Featured image credit: Devin Morris/CC BY-SA 4.0/Edited for size
The NHL has announced plans to stage its first-ever outdoor games in Florida, with loanDepot Park and Raymond James Stadium set to host fixtures in 2026.
The Winter Classic will take place at loanDepot Park, home of Major League Baseball’s Miami Marlins, on January 2, 2026. It will be contested by the Florida Panthers and the New York Rangers.
The Tampa Bay Lightning will then host the Boston Bruins in the NHL Stadium Series at Raymond James Stadium (pictured), home of the NFL’s Tampa Bay Buccaneers, on February 1, 2026.
The NHL said the games will celebrate the “explosive growth” of the sport in Florida over the last three decades. The Lightning’s first season was 1992-93, while the Panthers joined the league in 1993-94. Each of the last five Stanley Cup Final series have featured one of the Florida franchises.
Additional details surrounding each of next year’s events, including start times and ticketing information, will be announced at a later date. The game at loanDepot Park will mark the southernmost outdoor game in NHL history.
Next year’s Winter Classic will mark the Panthers’ first ever regular-season outdoor game, and the Rangers’ sixth. The Lightning has played one outdoor game, while the Bruins have played five.
NHL commissioner Gary Bettman said: “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 Winter Classic was established in 2008 and sees the NHL stage a regular-season outdoor game at the onset of the new year. The 2025 Winter Classic took place at Wrigley Field, home of Major League Baseball’s Chicago Cubs, on December 31 and saw the St. Louis Blues defeat the Chicago Blackhawks 6-2.
Recent Winter Classics have taken place at T-Mobile Park, Fenway Park and Target Field. The next Stadium Series event will see the Detroit Red Wings take on the Columbus Blue Jackets at Ohio Stadium on March 1.
Raymond James Stadium will become the latest NFL venue to host an NHL Stadium Series game. Last year, MetLife Stadium, home of the New York Giants and Jets, set new records for the Stadium Series as 70,328 fans watched the New Jersey Devils take on the Philadelphia Flyers, before 79,690 spectators attended the game between the New York Rangers and New York Islanders.
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