2026 Stadium Series in Tampa to embrace theme of Gasparilla Pirate Fest

TAMPA -- It will be a pirate's life for the Tampa Bay Lightning and the Boston Bruins at the 2026 Navy Federal Credit Union NHL Stadium Series at Raymond James Stadium on Sunday (6:30 p.m. ET; ESPN, SN, TVAS).

The design of the field around the ice will embrace the theme of the Gasparilla Pirate Fest, an annual event in Tampa that routinely draws 500,000 people. This will mark the second time a major league sports event is being held in Tampa on Gasparilla weekend, and NHL president of content and events Steve Mayer said Tuesday that the previous experience with the 2018 NHL All-Star Game in Tampa played a big part behind the inspiration of the theme this year.

"When we decided to come to Tampa for All-Star, we must admit we knew very little about Gasparilla, and everybody had talked to us about, ‘Oh, you've got to partner, you've got to figure out a way to join them,’” Mayer said. "And we did our research. And then we had a great weekend. I mean, it was, it was fantastic. And we thought the integration went as well as it could have. So when we were deciding to do the game this year, listen, it just fell perfectly again, right into Gasparilla weekend.”

The field design will feature a big treasure map with themed areas throughout that will be a play on the names of several Lightning players, including “Brayden's Point of No Return,” named after forward Brayden Point, and "McDonagh's Marsh," a reference to defenseman Ryan McDonagh.

Mayer said the design team went through several renditions of the map before settling on the final look. There will also be additional props around the field to give it a unique and visually pleasing look. Mayer said this will include floats from the parade Saturday, which is to be held in downtown Tampa.

"We've got props everywhere," Mayer said. "There's 120 barrels coming. We've got boats coming. We've got a lot of pieces you'll see in the far side of the field, behind both benches. It's a shipwreck that will actually be the identifiers of both the Bruins and the Lightning. So we're really leaning into the pirate theme. And on Sunday, you may see a few live pirates as well as we open up the game and really lean into Gasparilla. This is what Tampa Bay is all about."

One of the most recognizable fixtures at Raymond James Stadium is the 103-foot replica pirate ship in the north end zone. It is known for firing off cannons when the NFL’s Tampa Bay Buccaneers score a touchdown, and Mayer says that the ship will also reflect the overall theme of the Stadium Series game.

"We're going to take it over," Mayer said. "And make it very Stadium Series-centric."

The ice at Raymond James Stadium has been covered by a large structure to maintain the quality of the ice in case of unfavorable weather, but even that may turn out to be less of a concern than when it announced there would be an outdoor game in Tampa. This weekend is expected to be one of the coldest here in recent years, with the forecast calling for a high in the upper 40s on Sunday. There is rain in the forecast Saturday, but conditions should clear up by Sunday afternoon.

Mayer said the planning for this event could not have gone better.

"We're really proud of this one," Mayer said. "Obviously, we've leaned in, as we said we were going to do all along, to Tampa, to the Lightning and to Gasparilla, which is a big part of the theme of the game that we'll have on Sunday. Obviously, the weather is pretty spectacular for an outdoor hockey game."