Ice F.A.Q's

ICE FACTS

1. How is the ice surface made?

Here at Newbridge Arena our floor is made out of concrete. The concrete is kept cold by a series of pipes buried inside which allow for a fluid to flow through to keep a constant temperature. When our refrigeration system is started we try to get the floor to about 16 degrees so that when we begin to put water down it will freeze as quickly and evenly as possible. Our water is sprayed down with a large fire hose using a wide stream for light, even layers. When the ice is at a thickness of about one-quarter of an inch the entire surface is painted white. The paint we use is water based with a "chalky" coloring in it. As the paint is sprayed onto the ice with a wide wand it freezes almost instantly. We will do a few layers of white to make it look very bright and very clean. We always need to make sure we clean the bottom of our shoes before walking on the ice during painting because any dirt would be frozen into the ice. After the layers of white paint is frozen we "seal" it all in by spraying a few thin layers of water using a fine mist from a garden hose. The hose has a special attachment to make the water come out in a very fine spray. As the water from the hose hits the ice it will freeze evenly and level. We will do a few layers of the fine mist to be about another quarter of an inch above the white layer. All the lines, circles and lettering you see in the ice are painted also. After the ice is completely frozen, we measure and "map out" the surface for all the lines, circles and lettering. The lines are painted by snapping chalk lines for the goal lines, blue lines and red line. Then it is simply painting inside the lines. For the red line we use a stencil for a checkerboard effect. For all the circles we use a small paint bucket that is attached to runners like a sled. It has a hole in the back for the paint to flow and bristles like a paintbrush to make a perfect line. The runners are then attached to a rod measured to the length of 15 feet and anchored to the exact center of the circle. We start pushing the paint machine and open a valve to start the paint flowing. The rod makes the machine travel in a perfect circle of 30 feet. The entire process from laying the first layers of water to painting the lines can be done in one day.

The lettering and artwork you see in the ice is done a different way. All the artwork is scanned into a computer and drawn onto large sheets of paper. A machine makes tiny holes in the paper along all the lines in the drawing creating a very large stencil. We take the stencil and lay it on the ice where we want it making sure it won’t move. Blue chalk is placed into a small, soft bag similar to a sock and the bag is tapped directly on top of the holes. The paper stencil is lifted off the ice and an image of the artwork is left on the ice. Again, it is simply painting inside the lines. When all the painting is done we "seal in" the entire surface using the garden hose once again. If we were to use the fire hose all the paint would wash away. A fine mist of water is used again until we have enough ice above all the paint. At this point we can use a fire hose to make the rest of the ice and finally bring out the Zamboni to make it all level.

2. How thick is the Ice?

The ice at Newbridge Arena is kept at an optimum 1 1/2 inches thick. This allows for hard fast ice conditions while maintaining an efficient level of cold transfer from the pipes underneath the ice.

3. How much water is laid on the ice when the Zamboni cleans the ice?

The Zamboni holds approximately 150 gallons of hot water. Approximately 2/3 of the water is used during any one resurfacing.

4. How often does the blade that cuts the ice on the Zamboni have to be changed?

To maintain the best ice surface possible we change our blade twice a week, on Monday and Thursday. The used blades are then sent out to be sharpened, and reused.