An outdoor hockey game is coming to South Florida.
Sort of.
Over the past several years, there has been chatter about the NHL holding a game at loanDepot park in Miami, home of Major League Baseball’s Miami Marlins, with the Florida Panthers as the host team.
On Tuesday, NHL Insider Elliotte Friedman reported from the NHL’s Board of Governors meetings that the game may take place as soon as next season.
THN Florida has since confirmed with multiple sources the game will be happening next season.
Additionally, THN Florida learned that a formal announcement from the NHL is likely to come sometime around New Year’s and possibly at this season’s Winter Classic, which takes place on Dec. 31 at Wrigley Field in Chicago.
Regarding a date for the game, Jordan McPherson and Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald reported that the Marlins are “in serious discussions” to host the game in December of 2025 or January of 2026.
There has been no word yet on who Florida will be facing, though it’s often been speculated that if the Panthers ever hosted an outdoor game, the opponent would be their longtime cross-state rivals, the Tampa Bay Lightning.
We’ll see if that holds true.
The Panthers have never played in an outdoor game before during their 31 seasons of existence.
To date, the NHL has hosted 41 outdoor games.
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