The 2024 Stadium Series is right around the corner as MetLife Stadium enters the final week of preparation. NHL Chief Content Officer Steve Mayer met with the media last Friday to discuss how big a project like the 2024 Stadium Series is.
There will be two games over the Presidents’ Weekend in New Jersey. First, the New Jersey Devils and Philadelphia Flyers play on Saturday night, February 17th. Followed by the New York Rangers and New York Islanders on Sunday afternoon, February 18th. It will be the first time in the history of these outdoor games that two games will be played in less than 24 hours. It will be one of the biggest Stadium Series events in NHL history.
“Yeah, no this is quite an undertaking,” Mayer said. “And you know, we at the league come off of a Winter Classic, which this year was in Seattle and then we immediately go into an All-Star Weekend, which this year added actually an extra day and then to come here on the heels of that, this is actually the biggest one we’ve ever done. Just the fact that we’re doing two games and not one, two consecutive days. Yeah, that’s a quite an undertaking.”Â
Not only are there two games, which we have seen the NHL pull off before, but as Mayer noted, these games are on consecutive days. Back in 2014, the Devils played the Rangers at Yankee Stadium on a Sunday Afternoon, and then the Islanders played the Rangers a few days later. However, to have games on back-to-back days, with one game at night and one during the day, the crew at the NHL will be pushed to the limit, but as Mayer noted, they are up for the challenge.
“And I think for from a fan standpoint, you’ll see even overnight how we’re going to change the field from Devils/Flyers to Rangers/Islanders, but, you know, we’re up for the challenge,” Mayer said. “And, you know, I think again that it’s going incredibly, and we’re right on schedule, but this is one of the biggest undertakings we’ve ever done in the event world at the league.”Â
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As Steve Mayer mentioned to the attending media, an LED system is set up to help transition from Flyers/Devils to Rangers/Islanders. You will not even know the first game even happened. The crew will go to work on Saturday night once the building is clear.
“There’s a lot of LED that will just automatically transition from one to the other but a lot of the signage a lot of the ways we’re going to sort of present the game the next day, it’s not going to look completely different,” Mayer said. “But it will very much take on our Rangers and Islanders feel, and we’ll do that immediately and work all night to get it done so that the next day and remember the next day is an afternoon game. It’s not a night game. So we have a very condensed amount of time to get it done, but completely confident that by the morning.”Â
Each outdoor game has a unique feel to it. In Seattle, we saw how the field incorporated the city. Well, there is going to be a Jersey Feel to the game. The NHL is leaning heavily toward a park theme, which is one of the things New Jersey is known for. It is called the ‘Garden State’ for a reason. Stadium Series Park will be activated with amphitheatres, people walking and running, and parents pushing their strollers around. Not to mention, there will also be several celebrities from the Garden State.
One thing is certain: NHL Chief Content Officer Steve Mayer and the crew are pulling out all the stops. Even though he would not give Full Press Hockey any details on the walk-ins to the Stadium, Mayer knows what the teams will do.
“I know what the Islanders and Rangers are doing. The Devils and Flyers are keeping things close to the vest, and I’m sure they know what they want to do,” Mayer said. “So we’ll have an area set up. We’ll start communicating it next week so fans can watch the walk-in. So these players have come off their bus, and we’ll walk through the fans on their way inside the stadium, which I think is super cool. I love how this has become a tradition.”Â
The Jonas Brothers will also play a concert at 6:30 pm before the Devils and Flyers game. FanFest will begin early in the day, and tailgating is encouraged.
For the first time in the team’s history, the Devils will be the home team for a Stadium Series game. The fans of all four clubs will enjoy the viewing experience and what the 2024 Stadium Series has to offer.
The Flyers and Devils drop the puck at 8 pm on Saturday, and the Islanders and Rangers drop the puck at 3 pm on Sunday.