A Winter Classic in Miami? Seriously, it could happen.
The Florida Panthers are interested in bringing the outdoor event to the Miami Marlins’ new stadium, according to a report in the Miami Herald.
With the Marlins’ retractable roof, ice-making experts confirmed to the Miami Herald that an outdoor NHL game could be played in South Florida but they would need to close the roof for two weeks in order to prepare NHL-quality ice.
“The NHL has this down to a science,” Graham Caplinger, ice technician for the Panthers, told the newspaper. “They definitely could do it in Miami… If it’s in the winter months, I see no reason why you couldn’t do it.”
Whether the NHL would want the Winter Classic to take part in Miami, where interest in the Panthers is sporadic at best, is another issue.
“You may lose the spirit of the thing because it will be inside-outside, but I think it would be cool, said Caplinger.”
Ideally, the roof would be open on the day of the game to keep the outdoor effect in place. The scenery of an outdoor game in Florida is what the Panthers would try and sell to the league.
“It would be unique, that’s for sure,” said Panthers forward Kris Versteeg, who played in a previous Winter Classic for the Blackhawks at Wrigley Field in 2009.
“Everyone loves coming down here, and it would be neat to have a tropical outdoor game. People would travel from all over for that. The game and the weather would be great for the fans. It was awesome playing at Wrigley, but I don’t want to play in that cold again. But it was a memory I’ll always have.”
Panthers head coach Kevin Dineen is intrigued by the idea and has already spoken to Marlins officials about their new stadium.
I think it would be a really good experience for the league,” Dineen said. “This is something that would be attractive in this market and people all over would watch it. Now we have a facility for it, so let’s plant the seed and get it here.”
It is unclear if the NHL would like to bring the Winter Classic to a warm climate. Many teams are in pursuit of the next Winter Classic and you’d have to imagine the Panthers would rank near the bottom of this list.
But the Panthers remain interested and believe it can work.
“I wish I would have thought of this myself, but it’s a real possibility,” team president Michael Yormark said.