Penn State may have opened door to hosting future NHL Winter Classic

It's a major announcement for college hockey and will likely draw one of the biggest crowds ever for a hockey game at the 106,000-seat stadium. 

Where it gets intriguing for the NHL is that Beaver Stadium and Penn State have now proven they can host a mid-winter hockey game.

Whenever the subject of a Penguins-Flyers game has been brought up at Beaver Stadium, it has always quickly been thwarted because it was always believed the stadium was not functional in the winter due to its age and the way it gets shut down after the college football season ends.

But with the stadium undergoing major upgrades and renovations, those concerns seem to be a thing of the past. 

The NHL has tried to move the Winter Classic and all of its outdoor games around to different types of venues and has played several neutral-site games, including some at college stadiums. Notre Dame Stadium and Michigan Stadium have both hosted outdoor games. 

Beaver Stadium is a natural choice because it is an equal distance from both Pittsburgh and Philadelphia, right in the middle of Pennsylvania, and would be a perfect neutral site for one of the NHL's fiercest rivalries. 

The 2026 Winter Classic is set for January 2, 2026, with the back-to-back Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers hosting the New York Rangers at Loan Depot Park in Miami (home of the Miami Marlins).