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Photos of this event - click here
It was almost, but not quite, like Yogi Berra saying “deja-vu all over again” when members and guests of the Central Ohio IFMA Chapter toured Nationwide Arena June 18.
This time, the eight-year-old downtown sports/concert arena has a history, albeit brief, and looks considerably different than in August 2000 when IFMA first visited the facility that was still under construction and destined to become home of the Columbus Blue Jackets and the site of numerous other athletic and musical events.
This tour was provided by Environmental Pest Management (EPM) and its president and IFMA member Jason Carpenter. EPM provides pest control services for the arena for the three Chiller Ice Rinks.
The tour consisted primarily of the arena floor, loading dock/storage areas where the Zamboni is housed, the Blue Jackets locker room, main entrance area to the facility, and the Founders Club where EPM provided hors d'oeuvre and finger food for the 40 or so persons attending.
Scott Lofton, director of operations, conducted the tour. He is employed by SMG, the world leader in venue management, marketing, and development, and one of 30 operations directors in the National Hockey League. It’s his responsibility to care for the arena and to see that the puck glides true when the Blue Jackets are on the ice.
Lofton said his major challenges are:
1. Making and retaining good ice for the Blue Jackets. Problems arise because of heat and humidity from the outside, something many other operations directors don’t face because of cooler weather at the beginning and end of each season. It takes two days to make a “good, solid sheet of ice,” which comes from layers of mist applied by a sprayer until is it an inch thick. Nevertheless, based on referees’ rankings Nationwide Arena has the “eighth best ice among the 30 NHL teams.” Philadelphia is ranked first. To maintain “good ice,” the arena was two degrees colder (58) this year for hockey than in the past.
2. Keeping good people on the “change-over crew”—those responsible for converting the arena for the various uses and then having it ready for hockey when needed.
3. Keeping the arena clean after use. It takes six hours to clean the facility of left behind popcorn, hot dogs, drink containers, and soft drink, and beer spills after each hockey game. This is done immediately after each game, with a detail crew in the following day for touch-up work.
The facility has a life expectancy of 30 years, and is visited by some 1.5 million people each year.