COLUMBUS — Ohio Stadium will be packed tonightd, but not for a football game. 

What You Need To Know

The Shoe hosting Stadium Series game between The Columbus Blue Jackets and The Detroit Red Wings 

They’re expecting more than 90,000 fans at the game 

In a little over a week, more than 200 workers working around the clock have transformed Ohio Stadium from a football field to an ice rink

The historic Shoe is hosting the NHL’s stadium series as the Blue Jackets and Red Wings get set to play the first ever ice hockey game there.

In a little over a week, more than 200 workers working around the clock have transformed Ohio Stadium from a football field to an ice rink.

“We’re in great shape to put on a show and have a good time here in Columbus,” said Steve Mayer, President of NHL Events and Content.

Mayer said he’s ready for history to be made in Columbus. Ohio Stadium hosting its first ever outdoor hockey game between the Columbus Blue Jackets and the Detroit Red Wings. 

“It’s been for us awesome, it always is. We have the plans that we work on for well over a year and then when you see them come to life, it’s really satisfying,” Mayer said.

Mayer said their team has the process down pat for putting on an outdoor game. The NHL designed a one-of-a-kind mobile refrigeration unit and rink system that’s 53-feet long and weighs 300-tons to make the sheet of ice. 

It takes nearly 18-thousand square feet of plywood to build the rink, along with three-thousand gallons of coolant and about 20-thousand gallons of tap water.  

The final product will be on full display Saturday.

“If you’re a sports fan, it’s a bucket list game. This is so different, so unique and as you’ll see on Saturday, it feels big,” Mayer said.

Building the ice rink is only part of the task for Mayer’s crew.

While the main event is the hockey game, the day will be filled with so much more.

From flyovers to pyrotechnics, not to mention a 21 Pilots concert during the first intermission.

Ohio State Athletic Director Ross Bjork said it’s an honor for the Shoe to be featured in the stadium series. 

“We’re over a 100-year-old stadium and we want the stadium to be here for eternity, right? I mean, that’s the goal, so to showcase the history of what it means to be a buckeye. I know the NHL’s really embracing that whether its pregame events, whether its different logos around the field, I think the ice is gonna have a special feature,” said Ross Bjork, Athletic Director for The Ohio State University.

Bjork said showing off Ohio State’s brand power coupled with the NHL and Blue Jackets is really special. Mayer said they’re adding a special touch to the ice with the buckeye leaf stickers, famous for going on football player’s helmets.   

“Every time the Columbus Blue Jackets score a goal, the cannon goes off, and another sticker comes out and we lie a sticker down on the left side of the field,” Mayer said.