COLUMBUS, Ohio — The Columbus Blue Jackets and Detroit Red Wings will play at Ohio Stadium next year.
It will be the first time Columbus has played an outdoor game. There are only two other franchises that have not played outdoors — the Arizona Coyotes and Florida Panthers.
The matchup will be a "Stadium Series" game between the two clubs on March 1, 2025.
“This is an event our fans have been extremely excited about, and the Blue Jackets could not be happier to take on the NHL’s team from that state up north next season in one of the world’s most iconic sports venues,” said Blue Jackets President and Alternate Governor Mike Priest. “We’d like to thank the NHL and everyone at The Ohio State University, as well as the Greater Columbus Sports Commission, who has worked very hard with our staff to make this game at historic Ohio Stadium a reality.”
Details about tickets and what time the game will start has not been released yet.
According to The Athletic's Aaron Portzline, Ohio State has said it couldn't host an outdoor game in the deep winter months because the stadium was not winterized for harsh conditions. Because of that, water was shut off to the building.
However, the university recently committed to spending $600,000 to upgrade and improve the heating system in the building and the NHL indicated that those changes would be sufficient for them, according to Portzline.
The news out of the outdoor game should provide CBJ fans some happiness in what has been another disappointing season. Columbus is last in the Metropolitan Division with a 16-26-10 record, good for only 42 points.
The Blue Jackets have not made the playoffs since the 2019-20 season.