NHL officials completed a full roof-and-door test at loanDepot park in Miami on Tuesday, Dec. 31, 2025, preparing for the 2026 Discover NHL Winter Classic between the Florida Panthers and New York Rangers scheduled for Friday. The league opened the ballpark’s sliding glass panels and retractable roof in a controlled run-through and found ice-level temperatures of about 58–59°F with only minor disruption to field decorations. League operations staff reported no major fogging or wind problems during the trial, and organizers plan to run the roof open during the game. The successful test leaves officials confident the event will function as a genuine outdoors game despite being staged in a baseball stadium with a retractable roof.
Key Takeaways
- Test date and venue: A roof-and-door rehearsal took place at loanDepot park in Miami on Dec. 31, 2025, ahead of the 2026 Winter Classic featuring the Florida Panthers and New York Rangers (game Friday, broadcast across multiple networks).
- Temperatures: Ice-level readings during the test were 58°F and did not exceed 59°F, comparable to typical indoor NHL arenas.
- Opening mechanics: The left-field sliding glass doors opened in about four minutes; the retractable roof pulled back roughly 15 minutes later, revealing the Miami skyline.
- Ice systems: For the first time at an outdoor NHL game the league deployed two Mobile Refrigeration Units (MRUs), though they ran at roughly 50 percent during the test.
- Anti-fog precautions: The NHL trialed an anti-fog solution on 12 panes of glass; none of the panes fogged during the low-humidity test.
- Minimal disruption: Only minor decoration damage (a few plastic flamingos) occurred; no significant wind gusts or fogging forced changes to procedure.
- Historical context: The league has held 43 prior outdoor games and noted past issues with indoor/outdoor temperature differentials (e.g., BC Place) when testing retractable roofs.
Background
The NHL has steadily expanded its outdoor-game program since its early Winter Classics and Stadium Series events, staging 43 games in varied climates before scheduling the league’s first outdoor contest in Florida. Outdoor games are both spectacle and operational challenge: venue conversions, ice-building logistics and weather risk are core concerns for event planners. loanDepot park, home of Major League Baseball’s Miami Marlins, has a retractable roof and sliding glass panels designed for baseball operations; the NHL must adapt those elements to protect ice quality while delivering an authentic outdoor atmosphere.
Past events provide lessons: cold-to-warm transitions in sealed stadiums have created wind swirls and equipment movement, and high humidity has prompted anti-fog measures. The NHL’s operations team has adopted redundant cooling and specific resurfacing routines for outdoor shows, increasingly relying on MRUs and real-time environmental monitoring. Those preparations underpinned the decision to run a full test at loanDepot park rather than rely solely on modeling or smaller trials.
Main Event
On the evening of Dec. 31, NHL executives and the ice crew conducted a controlled test in which staff opened the left-field sliding panels and then retracted the roof. The sliding doors took about four minutes to clear, revealing the Miami skyline; about 15 minutes later the roof retracted from left field toward first base. Temperature sensors at ice level reported steady readings between 58°F and 59°F, and the visible conditions remained close to what the league experiences in conventional indoor buildings.
Deck crews had staged palm-tree props, beach umbrellas and novelty flamingos as part of the field décor; a few flamingo figures were tipped during the movement of doors and roof but no operational equipment was compromised. League vice president of hockey operations Derek King monitored air and ice temperatures throughout, and the ice crew rehearsed resurfacing cycles tailored to potential in-game scenarios. After under two hours, organizers judged the test complete and closed the roof again.
Operational changes were evident: the NHL ran two MRUs (first time at an outdoor game) and tested anti-fog treatment on a dozen glass panes. Because humidity was low, none of the panes—treated or untreated—fogged. Officials emphasized that the intent of the rehearsal was to confirm there were no surprises on game night rather than to stress every system to its limit.
Analysis & Implications
The successful test reduces a primary operational risk: dramatic temperature or wind shifts when opening a retractable roof. That risk has historically complicated outdoor hockey in stadiums with variable enclosures; a controlled opening that yields only a cool breeze makes ice management and player safety easier to guarantee. For the NHL, demonstrating repeatable environmental control in Miami means the league can expand marquee outdoor events into non-traditional hockey markets without sacrificing game integrity.
Deploying two MRUs reflects a conservative redundancy approach that increases resilience if ambient conditions change. Running those units at modest capacity during the test suggests the ice plant has buffer capacity to respond to warmer pockets of air or unexpected sun exposure. For teams and officials, reliable refrigeration and resurfacing protocols translate into predictable ice quality, which affects pace of play and injury risk.
From a commercial and brand perspective, staging a Winter Classic in Miami broadens the event’s national profile and may attract new viewers and sponsors intrigued by the novelty of hockey in a tropical skyline. However, the spectacle must be balanced against cost and logistics: converting a baseball park, trucking refrigeration units, and ensuring broadcast sightlines represent material investments that the league will evaluate after the event.
Comparison & Data
| Venue | Date | Reported Game Temp (°F) |
|---|---|---|
| Coors Field (Denver) | Feb 27, 2016 | 65 |
| Dodger Stadium (Los Angeles) | Jan 25, 2014 | 62 |
| loanDepot park (Miami) — test | Dec 31, 2025 | 58–59 |
These figures show Miami’s test temperatures falling below the warmest recorded outdoor NHL games, offering a favorable comparison for ice maintenance. While Coors Field (65°F) and Dodger Stadium (62°F) represent outlier warm nights, the league’s experience and improved refrigeration mitigate those historic challenges. Context: prior warm-weather outdoor events required specific anti-fog and cooling protocols; loanDepot park’s low-humidity test reduced that immediate concern.
Reactions & Quotes
Officials framed the test as precautionary rather than a troubleshooting emergency, emphasizing adaptability and learned experience from previous outdoor games.
“Open!” was the count they used when testing the roof and doors; the moment produced only minor decoration fallout and reassuring temperature readings.
Dean Matsuzaki, NHL executive vice president of events
Matsuzaki referenced a past experience at BC Place when opening a roof produced unexpected wind; that memory helped motivate a full rehearsal in Miami to avoid surprises on game night. He noted the test was “a little anticlimactic but definitely necessary,” underscoring that an uneventful opening is the preferred outcome for a live event.
“We never got above 60 degrees… You feel a little bit of a breeze now with the roof open, but that’s what you want. It’s an outdoor game.”
Derek King, NHL vice president of hockey operations
King described close monitoring of air and ice temperatures and said the team practiced resurfacing strategies during the run-through. His observations conveyed operational confidence heading into the Winter Classic.
Unconfirmed
- No official game-night roof schedule was publicly released; the precise timing of door and roof openings during the live Winter Classic remains subject to operational decisions on game day.
- The degree to which two MRUs will be run at full capacity if ambient conditions change was not specified; organizers said the units were at roughly 50 percent during the test but did not detail red-line capacities.
Bottom Line
The NHL’s roof-and-door trial at loanDepot park demonstrated that staging a bona fide outdoor Winter Classic in Miami is operationally feasible under the tested conditions. Stable ice-level readings near 58–59°F, successful anti-fog trials and redundant refrigeration systems reduced several primary risks that might have troubled a high-profile outdoor game.
Still, organizers will enter game day with contingency plans: adjustments to MRU output, targeted anti-fog measures and practiced resurfacing sequences remain essential. For fans and league stakeholders, the rehearsal’s smooth outcome suggests the Winter Classic will deliver the intended outdoor spectacle without compromising ice quality or player safety.