Nashville Predators
The Nashville Predators Are One Step Closer to Puck Drop As Ice Goes In at Bridgestone Arena
It takes exact measurements, a steady hand, and nearly 20,000 gallons of water to create the perfect sheet of ice.
The Nashville Predators Are One Step Closer to Puck Drop As Ice Goes In at Bridgestone ArenaOpening night in Nashville isn't until October 10, but the most important step for being hockey ready is underway right now as the Predators' Director of Ice Operations Nigel Schnarr and his team complete the 48 hour process of installing the ice at Bridgestone Arena. The ice crew began the task Sunday afternoon and will complete the job on Wednesday getting Nashville one step closer to October's puck drop.
The prep work to install the ice begins a day before any water hits the floor. The ice team prepares the area by drywall taping the outside of the boards to block off any airflow that could come through the seams, and then overnight Schnarr lowers the temperature of the concrete slab floor from nearly 70 degrees to 15 degrees.
Schnarr and his team arrive at 6:00 a.m. the following morning and initially cover the surface with water using a fire hose. Once the concrete slab is covered, the team uses a wand sprayer to add very fine layers to even the surface. Next, the ice is painted with three coats of white paint and topped with three or four more thin layers of water.
Once the white paint is applied and sealed in ice, the team begins marking and hand painting the lines and circles with a quick-freezing water based paint. The final piece to be laid in is the Predators center ice logo. Once that is set, the crew continues to add fine layers of water until the ice measures between an inch and three eighths to an inch and a half thick.
It takes exact measurements, a steady hand, and nearly 20,000 gallons of water to create the perfect sheet of ice.
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It is a painstaking task, but one Schnarr and his crew only have to do once a season. The ice being prepared at Bridgestone Arena now will remain until the Predators finish playing the 2023-24 season. In between the installation in August and removal after the season is a whole lot of care and maintenance.
A typical game day for Schnarr and the ice crew begins at 7:00 a.m. when they prepare the surface for a 9:15 a.m. skating session for players rehabbing an injury. A quick run with the Zambonis gets the ice ready for the Predators' morning skate at 10:00 a.m. and then the ice crew runs the Zambonis once more before the away team practices at 11:30. The afternoon is spent laying another sheet of ice down and carefully inspecting the surface, glass, and boards. The Zambonis come out again shortly before warm ups, and once the final passes are made before puck drop, the ice crew waits for their intermission work.
Bridgestone Arena was recently named 2023 Arena of the Year by Pollstar Magazine and hosts a myriad of events along with hockey. Every time the Arena is converted from a concert, monster truck jam, or basketball tournament back for a Predators game, Schnarr and his team put in more hours to convert the space back to its hockey ready condition.
"It's a five to six hour process to go from when we get the floor after a show is loaded out to having the glass put up," Schnarr said.
"Then we'll take the Zamboni out and we'll scrape off a layer of ice because if you spill a drink on the floor while you're at the concert, it's going to go through. If it's alcohol, it doesn't freeze. It just kind of mushes to the ice," Schnarr explained.
A packed concert crowd on the main floor raises the temperature in the Arena affecting the quality of the ice as well. The crew uses the Zambonis and individual backpack sprayers to clean off the ice, resurface the top layers, and prepare it for hockey.
"That process, depending on how many shows we're cleaning up from and how bad they were, can be pretty tedious," Schnarr said.
Creating the perfect sheet of ice is a skill that Schnarr has spent years learning. There are courses and certifications to complete, but Schnarr gained much of his knowledge from others in the field who provided him hands on opportunities to learn beside them.
"The courses do help," Schnarr explained, "But it's more hands on, just doing it repetitively."
While there may be a lot of competition on the ice, those who actually make the ice across the league lean on each other if a unique issue comes up in their line of work.
"There's a lot of networking that goes on within the industry," Schnarr said. "You'll come across things that you've never seen and holler out to some people, and they can walk you through it."
Perhaps the biggest challenge for Schnarr and other ice operation professionals is one they can't control - the weather. The ice inside the Arena is affected by outdoor temperature and humidity, two things that can fluctuate greatly over the course of a day in Nashville. The ice crew spends a lot of time monitoring the weather and making adjustments to keep the ice in the best possible condition.
"You have to always pay attention to what's going on and what the forecast is," Schnarr explained. "In the morning it may be perfect, but by the time the game rolls around, if there's a storm coming through all of the sudden the humidity is way up and it will affect your ice. It makes it softer, a little more snowy."
The ice surface affects the speed of the game, something the players definitely notice. The Predators are looking to play a faster paced style this season, and while the credit will go to the players and coaches, the ice crew is doing their part to help that happen.
The ice crew's work — like their current 48 hour installation marathon — is mostly unseen, but Schnarr and his staff are always busy making sure Bridgestone Arena is ready for puck drop.