An ice rink is being set up in loanDepot park for the first outdoor game in Miami – with temperatures up to over 25 degrees.
Photo: Dirk Sing
While hockey traditionalists and nostalgics throw up their hands, for those in charge of the NHL and Florida Panthers it is a real milestone. At the place where the Florida Marlins baseball team usually hosts its home games in the MLB and where the thermometer often shows temperatures above 25 degrees even at the turn of the year, an absolute premiere will take place on January 2nd, 2026: For the first time in the history of the NHL, an outdoor game will be played in South Florida, more precisely in Miami.
“The decision to play an outdoor game in Miami is certainly a bold step on the part of the league,” said Derek King, NHL vice president of hockey operations. When the Canadian native first heard about the idea of holding such an event in “extreme climatic conditions,” he was “immediately hooked.” “I asked myself: Why not? Why not Florida? It’s incredibly exciting and a great challenge to bring a match like this here,” reports King.
There has already been some experience with holding such events in warmer climates in the past, for example in Raleigh (North Carolina/2023), Dallas (2020) or Los Angeles (2014, at temperatures of 17 to 22 degrees). “But it hasn’t been as far south or as warm as here,” adds Andrew Wiggins (NHL Senior Manager of Facilities Operations). A crucial factor in being able to install an ice rink in the “IoanDepot park” in Miami is the retractable and extendable roof, which remains completely closed during the construction work, which lasts around a week, allowing the interior to be permanently cooled. On the match day itself, the game should be played in the open air. If unsolvable problems arise with the ice, the stadium roof can close within twelve minutes.
However, to ensure that exactly that “worst case scenario” does not occur, around 200 workers have been working around the clock in the interior of the “IoanDepot park” since last Wednesday. Custom-made aluminum trays (plates or small tubs) that are laid out on the ice play a crucial role. To remove heat from the surface and stabilize the temperature, the cooling system pumps around 11,400 liters of glycol coolant through the aluminum trays to keep the surface at an average temperature of minus 5.6 degrees Celsius. Only then does the processing of the ice begin.
“I am convinced that we can provide the players with excellent ice quality in this game,” says King, for whom the day before this “Florida premiere” already has a decisive character. “When the two teams take to the ice for training that day, it is also an excellent test for us to see what, if anything, can be improved.” The general manager of the Florida Panthers, Bill Zito, is already convinced that it will ultimately be an unforgettable experience for everyone involved. “We already feel like children before Christmas. The joy of it is huge.”
Dirk Sing
