Gophers abandoning Olympic ice sheet at Mariucci?

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MNHockeyFan
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Post by MNHockeyFan » Thu May 01, 2014 9:03 pm

It seems like Olympic size rinks, which were all the rage during the 80's and 90's, have fallen out of favor. I'm wondering how they would retrofit the narrower width, specifically the first few rows, without digging out and lowering the ground/ice level from where it is now.

C-dad
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Post by C-dad » Fri May 02, 2014 7:32 am

MNHockeyFan wrote:It seems like Olympic size rinks, which were all the rage during the 80's and 90's, have fallen out of favor. I'm wondering how they would retrofit the narrower width, specifically the first few rows, without digging out and lowering the ground/ice level from where it is now.
That is exactly the plan. I heard it would drop about 16" or so. They need to remove the slab anyway to change out the R-22 system and piping as R-22 production is ending and the price of replacement refrigerant is skyrocketing.

MNHockeyFan
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Post by MNHockeyFan » Fri May 02, 2014 11:27 am

[quote="C-dad]That is exactly the plan. I heard it would drop about 16" or so. They need to remove the slab anyway to change out the R-22 system and piping as R-22 production is ending and the price of replacement refrigerant is skyrocketing.[/quote]

16 inches doesn't seem like it would be enough if the width of the ice surface is shrinking by 7 1/2 feet, which would be close to 4 feet per side. Anyway, if it is 16", I wonder if that would mean adding one more row or two? If two, then those now sitting on the glass would be in Row 3? Also, with the length of the ice sheet not changing, I'm puzzled as to how this will affect the rows at either end, including the student section? If they are not affected, will Row 1 on the glass be raised so that people sitting there will be "looking down" a little more than they are now?

Just having a hard time visualizing how everything will look...

C-dad
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Post by C-dad » Fri May 02, 2014 12:39 pm

If I get on the project, I'll let you know the details. If not, we'll both have to wait for the design to be public. :wink:

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Post by Gopher Blog » Sun May 04, 2014 2:26 pm

I've been in favor of shrinking the ice sheet so I am glad they are going this route.

I won't get involved in the ice size debate here because I have had those discussions elsewhere and it tends to be a situation where whatever bias you bring into the discussion, you will maintain it even in the face of many experience hockey people saying the opposite of what you think.

It will be a nice middle ground between the Olympic sheet and the NHL sheet.

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