It's official: Red Wings, Blue Jackets at Ohio Stadium on March 1, 2025

Calgary, Alberta — The Michigan and Ohio rivalry at the legendary “Horseshoe” will take on a different look next year.

The Red Wings and Columbus Blue Jackets will play at the fabled football stadium next season, it was officially announced Saturday during the NHL Stadium Series.

The Wings and Blue Jackets will play at Ohio Stadium on March 1, 2025, as part of next year’s Stadium Series.

Columbus getting an outdoor game has been rumored for several months after the NHL did a site survey at Ohio Stadium in late 2023. This will be the first time the Jackets will be involved in an outdoor game — the fifth time for the Red Wings.

The opportunity to play in a game like this was something Wings coach Derek Lalonde felt would be an exciting event.

"It would be pretty cool," Lalonde said after Thursday's morning skate in Vancouver, when reports of the game at Ohio Stadium surfaced.  “It's real that Columbus, and Michigan-Ann Arbor thing, and that's pretty cool.

"It's (outdoor games) an unbelievable experience. Amazing energy, so I look forward to all these games. It's a great opportunity. Great on the league, it's a phenomenal experience, and if that rumor, I guess, comes to fruition it'll be very exciting and for the organization."

The game could set a new attendance record, as Ohio Stadium — "The Horseshoe" to many football fans — can hold about 110,000 fans for football. The Winter Classic involving the Wings and Toronto Maple Leafs on Jan. 1, 2014, had 113,411 fans at Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor, setting the record.

Additional details including ticketing and broadcast information, and the game’s start time, will be announced when available.

The Wings have three former UM players on the roster — Dylan Larkin, Andrew Copp and J.T. Compher, as does Columbus — Adam Fantilli, Zach Werenski and Kent Johnson. Neither team currently has an Ohio State alum.

The NHL recently announced the Winter Classic, which will pit the Chicago Blackhawks and St. Louis Blues Jan. 1 at Wrigley Field.

The NHL has staged 39 outdoor games with two more this weekend at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey.

This would be the fifth outdoor game the Wings have been involved in:

▶ The Centennial Classic in 2017 in Toronto, which Leafs on 5-4 in overtime at BMO Field.

▶ The 2016 Stadium Series at Denver's Coors Field, which the Wings won 5-3 over the Avalanche.

▶ The 2014 Winter Classic at Ann Arbor's Big House, which the Leafs won in a shootout 3-2.

▶ And Jan. 1, 2009, at Wrigley Field, which the Wings won 6-4 over the Chicago Blackhawks.

tkulfan@detroitnews.com

@tkulfan