CLEVELAND — It’s a first at FirstEnergy Stadium: outdoor ice hockey.
“Right now the guys are putting in the last bit of glass to go around the rink here,” said Brad Mohr, FirstEnergy Stadium’s director of stadium operations.
Mohr said he’s excited to add this kind of attraction as it brings a new kind of sporting event to town.
“Just imagine this place rocking with over 50,000 people for this,” Mohr said. “It’s pretty unique, and it’s awesome that it’s happening here in Cleveland.”
The rink will host 10 hockey games across the high school, college and pro levels. The headliner is Saturday’s “Faceoff on the Lake,” which is a top 10 college matchup between Michigan and Ohio State. That game will be broadcast live on the Big Ten Network. Mohr said talks for the project started back in the summer, and now he’s happy to see it come to fruition.
“It was just planning and planning and planning and finally it got to be real,” Mohr said.
A good chunk of the final construction of the rink took place during the winter warm-spell, which is not exactly what you’d call hockey weather.
How will they keep an ice rink from melting when it’s cold out?
First, it takes 10,000 gallons of water to make the ice, which is more than two inches thick.
Refrigerant is fed underneath the ice through pipes. That refrigerant comes from what’s called a chiller, which is constantly running.
“It cycles through in about seven minutes or so until it makes a return trip back here,” Mohr said.
Mohr said this event is a great boost during a season not known for outdoor events. It will have similar atmosphere of a football game.
“Let’s fire up the tailgate in the Muni Lot just like at a Browns game,” Mohr said. “Let’s do it.”
