With over 94,000 fans showing up to The Shoe, the 2025 OSU Stadium Series holds the 2nd highest attendance in NHL history.
The 2025 NHL Stadium Series: A program inspired by a historic venue - The Shoe, Buckeyes Football, game day traditions, and the heated rivalry between Ohio State and Michigan.
The OSU Stadium Series identity and branding program celebrates OSU’s game day experience and pregame rituals, the atmosphere of intense college football rivalry games, Buckeyes helmets and iconic sticker tradition, the relentless spirit of Ohio State fans.
The primary logo - the centerpiece of all of our identity systems - is rooted in the icons and traditions of The Ohio State University:
The Banner
“The” is a distinct and longstanding part of The Ohio State University’s brand and nomenclature. It represents the confidence and enduring nature of this 150 year-old institution and is a statement to the best-in-class students and athletes that attend the school. “The” is a point of pride and passion for the school.
“The” represents the historic school initiatives that were indicative of their expanding scope of offerings when they added “the” to the official title in 1878.
The 2025 NHL Stadium Series logo pays homage to OSU with its red “The” banner, representing world class athletes coming together to play at a legendary stadium in one of NHL’s premier outdoor events.
Color Palette
The color palette for the 2025 NHL Stadium Series is inspired by the Columbus Blue Jackets branding, which is itself inspired by the Ohio State “Burgee” flag which features distinct red and white striping and 17 white stars surrounding an “O.” OSU’s primary color palette of red, white, and silver are also used as accent colors for this year’s identity.
This unique combination of colors pays equal homage to the Blue Jackets and The Ohio State University visual languages.
Script
The custom “Series” script is inspired by OSU’s marching band – The Best Damn Band in the Land – and their distinctive “Script Ohio” formation featured at every game. The script is a historic element of OSU gameday traditions and a celebrated aspect of Buckeyes football.
The “Script Ohio” musical drill is also credited with being the first example of “moving script writing” by a marching band and has been described as one of the college’s most iconic and longstanding traditions – another facet of OSU’s distinctive school culture.
Horseshoe
Ohio Stadium is a storied venue built in 1922 with a humble 66,000 seating capacity which eventually grew to 91,000+ seats to meet the growing needs of the athletic departments.
The “Horseshoe” or “The Shoe” are common nicknames given to the stadium due to its distinct elongated semi-circle horseshoe shape.
The logo’s horseshoe holding shape is not only a reference to the stadium’s architecture, but also a nod to the Ohio State flag’s striping, and a modern interpretation of Americana stars-and-stripes bunting, celebrating Ohio’s rich history.
Client-side Creative Direction: Paul Conway, NHL VP Creative +++ Environmental Graphics: Elevate
Custom Typeface: CJ Zilligen +++ On-site Photography: Getty Images