The 2025 Stadium Series matchup will take place on March 1st at none other than Ohio Stadium - home of The Ohio State Buckeyes.
Projections for attendance are said to be over 90,000 fans - which will officially make it the second-largest attended NHL event ever behind the 2014 Winter Classic that took place at The Big House - home of Ohio State's dreaded rival University of Michigan - which reached a crowd of 105,491.
But what can you do? No other stadium in the United States holds more fans than Michigan's.
But that doesn't take away from Ohio Stadium's prestige.
“(Ohio Stadium) is an iconic place,” said President of NHL Content and Events Steve Mayer. “I've watched some incredible sporting events take place in this building, and it's special to be here and for us to actually look at what will be the second-largest crowd in the history of these outdoor games, and to know that even though it started many years ago, we're still going strong, and we're bringing a game to Columbus for the first time. It's kind of unbelievable that we haven't been here.”
But the Blue Jackets are already getting a head start after beating the Red Wings 5-2 on Thursday night.
The upcoming matchup will surpass the 2020 NHL Winter Classic which saw 85,630 in attendance at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas.
“We want people on Monday, when they go back to work, to talk about this, and to say, ‘Oh, did you see that? Did you see this?’” said Mayer. “That's important to us, and sometimes it's the unexpected that actually catches people's eyes.”
“I promise you it will be louder than it is in Nationwide Arena. So be ready for that.”
Twenty One Pilots will perform before the event and a ceremony honouring the late Gaudreau brothers and their family will take place.
