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.