The Ohio State Buckeyes could host a pro hockey game

The Ohio State Buckeyes have one of the most famous football stadiums in the world. Ohio Stadium is iconic and has been for over 100 years. Besides countless football games, The Shoe has hosted numerous concerts, a soccer game, and lacrosse games. Yet there is one thing that Ohio Stadium has never hosted.

Ohio Stadium has never hosted a hockey game. Columbus Blue Jackets fans have talked about wanting a Winter Classic Game at the Shoe for years and have yet to get one. Ohio State has claimed that they can’t winterize the stadium for such a demand. Well, at least Gene Smith has. Things now may have changed.

The Ohio State Buckeyes might host a Winter Classic game

There has been dialogue between the NHL, Ohio State, and the Blue Jackets about hosting a Winter Classic game. There has been talk about getting that game to happen in 2025. It makes sense that things would move in this direction with the College Football Playoff moving to a home game format. The Shoe needs to be winterized for that possibility anyway.

I would think Ohio State would want to do this. It would be great for the Ohio State Buckeyes to get more branding to NHL fans. It would also be a once-in-a-lifetime experience for Blue Jackets fans. I think it could be a really fun thing for the city of Columbus. Nothing has been firmed up though.

The NHL and Ohio State still need to have more dialogue. It seems that Ohio State is more opposed to this for some reason, but I doubt that obstacle will still be there once Smith retires at the end of June and Ross Bjork takes over. Perhaps the Ohio State hockey teams get involved in this somehow too if this were to happen.

We’ll see if Ohio State is able to make the accommodations for an NHL game to be hosted at the Shoe. Even though I’m not a Jackets fan, it would be cool to see. If anything is announced soon, we’ll let you know.