TAMPA– It’ll be a pirate’s life for the Tampa Bay Lightning and Boston Bruins in the 2026 Navy Federal Credit Union NHL Stadium Series at Raymond James Stadium on Sunday (6:30 p.m. ET; ESPN, SN, TVAS).
The design of the land around the ice will fit the theme of Gasparilla Pirate Fest, an annual event in Tampa that regularly attracts 500,000 people. This will be the second time a major league sporting event will be held in Tampa on Gasparilla Weekend, and NHL President of Content and Events Steve Mayer said Tuesday that previous experience with the 2018 NHL All-Star Game in Tampa played a big role in inspiring the theme this year.
“When we decided to come to Tampa for All-Star, we have to admit that we knew very little about Gasparilla, and everyone was like, ‘Oh, you guys need to join up, you need to find a way to get to them,’” Mayer said. “And we did our research. And then we had a great weekend. I mean, it was fantastic. And we thought the integration went as well as it could have. So when we decided to do the game this year, look, it flowed perfectly again, right into Gasparilla weekend.”
The land design will feature a large treasure map with themed areas that will play on the names of several Lightning players, including “Brayden’s Point of No Return,” named after the forward Brayden Pointand “McDonagh’s Marsh”, a reference to the defender Ryan McDonagh.
