‘All the right reasons’: Stadium Series to celebrate hockey, community in Tampa

What is the 2026 Navy Federal Credit Union NHL Stadium Series game in Tampa truly about?

If you ask Tampa Bay Lightning CEO Steve Griggs or NHL President of Events and Content Steve Mayer, the answer likely comes down to a combination of many different things.

But at its core, the Feb. 1 outdoor game at Raymond James Stadium is a celebration of hockey for one of the NHL’s premier markets—and a fanbase that has earned the opportunity to show its love for the sport.

“For us this was about getting it here for our fans,” Griggs said. “With the explosion of community hockey here, with all the young kids playing hockey now, where we're at as an organization, this is the perfect time to have an outdoor game here.”

As Griggs and Mayer stood beside one another in the stands at Raymond James Stadium on Thursday just above the construction crew that continues to transform the NFL field into its NHL phase, both credited the Lightning fanbase for earning this game.

Mayer and the NHL also placed this year’s Winter Classic in Miami. He said it makes “all the sense in the world” to bring outdoor hockey to the state of Florida.

“In a world where these special events get a lot of attention, we're finding that these games in Florida are not only reaching hockey fans, but they're reaching sports fans, and we're doing them for all the right reasons,” Mayer said. “We’re celebrating hockey here in Tampa and all the success they've had. This is awesome, and for every right reason in the world, we're playing the game in Florida.”

The frame structure for the temperature-controlled tent in which the ice will be built stands on the field, and assembly of the arena dashers had begun by Thursday’s media availability. In the coming days, the tent will be placed on the frame to allow for ice-making—which takes six days—and a graphic will cover the field to show the remainder of the stadium design.

Mayer said the NHL plans to reveal those designs next week, calling them “spectacular”. He reiterated that the NHL is not concerned about the forecasted game day temperatures being in the upper 60s since the ice will only be uncovered shortly before the game with the help of the tent.

NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman mentioned earlier this month that the league took notice of how well supported the Lightning were at the 2022 Stadium Series game in Nashville, when 25,000 Lightning fans attended the game.

That same game was part of Thursday’s conversation.

“I go back to Nashville when we watched 25,000 people walking into that stadium,” Griggs said. “Fifteen years ago we had 2,000 season ticket holders. And we worked hard, but now we sit here today, we have 16,000 season ticket holders and a sellout streak that is extremely successful and is number one in the NHL right now. It's a testament to the community and believing in what we're doing here not only on the ice, but off the ice. As (Chairman and Governor) Jeff Vinik said, we’re a community brand, and it’s all about giving back.”

Days away from the first outdoor game in Tampa, both the Lightning and NHL are ready.

“I've been in the event business for a long time. I walked in today having arrived last night, and went, ‘Wow.’ I mean, what we're doing and how we had to engineer this is extremely unique, but a huge thanks as well to the Tampa Bay Lightning, to the Tampa Sports Authority, to the Tampa Sports Commission,” Mayer said. “These were people that never wanted to hear, ‘No’. For many years, it was just hard to figure out how to engineer what we're about to do. But once we were able to figure it out, we’re off and running, and I can't believe we're just a few short days away.”

After that? The organization will focus on a 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs run and then reassess what other opportunities await.

For now, though, it’s time to enjoy what the franchise and community have earned—an outdoor NHL game.

“We've been here for a few Stanley Cup Finals, opening of the playoffs. We've done a lot. And our event team loves it here,” Mayer said of Tampa. “And as Steve pointed out, between the Sports Commission, the Sports Authority, (they’re) the best. Amazing at what they do and how they operate, and they're part of our team…We work so closely together. They're a part of all our calls, all our meetings, because their only interest is to make this great, and they understand the global piece of this (game).”

“This is not just a Tampa event. This is seen around the world, and this is a great chance for us to show Tampa to the rest of the world, not just everybody here. And you can't discount that. That's so important.”