Superhero fans, do not fear'Batman and Mr. Freeze have joined forces working together for a better tomorrow ?? or a Wisconsin game anyway. They are the masked men behind the magical overnight conversions from basketball court to hockey rink and vice versa at the Kohl Center.
Mr. Freeze sneaks into the arena and pulls out his ice machine using water stored in the basement, proceeding to freeze over the entire court. His evil lackeys then buffer the ice so it is smooth and flat. Then, when the rink needs to be thawed out for basketball, Batman flies in with his blow torch, melting the ice into a pool of water that drains back into the basement through gutters surrounding the court.
Well actually, that is not exactly how it works (but it would be awesome if it did). Instead, another superhero named Dan Wyatt, building and group superintendent of the Kohl Center, has been in charge of the conversions for nearly four years now. The process is not as exciting as ice and fire gun battles, as it actually demands strenuous labor and long hours'three to four to be exact.
According to Wyatt, the ice stays on the floor for almost the entire school year after it is put down in late August. Then, a two-inch thick insulate'known as polar floor'is put on top to keep the ice from melting, and the court floorboards from getting wet. After that, court floorboards are pieced together over the polar floor. Scoreboards, baskets and risers complete the basketball court.
It sounds easy enough, right? Actually it is more like putting together a giant jigsaw puzzle while trying to defy the ice's slippery forces.
There is no space for mistakes'every piece of the floor must be perfectly positioned for the correctness of the sports' boundaries, and the safety of the athletes and fans.
When asked his favorite part of the conversion process, Wyatt responded: 'When I'm done.' The other 30 to 40 workers helping him would probably agree.
The conversion from hockey to basketball is not simply a matter of ice vs. no ice. Since the arena seats approximately 17,150 fans for basketball and 14,000 for hockey, temporary risers must be set up to accommodate the few extra thousand basketball fans. Plus, the extra equipment for each sport needs to be separately set up.
Just to make sure the process goes according to plan, Wyatt explained that he simply stands in the middle of the floor watching everything going on to ensure perfection. Due to this highly organized, well-planned system, the worst injuries that have happened in past conversion processes are a few broken fingers and minor cuts.
Wyatt works very closely with Todd Nelson, director of events, who decides which events the Kohl Center should hold and when. These events are not limited to sports. Others include concerts, banquets and ceremonies that also occur in the main arena.
He creates event profiles to specifically target every aspect of the event that needs to be addressed including arena control, security and maintenance, among other issues. The event profile acts as a checklist ensuring the best event possible.
But everyone that is part of the ordeal feels the pressure when the clock is ticking inbetween events.
'The [most difficult] thing is multiple conversions in one day. There's a tight time strain, and people get tired, so we focus a lot on safety. We use a lot of students [for help],' Nelson said.
Jeff Schmidt, assistant to the associate athletic director, said seven conversions had already taken place from Dec. 9 to Dec. 30 this season.
The long, awkward hours and hard work sure pay off. Wyatt, Nelson and Schmidt all agreed that their goal is to provide athletes and fans with the safest and most successful event possible; no one else should have to worry about that except them.
'We want [athletes] to be able to focus on their game,' Schmidt said.
Clearly, these three individuals have the qualities of real-life superheroes. It takes supernatural patience, organizational skills and physical endurance for all of this behind-the-scenes work to be completed.
For the rest of us, let us just keep fantasizing that right before leaving his newly-made hockey rink, Mr. Freeze always looks over his shoulder and says, 'Stay frosty, Wisconsin, have an ice day.'
