One of the biggest questions when planning the Stadium Series was whether the weather would cooperate long enough to make outdoor hockey viable in Tampa. As it turns out, it has. Sunday’s forecast calls for a high of 47 degrees and a low of 33, marking one of the coldest Feb. 1 temperatures on record in the Tampa Bay area—conditions about as close to ideal as the NHL could have hoped for.
In light of the positive forecast, the NHL announced Friday that the dismantling of the climate-controlled tent at Raymond James Stadium has been moved up. The process that was originally scheduled to begin at 6 a.m. Sunday will now start at 12 a.m., which could allow it to be completed by approximately 10 a.m. on game day.
NHL PRThe event has been years in the making and is the most complex and ambitious outdoor game the NHL has ever put together. Fans can expect a shipwreck featuring Lightning and Bruins logos, illuminated planks for each team to make their grand entrance, and a barge that will host Tim McGraw during the first intermission.
“We’ve leaned in, as we said we were going to do all along, to Tampa, to the Lightning, and to Gasparilla,” said NHL President of Entertainment & Content Steve Mayer.
And because you can never have too many pirates, the field will also feature floats and performers straight from the Gasparilla Parade, including the Ye Mystic Krewe of Gasparilla, as well as the Gillie Gaspar and Skeleton Cove floats.