Preparations underway for Blue Jackets to play at Ohio Stadium

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) – It’s official: football will not be the only sport played at Ohio Stadium next year. Hockey is coming to The Shoe.

Saturday, the National Hockey League announced they will host an outdoor hockey game in the City of Columbus. The game will take place on March 1, 2025, when the Blue Jackets will take on the Detroit Red Wings.

But before that can happen, the Ohio State University has a lot of preparations. The Ohio Stadium is more than 100 years old and isn't used to hosting thousands of fans in the winter. 

“A lot of our restrooms and infrastructures weren't necessarily equipped to handle the harsh winters that we have,” said Ericka Hoon.

Hoon, the Associate Athletic Director for Events, said OSU has been slowly making the necessary upgrades since 2016.

“They're making preparations to ensure that pipes aren't bursting and we're not having some water leaking everywhere throughout the stadium. But we've done lots of necessary changes to mitigate those issues,” Hoon said.

Hoon said they will be ready long before March of next year. That’s because football fans could also be inside the shoe next winter for the College Football Championship changing to a 12-team playoff.

“We had to be prepared to host a football game here in December as well. So starting December of next year, we could have football in December and then we'll certainly have hockey in March,” Hoon said.

Hoon said she and a team traveled to New Jersey this past weekend to watch the NHL’s two-game stadium series at Metlife Stadium and get an idea on what to expect.

“The NHL team and staff were really fantastic as well and it was really cool to be able to have the experience to see that there first. And then we can start thinking about what will be different here in Columbus and how we can make it unique and special here for our game,” Hoon said.

Linda Logan, the President and CEO of the Greater Columbus Sports Commission, was at the stadium series in New Jersey as well. She said her team is already working on preps beyond the physical updates. 

“There was a lot of entertainment between periods and throughout the games themselves that made it really fun for the fans. So we just look forward to the creativity with the NHL and the Blue Jackets and Ohio State," Logan said.

Logan said this event will be going on on the same weekend as the Arnold Sports Festival, so they are expecting this to be a huge sports weekend. Logan is predicting this will bring in around $20 million in direct visitor spending.

Hoon said they got to see Metlife Stadium’s snow removal plan and ways to keep the ice cool if it is a sunny day. She said the NHL set an attendance record last weekend at Metlife, and they hope to break that in Columbus next year.