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Tampa Bay Lightning to play outdoor game at Raymond James Stadium on Gasparilla weekend 2026

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Published  January 8, 2025 5:32pm EST
Tampa Bay Lightning
FOX 13 News

The Brief

    • The Tampa Bay Lightning will play an outdoor game at Raymond James Stadium in 2026.
    • This historic event will be the culmination of a month-long celebration of hockey in the Sunshine State.
    • The game will be held on Gasparilla weekend. 

TAMPA, Fla. - Who would have thought you could play hockey outside in Florida? Next year, the Tampa Bay Lightning will hit the ice al fresco at Raymond James Stadium on Gasparilla weekend.  

The game is part of the NHL's 2026 Navy Federal Credit Union™ NHL Stadium Series and will be played on Sunday, February 1, 2026. The day before, the Tampa Bay Sports Commission says pirates will pillage and plunder the city during the annual Gasparilla celebration, which typically draws a crowd of about 300,000 people. 

This historic event will be the culmination of a month-long celebration of hockey in the Sunshine State. 

On January 2, 2026, the Florida Panthers will host the Rangers in the Discover NHL Winter Classic at the Miami Marlins Loan Depot Park. 

"Stanley Cups, strings of sellouts and the exponential growth of youth and high school hockey throughout the state have demonstrated that Florida is a hockey hotbed. Outdoor NHL games in the Sunshine State? Never let it be said that our League isn’t willing to accept a challenge," said NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman. "The Panthers and Lightning have told us repeatedly that they and their fans want this special experience. Beginning in Miami on Jan. 2, when the Panthers host the Rangers in the Discover NHL Winter Classic, we will stage a month-long celebration of hockey throughout Florida that will culminate in Tampa on Feb. 1, when the Lightning host the Bruins in the Navy Federal Credit Union Stadium Series. Florida, we’re bringing our unique events to you, and we can’t wait."

Since 2014, Winter Series games have been hosted at MLB stadiums like Yankee Stadium, Dodger Stadium, Coors Field, and NFL stadiums like Soldier Field, Heinz Field, and Levi’s Stadium. 

"Hosting a NHL Stadium Series game at Raymond James Stadium has been our ‘white whale’ as a community for the last decade, and we’re excited for our collective and unprecedented dream to finally become a reality," said Rob Higgins, Executive Director, Tampa Bay Sports Commission. "We could not be more grateful to our friends at the NHL, Tampa Bay Lightning, Tampa Sports Authority, as well as all of our other Team Tampa Bay partners for the collaboration and vision to help make this happen. Tampa Bay is a truly special place that is consistently capable of pulling off what many think is impossible."

The Lightning have appeared in one previous outdoor game, the 2022 Navy Federal Credit Union NHL Stadium Series™ in Nashville, Tennessee, where they defeated the Nashville Predators, 3-2.

Additional information and ticket details will be announced at a later date. 

Click here to sign up for updates on the outdoor game.  

The Source: This story was written using information from a Tampa Bay Lightning press release. 

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