TAMPA, Fla. — The biggest challenge for outdoor hockey in Florida is climate change.
The NHL has spent years developing an extensive plan to transform Raymond James Stadium into a hockey venue for the Stadium Series.
WATCH: NHL begins transforming Raymond James Stadium into an outdoor hockey venue
“Really for us, it’s about changing the way we do things,” Derek King, NHL Vice President of Hockey Operations, said. “There are so many things that go into an outdoor game. We have to control what we can control.”
On Tuesday, crews began putting together the pieces to build a regulation-sized rink, inside a steel-framed, air-conditioned structure to protect the ice from sun and rain.
“We needed that tent to cover the rink. That’s key for us,” King said. “It doesn’t matter what the weather is like leading up to game day. We’re going to be in a controlled environment.”
The league has staged 44 outdoor hockey games. Tampa will be number 45 and the boldest of them all.
“I think if we’re forecasted for heavy rain on game day, that will be a struggle for us,” NHL senior manager of facilities operations Andrew Higgins said. “Warm rain is our biggest enemy.”
As far as making the ice, the NHL brought in its mobile ice plants, the world’s largest mobile refrigeration units, that house state-of-the-art ice-making and ice-monitoring equipment used to create an NHL-caliber sheet of ice.
The ice will be about 2 1/2 to three inches thick, compared to 1 1/2 inches deep at the Benchmark International Arena.
“Otherwise, the process is exactly the same; we spray it in fine mists, just like they do in every other arena in the league,” Higgins said. “We just happen to build more of it.”
On game day, the tent structure will be removed just hours before puck drop.
“Puck drop is always the best moment,” Higgins said. “Out of our hands at that point. Once we see the puck down, deep breath, relax.”
The Lightning will host the Boston Bruins on Feb. 1 at 6:30 p.m. in the Stadium Series.
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