These venues should be included in the 2025 NHL Stadium Series
One of the NHL’s premier events is upon us. NHL All-Star weekend has always been the premier event to showcase the league’s best to a national audience, but in 2008 the NHL introduced us to a new event: the Winter Classic.
That game has quickly gained popularity among hockey fans, and every January 1st fans tune in to watch an outdoor game—this year that game was played at T-Mobile Park in Seattle, home of baseball’s Seattle Mariners—and pitted the Golden Knights against the Kraken.
Another game that recently has gained steam in the NHL is the NHL Stadium Series. First held in 2014, the NHL stadium series is almost like a traveling Winter Classic. It usually includes rivalry type games in iconic stadiums. This year there are two games: Philadelphia against New Jersey, and the battle of New York, the Rangers against the Islanders. This year’s venue is Metlife Stadium, home to the New York Jets and Giants of the NFL.
As this has caught on and does not appear to be going anywhere, where are some locations the NHL should go for the 2025 Stadium series? There are plenty of iconic stadiums, state of the art stadiums, geographical areas, and yet other areas that could benefit from a series like this.
Let’s look at three destinations that would work for 2025.
3.) Ohio Stadium, Columbus, OH
The Horseshoe as its affectionately known, is yet to host an NHL outdoor game, and the Columbus Blue Jackets are yet to play in one. While researching for this article, I came across this article stating that the Red Wings will travel to Columbus to play the Blue Jackets as one of the 2025 stadium series games.
Obviously it’s not breaking news from me, as its already out there, but I do think this is a shrewd move by the NHL. One of the iconic stadiums in college football with iconic history, the Ohio State Buckeyes, share a city with the Columbus Blue Jackets. With 102,780 available seating capacity, a game here would likely set attendance records for an outdoor NHL game.
There are some hurdles in making the stadium game ready to host an event in the dead of winter, which could pose a challenge in finalizing this venue, but if the NHL can work the logistics out, there is no better location that hasn’t been used yet for an NHL stadium series game.
2.) Coors Field, Denver, CO
Obviously there had to be a homer pick here! Hear me out though, there’s plenty more to this selection than just being an Avalanche-focused site. Coors Field has a lot to offer the NHL.
It has been a while since Coors Field was a site for the NHL Stadium Series—eight years to be exact. The Detroit Red Wings came to Coors Field in February of 2016 and defeated the Avalanche 5-3. That game drew over 50,000 fans to Coors Field, a significant number.
Fast forward to today’s Avalanche, and there are plenty of stars that the NHL should want to showcase to a national audience. Nathan MacKinnon, Cale Makar, Mikko Rantanen are a few that come to mind, and placing the Avalanche into another outdoor game would be a wise decision for the NHL to market their top tier talent.
Coors Field is a premier location in the Midwest for the NHL to showcase. As most of the colder weather climates with NHL teams are on the east coast, they get a lot of these games. The most recent game west of the Mississippi was played at the United States Air Force Academy. This also featured the Avalanche. Coors Field is a fine stadium with a nice backdrop of downtown Denver and is one of the premier stadiums that the NHL could platform for television in the mountain time zone.
The NHL stadium series usually comes up with unique jerseys as well. As the Colorado Rockies, the usual tenant to occupy Coors Field, wear black, purple and white, there may be an opportunity there for the NHL to sell merchandise too with a collaboration between the Rocky Mountain teams.
1.) The Rose Bowl, Pasadena, CA
There is no more iconic stadium in college football than the Rose Bowl. That’s sure to stir up some controversy, but it’s true. The pageantry, the ambiance, hearing Keith Jackson yell “fummmbleeee” when we turn on the television New Year’s Day evenings—name me something better. It's a perfect venue to hold a hockey game in.
It does have its disadvantages. The weather is not particularly suitable for hockey, with temperatures this week in the mid 50’s in Pasadena. The NHL has experienced this before and has likely unearthed a solution to the temperatures—playing the game at night. This brings even more nostalgia from those late game heroics of Rose Bowls past. It is also a massive stadium with a 92,542-seating capacity. The NHL would likely be concerned with being able to fill that stadium in a market that isn’t exactly hockey crazed. The market is light years ahead of where it was, and the Rose Bowl itself is a travel destination. With the proper marketing ploy, the NHL would be able to fill it without issues.
The Rose Bowl game has an iconic field design, with each end zone adorned in a school’s logo and color scheme. The NHL can do this with its teams that play and can pay homage to the football game. The NHL can have some kind of recording including Keith Jackson’s play by play as well to honor the legendary announcer who can no longer grace us with his majestic voice.
The Rose Bowl is easily accessible for fans looking to travel to this historic coliseum to watch a unique event. It’s about a 40-minute drive from Los Angeles Int’l Airport (LAX) to the Rose Bowl stadium.
The NHL has never had a Winter Classic in Los Angeles and hasn’t taken the NHL Stadium Series this far west since 2015. As it’s a classic football stadium, a cathedral if you will, the NHL can bring in an alternate audience as well, and getting more eyes on the product can only help.
Although it’s an uncommon locale for hockey, the NHL needs to take advantage of this location if possible.