Heat Check: Inside The Bold Weather Gamble Of The 2026 Winter Classic In Miami

Winter Classic: Building An Ice Rink In Miami

The elephant on the ice for the 2026 NHL Winter Classic isn’t the matchup, the jerseys or even the broadcast. It’s the weather.

That's because, for the first time in its storied history, the NHL’s marquee outdoor game is happening in the Sunshine State.

On Jan. 2, hockey will be played outdoors at LoanDepot Park in Miami, a city more famous for palm trees and 80-degree afternoons than the frozen ponds and snowy shootouts that inspired the Winter Classic.

That reality alone makes this season's game one of the most ambitious (and fascinating) experiments the league has ever attempted.

Here's What You Need To Know

For starters, the NHL Winter Classic is an outdoor regular-season game played on or around New Year’s Day, typically staged in iconic football or baseball stadiums.

With throwback uniforms, massive crowds and a concert-like atmosphere, it’s the premier event for hockey fans, designed to showcase the sport in unforgettable outdoor settings across North America.

But while snowflakes and frigid temperatures have often been part of the game’s charm, Miami is rewriting that script entirely.

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You won’t see players exhaling clouds of breath. You won’t see snowbanks lining the boards. None of the players will be scrambling for heated benches.

To understand just how dramatic the shift is, consider last season's Winter Classic in Chicago, where the low temperature before puck drop was 34 degrees (which was considered relatively mild for a Midwestern winter).

In contrast, when this year's crews began unloading the very first pallets to start building the rink in Miami, the high temperature hit 77 degrees.

And that’s just the beginning.

The forecast for January calls for temperatures in the high 70s, making this the warmest environment the NHL has ever attempted for an outdoor game.

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While the league has hosted outdoor matchups in places like Raleigh and Dallas, it has never ventured this far south, or into conditions this consistently warm.

As the NHL’s vice president of hockey operations put it, hosting the Winter Classic in Miami is a “pretty bold move.”

Lessons From Mother Nature

The NHL has staged more than 40 outdoor games in temperatures ranging from minus-6 degrees to 65 degrees. Every one of those games has added to the league’s playbook, preparing it for what may be its toughest challenge yet.

It starts with LoanDepot Park itself. The stadium’s retractable roof allowed the league to seal off the interior during construction, creating a temperature controlled environment.

Workers used protective decking over the field's synthetic turf and built a laser-leveled stage deck for the rink using aluminum pans.

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For the first time in Winter Classic history, the NHL deployed two mobile refrigeration units instead of one. Those units will pump glycol through piping beneath the aluminum pans, pulling heat away from the surface and keeping the ice frozen.

Around the end of December, the NHL cranked up the stadium’s air conditioning. Crews then spray fine layers of mist over the pans, gradually building a thick, dense ice sheet.

The ice itself will be between 2 and 2.5 inches thick, noticeably thicker than standard NHL game ice. That extra depth gives officials flexibility: If conditions demand it, they can remove water rather than add it, helping maintain consistency and safety.

The plan is for the roof to be open on game day, adding to the spectacle of outdoor hockey in one of baseball’s most unique venues. Glass panels can enclose parts of the opening in center field, but the intention is to open them as well, fully embracing the outdoor atmosphere.

Officials planned for the puck to drop at night, when the sun is down and temperatures are at their coolest.

In essence: It’s not about recreating winter, it’s about redefining it.

After all is said and done, Miami won’t deliver snow or shivers, but it will deliver something just as memorable: a high-stakes test of innovation, engineering and adaptability, all under the glow of stadium lights in the subtropics.

On Jan. 2, the weather won’t just be a backdrop to the 2026 NHL Winter Classic.

It will be part of the story.

The Florida Panthers will face the New York Rangers in this year's Winter Classic, which begins at 8 p.m. on Friday, Jan. 2. It is being shown on TNT, TruTV, HBO MAX in the U.S.

Weather.com lead editor Jenn Jordan explores how weather and climate weave through our daily lives, shape our routines and leave lasting impacts on our communities.