MIAMI — When the 2026 NHL Winter Classic opens up on Friday night, it will do so in a pretty special place.
Although LoanDepot Park, home of the Miami Marlins since 2012, may not hold too many memories aside from a one-off MLB All-Star Game or World Baseball Classic, the land it sits on could tell some stories.
The Marlins ballpark was built on the exact spot of Miami’s famous Orange Bowl Stadium which opened in 1938 and demolished in 2008.
It was home of the Orange Bowl Classic from the 1930s until that New Year’s game moved north to what is now Hard Rock Stadium in the 1990s.
When the Miami Hurricanes went north to play there, too, the Orange Bowl’s fate was sealed.
There is little doubt of the significance the Orange Bowl holds in the sports history of South Florida.
Not only did it host the New Year’s Classic — where numerous national champions from Nebraska, Oklahoma, Miami, and Florida State — were crowned, but it was the home to the Miami Dolphins before Joe Robbie built his own place on the Dade/Broward border.
Barry Switzer won his first championship here, so did Jimmy Johnson, Howard Schnellenberger, Bobby Bowden, and Tom Osborne.
LoanDepot Park in Miami sits on the spot the legendary Orange Bowl once stood. This is the west side of the stadium where Friday the NHL will host a fan fest for the 2026 Winter Classic. // File Photo
On Friday, when the Florida Panthers play host to the New York Rangers in the first outdoor ice hockey game in the tropics, it will be the 42nd anniversary of Miami winning its first national title at the Orange Bowl with a thrilling 31-30 win over Osborne’s No. 1 Nebraska Huskers.
For more than 60 years, it was held around New Year’s Day at its namesake stadium in that same Miami neighborhood the Winter Classic will be held on January 2.
The Orange Bowl Classic began in 1935 and is tied with the Cotton and Sun bowls as the second-oldest college bowl game behind the Rose Bowl in Pasadena.
The longtime home of the Dolphins and Hurricanes, the Orange Bowl Stadium also hosted the Super Bowl five times.
This is the place where Joe Namath ran off the field waving his finger after guaranteeing his New York Jets would upset the Baltimore Colts in Super Bowl 3.
Where Namath came off the field is pretty close to where the Rangers will set up in the visitors’ clubhouse at the ballpark.
A framed photo of Namath is in the room and has been since the place opened in 2012.
When the park opened, a tribute to the Orange Bowl was created on the concourse level down the left field line.
There are photos of great games, moments, and programs from Orange and Super bowls past.
There is a shot of Bernie Kosar throwing a pass against Nebraska, Schnellenberger being carried off the field after Miami upset Notre Dame during that 1983 season.
The Marlins also saved the large mosaics that hung on the west side of the Orange Bowl, restored them, and they now hang on the first base parking garage facing the ballpark.
Mosaics that hung on the west side of the Orange Bowl were restored and now reside on the first base parking garage outside LoanDepot Park. // Photo @GeorgeRichards
There will soon be photos of the Florida Panthers skating out onto an ice rink at a baseball stadium in that building to join them.
Little Havana on New Year’s just hits different.
ON DECK: GAME No. 40
THE 2026 NHL WINTER CLASSIC
NEW YORK RANGERS at FLORIDA PANTHERS
When: Friday; 8 p.m.
Where: LoanDepot Park, Miami
National TV: TNT/truTV (US); Sportsnet/TVA (Canada)
Streaming: HBO Max
Radio: WQAM; WBZT 1230-AM (Palm Beach); WCTH 100.3-FM (Florida Keys); SiriusXM
Panthers Radio Streaming: SiriusXM 931 or 932, NHL App
Last Season vs. Rangers: Panthers Won 2-1
This Season vs. Rangers — At Panthers: Winter Classic; April 13. At Rangers: March 29.
All-time Regular Season Series: Rangers lead 62-36-8, 6 ties
Postseason History: Rangers won 4-1 (1997, 1st round); Panthers won 4-2 (2024 ECF)
Up Next for the Panthers: Sunday vs. Colorado Avalanche, 5 p.m
