Two Different Kinds of Winter for Miami’s 2026 Winter Classic Rink Design

The NHL’s warmest Winter Classic is leaning fully into the contrast.

The league released its first official rendering of the rink and stadium layout for the upcoming 2026 Winter Classic at Miami’s Loan Depot Park this week, revealing a split-field design built around the overall theme of “Snowy Winter Comes to Sunny Florida.” The game is scheduled for Friday, with the Florida Panthers hosting the New York Rangers in what will be the State of Florida’s first-ever outdoor NHL game.

The layout splits the stadium floor cleanly in half. One side leans into a familiar South Florida winter scene, with sand-toned surfaces, palm trees, beach chairs, flamingos, and a small street hockey rink worked into the design. The other side is the complete opposite, with (fake) snow on the ground and all over the beach chairs, a backyard ice rink, pelicans in place of flamingos, and the lifeguard stand fitted with a snowplow instead of rescue gear. Palm trees stay put across the entire field.

The warmer side of the field is built around tans and soft pinks, while the winter half relies on whites, pale blues, and greys. Team wordmarks and logos are also present on both sides of the floor, and a concert stage is ready to go in centrefield.

Good morning from Miami. The ice looks great, complete with the Winter Classic logo. The rest of the field is shaping up for the first NHL outdoor game in the Sunshine State. pic.twitter.com/OMApqGlEEP
— Nick Cotsonika (@cotsonika) December 30, 2025

This overall split-season concept ties in directly with the 2026 Winter Classic logo, which the league already unveiled back in May. That design leaned just as heavily into this contrast, pairing the familiar scripted “Winter Classic” wordmark with neon-style accents, palm trees, and a dusting of snow perched awkwardly on the fronds.

Both the Rangers and Panthers had also revealed their Winter Classic uniforms earlier this season, with Florida imagining what the franchise might have looked like if it had existed in the late 1930s, complete with felt textures, chain stitching, leather-style pants, and a vintage-style leaping panther crest. The Rangers, meanwhile, did what the Rangers tend to do, staying close to home with a cream-coloured companion to their existing blue Centennial uniform, with oversized red and cream striping and diagonal “NEW YORK” lettering that echoes the club’s original 1926-27 design.

Miami won’t be the only Florida city getting an outdoor game this season. The NHL will return to the Sunshine State yet again just five weeks later when the Tampa Bay Lightning host the Boston Bruins at Raymond James Stadium in the Stadium Series on February 1.

The 2026 Discover NHL Winter Classic will be played on January 2 at Loan Depot Park and will be televised live on Sportsnet, TNT, and TVA Sports. Singer Luis Fonsi will perform his hit song “Despacito” during the Rangers and Panthers pre-game walk onto the ice, and Role Model will perform during the first intermission.

Fans can get their Florida Panthers and New York Rangers 2026 Winter Classic jerseys and other merchandise right here.