For more than a week, there has been a 200-by-85-foot sheet of ice sitting at loanDepot Park in Miami, and the National Hockey League is counting on it not melting.
It's the same ice where the Florida Panthers and New York Rangers will meet on Friday in the 2026 NHL Winter Classic, the first time the annual event will be held in Florida.
The outdoor venues are more associated with snowy locations in historic hockey strongholds like Toronto and Chicago than our beach-friendly winter, but with the Florida Panthers as the reigning two-time champions, South Florida became impossible to ignore.
The league is turning to two men, Derek King and Andrew Higgins of the league's facility and hockey operations team, to defeat the oxymoron that is outdoor hockey in the Sunshine State.
" I think it's a pretty bold move by the league. Why not Florida? Florida is an amazing hockey market. So for us to bring the game here, I think it's pretty exciting," said King.
" For us and our crew, it's just a new challenge. We've been in warmer markets before, but really nothing as south or as warm as this." said Higgins.
The ice is just part of the massive production. LoanDepot Park, home of the baseball's Miami Marlins, has been completely transformed. The field has been split in halves, one sunny and the other snowy, to highlight the clash between South Florida's warmth and the sport's chilly origins.
" Half the field is gonna be Miami Beach, lifeguard stands, umbrellas, cabanas and swimming pools; and the other side is as if a huge snowstorm has hit Miami," said Steve Mayer, president of NHL events and content. "We're gonna have cast members on the field. Half of them will be in parkas, the other will be in bikinis and speedos."
Mayer hinted at a few other surprises for the fans, especially those on the icy side.
"You may get snowed on. … We like to make it an interactive experience from the time you walk in the building to the time you leave," he said.
Getting the ice ready
But none of the fanfare can happen without the ice in peak condition. Here's how it's done.
Two weeks before the puck drops, the rink build begins. King and Higgins' team marks out the space, stretching end to end across the baseball infield, and lays down a laser-leveled stage deck.
Then the crew brings in 253 aluminum pans to cover the surface. Those pans are connected to two truck trailers in centerfield that pump glycol, which removes heat from water, through the pans. About a week before the game, water is misted on top of the pans, allowing it to freeze in layers.
In Miami, the process has been helped by loanDepot Park's retractable roof, which allows more control over the conditions before the game. But the plan is to play with the roof and the sliding floor-to-ceiling windows in left field open, which puts the ice at the mercy of the elements.
" Once you open the roof, all bets are off. I'm looking at the weather just like everybody else," said Mayer.
There is a difference between plain ol' ice ice and professional-grade ice — any bumps, bobbles or soft spots on Friday could ruin the whole affair — but the crew can monitor the ice and adjust the coolant coming from the truck trailers on the fly.
It has also created a sheet that's between 2 and 2½ inches — an inch thicker than the ice at Amierant Bank Arena in Broward County, where the Panthers regularly play, to provide more of a buffer.
The NHL has played 43 outdoor games since 2003 in all kinds of venues and conditions. Seven times, the temperature at faceoff has been at least 50 degrees. But playing in Florida never seemed practical because of the sun, rain and humidity. Until now.
A cold front is blowing through the state this week, which should help ice conditions. The temperature at puck drop is forecast for 61 degrees. However, the humidity is forecast for 72 percent, which could soften the ice surface.
Next challenge at Raymond James Stadium
Up next for the league's events team might be an even greater challenge.
On Feb. 1, the crew will be in Tampa for an NHL Stadium Series game between the Tampa Bay Lightning and Boston Bruins at Raymond James Stadium.
Unlike loanDepot Park, the Buccaneers' home field doesn't have a retractable roof.
So the NHL will construct a climate-controlled tent on the field and build the rink inside.
According to the league, it will be "a custom-designed tension fabric building," with a steel framed covered in an engineered membrane material. It will be 34 feet high, 124 feet wide and 248 feet long and, obviously, have air conditioning – the goal is 60 degrees with a dew point of 38 degrees.
"We found out we need to control the environment, and the best way to do that is to have an enclosed area," King said in September.
The tent will be dismantled before the game, although the Lightning and Bruins may get a chance to practice inside beforehand.
"The Lightning have been after an outdoor game for years," Mayer said. "In the past, we never had the confidence that we could protect the most important commodity, the rink. Now we're confident we're going to get it done."
WUSF's Rick Mayer contributed to this report.
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