Laying the ice for Stars games is one cool job

[hockeyfan]

http://www.star-telegram.com/business/story/222815.html

A chill blew through the American Airlines Center on Monday as arena workers finished laying the ice for the start of the Dallas Stars' season.

It takes an eight-person team 36 hours to create the 1-inch sheet of ice, using 10,000 gallons of purified water. Workers also spend several hours painting the Stars' logo and sponsor names that are embedded in the ice.

"We never want it to get below 1 inch," operations director Doug Waugh said. "And when you're doing an event night after night, as soon as the hockey game is over, we have to condition the ice and build it back up."

The preseason starts Sept. 18.

How they do it

First, the concrete floor is chilled to 15 to 20 degrees Fahrenheit. Then, using a wand system, crews spray water on the floor, gradually building the ice up layer by layer.

Workers paint logos and use tape to mark the blue and red lines and faceoff circles on the ice. More layers of ice are laid on top of the painted layer with the arena's two Zamboni machines.

While adding the final layers, crews fracture the ice in several places and then fill in those cracks to help reduce the stress on the ice during a hockey game.

Layer by layer

The bottom white layer is one-sixteenth of an inch high. Then a one-eighth-inch ice layer is sprayed, with the logos placed on top. The final layer is more than a half-inch, making the total ice sheet at least 1 inch thick.

Keeping the ice in shape

After every game, the ice is reconditioned by scraping off the top layers and removing the gouges made by the players' skates. The Zambonis then build the ice back to its usual thickness.

Quick-change artists

Workers can convert the arena into a basketball court in only one hour and 45 minutes.

To prevent damage to the ice or the hardwood surface used for basketball, crews lay a cover on the ice before installing the basketball floor. The cover keeps the ice from drying out and keeps condensation that could warp the wood from forming on the court.

8 Miles of pipes underneath the arena floor keep the ice between 15 and 20 degrees Fahrenheit

9 Months out of the year that the ice stays on the arena floor

36 Hours to lay the ice

10,000 Gallons of water are used

15,000 Gallons of water to recondition the ice after each Stars game

[KFDM COOP]

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