Giant Center Ice Nears Completion
Bears Home Opener Scheduled for October 5
A seasonal chill has returned to Giant Center, as well as a fresh sheet of ice for the Hershey Bears 82nd season. Today marks an even two weeks from the Bears Opening Night on October 5th at Giant Center against the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, and the rink crew is hard at work to prepare the team’s playing surface.
The ice-making process started on Thursday, and nears its completion days away from the start of Hershey’s Training Camp on September 23rd.
On Thursday, the event floor temperature was set to eight degrees Fahrenheit. Zambonis began to flood the surface to create its first layer of ice. Friday morning, the crew sprinkled three coats of white paint over the ice to resemble a traditional ice hockey rink.
Friday afternoon, the rink crew used tissue paper to replicate hockey’s iconic goal lines on each end zone. Water is placed over each line, instantly freezing it to the playing surface. Once all lines and logos are in place across the 200-foot surface, additional Zamboni laps will add ice layers.
In total, the Giant Center ice surface requires approximately 10,000 gallons of water!
