Hockey, comedian, hockey again: Flipping Canalta a precisioned team effort
There will be no rest at the Canalta Centre this weekend.
When the final buzzer sounds to end Game 1 of the Western Hockey League’s Eastern Conference quarterfinal series between the Medicine Hat Tigers and Brandon Wheat Kings on Friday night, the real work begins for a group of unsung heroes known as the transition team.
“It’s going to be silly,” said Canalta Centre director of operations Bret Jenkins. “The good thing about Jeff Dunham is that it’s done really early. That helps us for the Sunday game, but it’s going to be a big weekend.”
The Tigers kick off another playoff run at the Canalta Centre with Games 1 and 2 on Friday and Sunday, respectively, while comedian Jeff Dunham will grace the stage for an early evening performance on Saturday. As a result, the Canalta Centre transition team will be working around the clock to flip a hockey rink into a theatre and then back again — all within less than 48 hours.
“After the game on Friday we’ll jump out there right away with the ice edgers, shave around the outside edge then Zamboni to get the ice nice and clear. Then they start forklifting all the ice decking onto the ice with a crew of about 10 guys,” said Jenkins.
“Then they’ll start popping all the glass out and the end boards, that sort of thing. They’ll start the glass around midnight because the ice decking is about two hours. Taking the glass out, that takes about two hours with two forklifts starting on one end and working their way around. After that they’ll set the stage, they move the stage curtain into place, and they’ll be done all that by 6 a.m.”
Jenkins say a lot more work will go into setting up a theatre space for Dunham’s performance than it will take to turn the building back into a hockey rink for Game 2, as a lot more precision is required when it comes to covering up the ice.
“You’ve got to make sure to put the corners in the right place and they’re all numbered so you know where you’re putting it. Once you’re picking it up it’s just a matter of pulling sheets, that’s the easy part,” said Jenkins, adding the ice decking insulates the playing surface while allowing for a higher air temperature in the building. “Whenever there’s a concert out there the ice stays in, so the (ice decking) sits right on top. It sits nice and snug as long as we keep the ice level, and it creates a nice barrier from the ice.”
The situation will force the Tigers and Wheat Kings out of the building for their Saturday off between Games 1 and 2. Both teams will practise out of the Irvine Sports Complex as a result.