the game of hockey in Florida. It is a testament to the unwavering commitment of Vinnie Viola and (president and CEO) Matt Caldwell, who have weathered the storm, stayed the course and cultivated the stage for our game to explode.
“But this is just the beginning. Our transition to (broadcasting partner) Scripps Sports has made our game easily available on air across South Florida, from Key West to Palm Beach. Tickets are selling out, fans have never been more invigorated and our youth hockey programs are strong. I could go on and on, but our sport is not only on the map in Florida; it is thriving and will only continue to do so.”
Why not make it Lightning vs. Panthers?
Why did the NHL decide to make it two games in Florida instead of one featuring both teams?
One big issue is how the league would pick a host. Both teams would argue they’d be the bigger draw for fans outside the state. Plus, there are thousands of snowbirds from New York and Boston who spend their winters in Florida.
There’s also history with both matchups the league chose. The Rangers and Panthers are longtime rivals, with Florida most recently eliminating New York in last season’s Eastern Conference final. The Bruins and Lightning have faced each other in the postseason three times, with Boston eliminating Tampa Bay on its way to its 2011 Stanley Cup championship and the Lightning knocking off the Bruins in 2020 on their way to back-to-back titles.
“So we thought, ‘Hey, if we can pull this off. This is the best of both worlds,’” Wachtel said. “We honor and celebrate both teams in their home markets. We don’t have to choose one or the other. We don’t have to worry about venue availability.”
This will be the Panthers’ first outdoor game. After the Columbus Blue Jackets host the March 1 Stadium Series game against the Detroit Red Wings at Ohio Stadium, only Utah Hockey Club will have not played an outdoor game.
It will be the Lightning’s second outdoor game after defeating the Nashville Predators in the 2022 Stadium Series.
The Rangers are 5-0 in outdoor games, and the Bruins are 4-1.
How can the ice be made in this climate?
For ensuring a playable sheet of ice, loanDepot park in Miami is perfect because there’s a roof. That means the league will be able to control the climate by keeping the roof closed as the ice is made. During the game, the roof will be open.
The roof will come off the Miami Marlins’ loanDepot park for the 2026 Winter Classic. (Kirby Lee / Getty Images)
Making the ice at Raymond James Stadium is more of an issue. The league is working with a Dallas-based company to build a structure to protect the stadium from the sun, heat and, most importantly, humidity while the ice is being made.
Think of it like a giant warehouse over the ice that will be removed for the game.
The NHL plans to build a structure over the top of Raymond James Stadium to protect the ice from sun, heat and humidity while it’s being frozen. (Julio Aguilar / Getty Images)
“They will literally build a climate-controlled structure — concrete, cement, metal, steel, you name it,” Wachtel said. “It’s not just putting up a bubble to build and house our rink. This will be built over the field in Tampa. It will then be removed … to be able to play the game on game day, and then it’s no different than all of our other outdoor games that we deal with sun, with heat, with humidity, with rain, with snow, with winds.
“And that’s kind of the intrigue and allure of that game.”
(Top image courtesy of the NHL)
