Making Ice at Verizon Center

By
Posted September 11, 2014

(Photos by Caps Outsider)

A crew at Verizon Center started putting down the ice this week in preparation for the NHL season. We caught some of the first steps, but it’s a multi-day process and set to be finished on Friday. Here, they put down the lines, painted them, and put down the ads and logos.

IMG_9837

Here’s Verizon Center before the ice goes down. It’s just white concrete that only LOOKS like ice.

IMG_9846

Yes, yarn is required for making a hockey rink.

IMG_9902

Proton packs are required for making an ice rink.

IMG_9892

The blue line was one of the first things to be painted.

IMG_9915

They used to paint the logos on the floor. Now they just put down banners.

IMG_9977

MMMMM. Hopot Mexicana.

IMG_9907

A worker stencils one of the face-off circles.

IMG_9970

Center ice!

IMG_9974

Here’s the floor plan. Chipotle, Verizon, Bud Light and Capital One logos are shown with exact placement.

IMG_9839

This is a machine that has something to do with making ice.

Here is the view from the press box later on:

For those of you who are interested, concrete bases aren’t the only bases used in ice rinks. There are also sand-based rinks. Here’s what they look like under the ice:

IMG_9799

IMG_9810

IMG_9801