By On New Year’s Eve, NHL commissioner Gary Bettman teased the next Winter Classic location during TNT Sports’ broadcast of this year’s event, saying, “It’s going to be a little unusual. It’s going to be a little more unique – some people will think we’ve lost our minds.”
On Wednesday, the NHL revealed the league’s unique idea by announcing the 2026 event will be played in South Florida at loanDepot park, the home of MLB’s Miami Marlins, on January 2.
The game will pit the Florida Panthers, winners of the 2024 Stanley Cup, versus the New York Rangers in the first NHL game held outdoors in the elements in Florida.
Additionally, the league is doubling down on its Sunshine State initiative by hosting another outdoor game a month later in Tampa. On February 1, 2026, the Boston Bruins will travel to the Gulf side of the state to face the Tampa Bay Lightning in a Stadium Series tilt at Raymond James Stadium, the NFL’s Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ home stadium.
“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,” Bettman said in a statement.
The challenge will certainly be how the league handles the ice surface for both games.
On January 2, 2023, Miami’s high temperature was 83 degrees Fahrenheit, with a low of 68 degrees, according to Weather Underground. Last year, the high was 71 degrees.
Tampa’s high on February 1, 2023, was 79 degrees Fahrenheit and 66 degrees last year.
The warmest outdoor NHL game was played at the 2016 Stadium Series contest at Coors Field in Denver, home of the MLB’s Colorado Rockies. A pleasant 65 degrees greeted the players when the puck dropped between the Detroit Red Wings and the Colorado Avalanche.
Nonconventional hockey weather hasn’t frightened the NHL’s operations team in the past, and by naming two warm-weather cities for next year’s outdoor games, it doesn’t appear the challenge will be an issue.
“In Miami, the venue has a retractable roof which gives us some options and helps protect our rink build,” NHL executive vice president Dean Matsuzaki told NHL.com.
“In Tampa, the venue is open air, and the rink build is much more exposed. We are working closely with our Hockey Operations Department and key vendors on plans to protect our rink build for the Stadium Series.”
The two Florida-based NHL teams have been wildly successful recently. The Panthers earned the franchise’s first Stanley Cup championship last year, while the Lightning have won three Cups, including back-to-back titles in 2020 and 2021.
The Panthers couldn’t have been matched up with a more imposing opposition in the Rangers. New York has not lost a game without a roof, going 5-0-0 in outdoor games.
The Chicago Blackhawks would likely prefer to play indoors after suffering another Winter Classic setback on December 31. The storied franchise is winless in all five of the NHL’s showcase events it has played in.
On the other hand, the St. Louis Blues appear OK playing without a roof overhead after dismantling the home team at Wrigley Field 6-2.
Defenseman Cam Fowler, appearing in just his ninth game as a Blues player after playing 991 times with the Anaheim Ducks, scored two goals in the victory over the Blackhawks, marking his 1,000th NHL game played in a way he will never forget.
“It’s an amazing experience. Obviously, getting to share it with my family and my friends and to get on the board early for the team too, you couldn’t draw it up any better,” he said.
The NHL said 40,933 were in attendance, the league’s second sellout at Wrigley, which also hosted the 2009 edition.
In less than two months, the NHL will host a Stadium Series game at the historic Ohio Stadium in Columbus, Ohio, home of the Ohio State Buckeyes football team. Fans will pack the famed Horseshoe when the Blue Jackets host the Detroit Red Wings on March 1.
