The city of Tampa is getting ready for the biggest sports event of the year: the 2026 NHL Stadium Series. The Boston Bruins will face the Tampa Bay Lightning at the NFL’s Raymond James Stadium. With less than a week until the inaugural open-air hockey game in Tampa, the city is decorated with branded flags and banners.
The NHL matchup will be the highlight following the annual Gasparilla celebrations. These begin on Friday, Jan. 31, at 2 p.m., featuring a mock pirate invasion, parade, and street festival. Pat Maroon, the three-time Stanley Cup champion with the Lightning, will serve as the grand marshal of the 2026 Seminole Hard Rock Gasparilla Pirate Fest, orchestrating floats, krewes, marching bands, and community heroes.
Local Tampa communities have supported and celebrated the Gasparilla Pirate Festival since 1904. The legend of Jose Gaspar, a.k.a. Gasparilla, highlights a mystical buccaneer who terrorized the Gulf of Mexico and coastal Florida, and describes his battle with American forces. The iconic pirate-themed event attracts around 300,000 participants each year. This is one of the reasons the National Hockey League scheduled its 2026 Stadium Series matchup for Sunday, Feb. 1. City residents and visitors will shift their attention to the first-ever outdoor NHL game in Tampa fast enough. Plus, everyone can keep their festival costumes on. The theme of the night is pirates’ stuff, from treasure chests and maps to eye patches, beads, and tricorn hats. It should be described as a hockey carnival.
The surroundings will differ from the 2026 NHL Winter Classic in Miami. Raymond James Stadium does not have a roof like loanDepot Park. It’s a truly open space. So, it’s fair to claim this NHL game between the Lightning and Bruins in a football stadium will be Florida’s first-ever true outdoor contest, not just Tampa’s.
The league has built an NHL-sized rink inside a steel-framed, air-conditioned tent. This maintains ice conditions at the proper level. The structure will be removed a few hours before the game on Feb. 1. The entertainment menu will resemble that of the 2026 Winter Classic in Miami. Activities include shooting zones, a photo booth, food sampling, activations, and giveaways. One of the event’s headliners is award-winning country music star Tim McGraw.
The NHL and the Tampa Bay Lightning also have a few community events planned over the week. On Thursday, Jan. 29, the NHL Unites project will hold free Learn to Skate hockey clinics at a local rink to support adaptive hockey. The Bruins and Lightning players and staff will test the ice on Saturday, Jan. 31. All fan festivities begin on Sunday, Feb. 1, around 1 p.m. The game is scheduled for 6:30 p.m.
Another positive factor is the weather. The forecast suggests the lows will reach 29-degrees, which is chilly for Florida.
WATCH OUR PODCAST AHEAD OF THE STADIUM SERIES: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jISlI7EyPQY