
NHL hockey has been contested outdoors; however, these matches have traditionally taken place in cold-weather destinations. Pictured is the NHLs 5th annual Winter Classic between the Philadelphia Flyers and New York Rangers at Citizen s Bank Ballpark, Philadelphia, PA | Photo © Gerald Mothes | Dreamstime.com
Here’s a headline nobody saw coming: NHL Plans to Host Two Outdoor Games in Florida in 2026.
That news from CNBC, which broke earlier this month, included the fact that the league will feature two matchups next year, one as part of the Winter Classic, followed by a Stadium Series game:
- The Florida Panthers will the New York Rangers at LoanDepot Park, home of MLB’s Miami Marlins, on January 2.
- The Tampa Bay Lightning host the Boston Bruins at Raymond James Stadium, home of the NFL’s Tampa Bay Buccaneers on February 1.
According to the Stadium Business News, the match-up at LoanDepot Park will mark the southernmost outdoor game in NHL history.

NHL officials said that ice hockey has seen exceptional growth in Florida over the past few years, making it a natural choice for the new venues (which are sure to garner as many eyeballs as the headlines announcing them are already doing).
NHL commissioner Gary Bettman was quoted in the Stadium Business as noting, “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.”
The big question, of course, is this: How are they going to do it?
Vice.com notes, “The Winter Classic in Miami won’t be an issue whatsoever. The LoanDepot Park is a dome so with it being temperature controlled, making ice isn’t an issue. The Stadium Series in Tampa will be where it gets interesting. The event will be at Raymond James Stadium, home of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, an arena that is not a dome. In order to make ice, the NHL will go to some extreme measures. There will be a bubble of sorts constructed over top of the field. A New York Times article referred to it as “a giant warehouse over the ice” which kind of perfectly sums it up. This structure will utilize everything from concrete to metal.”
The NHL has never been one to shy away from a challenge, noted the article. “This will be … 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 the game,” said the league’s president of business, Keith Wachtel.
Ice hockey has long been making inroads into warmer-weather destinations. In 2024, SDM noted that Tempe, Arizona is a strong market for ice sports, despite having average winter temperatures in the high 60s and low 70s; events contested include ice hockey, figure skating, sled hockey and curling.
In fact, the Tempe area hosts the only NCAA Division I hockey team (the Arizona State University Sun Devils) and the only NHL hockey team (the Arizona Coyotes) in the state. The Coyote Curling Club also hosts international curling events in the city. (Another destination noted by SDM in 2023 was Santa Clarita, California.)
The teams that will play outdoors in Florida in 2026 know they’ll be making history and they welcome the opportunity.
“To be able to celebrate these two franchises against great Original Six teams, I think, is phenomenal,” Panthers President Matthew Caldwell told the Associated Press. “And I think our time has come. We deserve that outdoor game and we’re fired up to have it right here locally.”