Rink Build Begins in St. Louis for 2017 Winter Classic

ST. LOUIS, MO – Today, the real countdown to the 2017 Winter Classic begins when the NHL’s rink build trailer and related equipment rolls into the Gateway City. It will be the ninth time the league will hold the league’s high profile event on New Year’s or New Year’s weekend and the 20th outdoor game held since November 23, 1993. The people and, in particular, the hockey community in St. Louis are buzzing during the lead-up.

And the buzz intensifies today as the NHL’s Winter Classic trailer arrives at Busch Stadium, arriving this afternoon under ideal conditions for game-day outdoor temperature.

The famed Busch Stadium will transform into an NHL venue with a high caliber ice rink as the centerpiece in the next few weeks. The world’s largest mobile rink refrigeration unit – a custom-built, 53-foot truck that houses the specialized equipment used to make the ice for the event – will pull up to Busch Stadium

It will be the responsibility of NHL Facilities Operations Manager Dan Craig to maintain uniformity and quality leading up to the big event. He is responsible for upholding the highest quality in the league’s 30 ice surfaces
Recognized as one of the world’s foremost authorities on building and maintaining outdoor skating surfaces, Craig is responsible for transforming Busch Stadium into a world class ice hockey rink on which the Blues and Blackhawks will renew their fierce rivalry.

Upon the truck’s arrival at Busch Stadium the afternoon of Thursday, December 15th, Craig will talk about the challenges and nuances of transforming 20,000 gallons of water into a sheet of ice two inches thick on the famed ballpark’s playing field.

Craig also will update media on preparations for the 2017 Bridgestone NHL Winter Classic and discuss the tools and technology being deployed to build the rink and ensure that the ice quality remains at the highest level.
Leading up the big game, a team of 200 workers will build the massive outdoor rink using 3,000 gallons of glycol coolant. These crews will lay a deck-like foundation on the field and will be finished by running pipes from the 53-foot mobile refrigeration unit.

Crews will flood the rink by hand using spray wands and a fine mist process hundreds of times over. The ice will be built up to two inches in height, a little thicker than the 1-1.25 inches found in an NHL arena. For every inch of ice, 10,000 gallons of water is needed. Once hardened, rink boards will go up and lines will be painted on the surface.

Crews will monitor the ice around the clock with the help of an embedded rink system called Eye on the Ice. The system provides temperatures updates at different areas of the ice. Any fluctuation in temperature sends an alert to either pump more glycol or engage the in-line hearing system if temperatures drop significantly.

The process is fascinating and a look at the numbers brings into closer view what it takes to create this platform for a truly special event and the remarkable attendance recorded.

NHL Outdoor Rink Build – By the numbers
• 22 — Wheels on the specially built mobile refrigeration truck
• 53 — Length, in feet, of the world’s largest mobile rink refrigeration unit, specially built for outdoor games (76 feet including the trailer)
• 102 — Width, in inches, of the refrigeration trailer
• 200 — Workers that will spend one week building everything needed for an NHL outdoor game
• 300 — Ton capacity of refrigeration trailer that will keep the ice cool
• 350 — Gallons of water soluble paint used to make ice white
• 3,000 — Gallons of glycol coolant used to freeze the rink
• 20,000 — Gallons of water needed to create a two-inch ice surface
• 25,000 — Approximate feet of electrical cable used to power the rink, stages, audio systems, etc.
• 32,000 — Square feet of decking for construction of the rink
• 52,000 — Feet of plywood for the construction of the rink
• 96,500 — Weight, in pounds, of the refrigeration unit that will be travelling to the NHL’s outdoor games
• 1,054,294 — Total attendance of the NHL’s 19 regular-season outdoor games, an average of 55,489 per game

The 53-foot trailer will be parked outside Gate 5 at Busch Stadium, the north or left field edge of the property.