Another chapter in a Michigan-Ohio rivalry will be written in 2025. The Columbus Blue Jackets will host the Detroit Red Wings in an outdoor game at Ohio Stadium on March 1, 2025, according to an announcement from the NHL.
The iconic stadium, which has been dubbed “The Horseshoe,” has consistently held over 110,000 fans for college football games, including many matchups between Michigan and Ohio State.
It will be the first marquee event in Columbus since the Blue Jackets hosted the 2015 NHL All-Star Game.
According to The Athletic, the NHL sent a group of executives, headed by vice president of creative development Steve Mayer, to Ohio Stadium to watch the Ohio State-Michigan State game on Nov. 11 to scout the venue for a potential outdoor matchup.
This will mark the first ever outdoor game the Blue Jackets. The Arizona Coyotes and Florida Panthers are the only other teams that have yet to play in one of the league’s 41 outdoor games.
The league began holding outdoor games when the first Winter Classic took place on Jan. 1, 2008, between the Buffalo Sabres and Pittsburgh Penguins at Ralph Wilson Stadium in Orchard Park, New York.
This particular matchup will be part of the NHL’s Stadium Series. In this year’s Stadium Series, the Philadelphia Flyers took on the New Jersey Devils and the New York Rangers faced the New York Islanders at MetLife Stadium.
