The National Hockey League (NHL) has announced plans for a Stadium Series event at Ohio Stadium in March 2025, while New York’s UBS Arena has been awarded hosting rights for the 2026 All-Star Game.
The 2025 Stadium Series will see the Columbus Blue Jackets host the Detroit Red Wings on March 1. Additional details for the game at the 102,000-capacity Ohio Stadium, home of Ohio State University’s American football team, will be announced at a later date.
The game will mark the first regular-season outdoor fixture for the Blue Jackets and the fifth for the Red Wings.
Blue Jackets president and alternate governor Mike Priest said: “This is an event our fans have been extremely excited about, and the Blue Jackets could not be happier to take on the NHL’s team from that state up north next season in one of the world’s most iconic sports venues.”
In other news, UBS Arena, home of the New York Islanders, will host the NHL All-Star Game for the first time in 2026. The arena opened in 2021 and has a capacity of around 17,000.
The 2026 All-Star Game will be the 69th in the history of the NHL. The league will not stage an All-Star Game in 2025 due to the 4 Nations Face-Off tournament, which will feature the US, Canada, Sweden and Finland.
The 2026 All-Star Game will take place ahead of the Winter Olympics in Milan, where NHL players will be competing for the first time since the 2014 Games in Sochi. The last time the NHL held an All-Star Game prior to players going to the Olympics was in 2002, when Los Angeles hosted the event ahead of the Games in Salt Lake City.
The 2024 game was held on February 3 at Scotiabank Arena, home of the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Earlier this month, the NHL announced that Wrigley Field, home of Major League Baseball’s Chicago Cubs, will host the Winter Classic for the second time in 2025. The game will see the Chicago Blackhawks host the St. Louis Blues.
Over the weekend, the NHL staged its latest Stadium Series games as MetLife Stadium, home of the NFL’s New York Jets and Giants, hosted the New Jersey Devils vs the Philadelphia Flyers and the New York Rangers vs the New York Islanders. The games attracted attendances of 70,328 and 79,690, respectively.
Earlier this season, the Edmonton Oilers hosted the Calgary Flames at Commonwealth Stadium in front of 55,411 fans.
