COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) – Preparations are well underway at Ohio Stadium, which will host its first National Hockey League game next month.
Perhaps the most important feature to the March 1 showdown between the Columbus Blue Jackets and the Detroit Red Wings is being implemented Tuesday: The ice.
The Blue Jackets will be playing in their first ever outdoor game and it is the first time Columbus will host a Stadium Series event. The Red Wings are making their fifth appearance in an outdoor game.
According to the league, to accommodate its outdoor games, a one-of-a-kind mobile refrigeration unit and a rink system is built. The main function of the 53-foot, 300-ton capacity refrigeration unit is to perform the key function of making a great sheet of ice, to remove heat from the surface and stabilize the temperature.
PHOTOS: Ohio Stadium ice construction begins
COLUMBUS, OHIO - FEBRUARY 18: Crews work on building the rink for the 2025 Navy Federal Credit Union NHL Stadium Series game at Ohio Stadium on February 18, 2025 in Columbus, Ohio. (Photo by Kirk Irwin/NHLI via Getty Images)COLUMBUS, OHIO - FEBRUARY 18: The NHL Mobile Refrigeration Truck sits parked out in front of Ohio Stadium on February 18, 2025 in Columbus, Ohio. (Photo by Kirk Irwin/NHLI via Getty Images)COLUMBUS, OHIO - FEBRUARY 18: Crews work on building the rink for the 2025 Navy Federal Credit Union NHL Stadium Series game at Ohio Stadium on February 18, 2025 in Columbus, Ohio. (Photo by Kirk Irwin/NHLI via Getty Images)COLUMBUS, OHIO - FEBRUARY 18: Crews work on building the rink for the 2025 Navy Federal Credit Union NHL Stadium Series game at Ohio Stadium on February 18, 2025 in Columbus, Ohio. (Photo by Kirk Irwin/NHLI via Getty Images)COLUMBUS, OHIO - FEBRUARY 18: Crews work on building the rink for the 2025 Navy Federal Credit Union NHL Stadium Series game at Ohio Stadium on February 18, 2025 in Columbus, Ohio. (Photo by Kirk Irwin/NHLI via Getty Images)COLUMBUS, OHIO - FEBRUARY 18: Crews work on building the rink for the 2025 Navy Federal Credit Union NHL Stadium Series game at Ohio Stadium on February 18, 2025 in Columbus, Ohio. (Photo by Kirk Irwin/NHLI via Getty Images)COLUMBUS, OHIO - FEBRUARY 18: Crews work on building the rink for the 2025 Navy Federal Credit Union NHL Stadium Series game at Ohio Stadium on February 18, 2025 in Columbus, Ohio. (Photo by Kirk Irwin/NHLI via Getty Images)COLUMBUS, OHIO - FEBRUARY 17: The NHL Mobile Refrigeration Unit passes in front of Nationwide Arena on February 17, 2025 in Columbus, Ohio. (Photo by Kirk Irwin/NHLI via Getty Images)COLUMBUS, OHIO - FEBRUARY 17: The NHL Mobile Refrigeration Unit truck pulls up to Ohio Stadium on February 17, 2025 in Columbus, Ohio. (Photo by Kirk Irwin/NHLI via Getty Images)The NHL says to ensure this, the unit pumps up to 3,000 gallons of glycol coolant into custom-made aluminum trays that are configured on the field of the stadium. Running through a series of hoses from the refrigeration unit to the field, the glycol chills the trays to keep the ice near its ideal surface temperature of 22 degrees Fahrenheit.
Former Ohio State player Ben Christman’s cause of death revealedTemperatures in Columbus on March 1 are expected to be in the upper 40s with lows dipping into the mid-to-lower 30s. Face off is scheduled for 6 p.m. and game-day festivities include performances by Twenty One Pilots and O.A.R.
Columbus and Detroit are in a logjam for the final playoff spot, which the Red Wings currently own. Ten teams are within eight points of a wild-card berth, with Ottawa (62 points) and Detroit (61) clinging to the two qualifying spots as the seventh and eighth seeds in the Eastern Conference. The Blue Jackets trail by one point.
It is the second of two outdoor NHL games this season. On New Years Eve, the St. Louis Blues downed the Chicago Blackhawks 6-2 in front of 40,933 fans at Wrigley Field in the Winter Classic.
Ohio Stadium could approach an NHL attendance record with an official capacity of 102,780 seats. The Red Wings and Toronto Maple Leafs played before a record crowd of 105,491 on Jan. 1, 2014 in Ann Arbor, Michigan.
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