The Ice Down

With that Circus that is Britney Spears in town last night, the Coliseum was only able to start the transformation into hockey mode today.

The dashers and glass are up, but the ice is currently being laid down. It’s a full 24-hour process. At 5:15 PM they are finishing painting the center ice logo. They still have to paint the in-ice sponsor logos. That will probably take 90 minutes to 2 hours. After that, it’s layer upon layer of ice, all of which has to completely freeze before the next goes on top.

It always amazes me how bright and sharp the blue and orange paint looks when it’s fresh on the ice. It obviously just dulled with the ice layers that are put on top.

The Coliseum will not have the ice ready for the Islanders tomorrow at 10:30 AM for their morning skate which will have to be held at Islanders Iceworks. However, it will apparently be ready for the Minnesota Wild's (probably optional or non-existent) morning skate at 11:30 AM.

Discuss this post at IslanderMania.com

Phillips Arena

Phillips Arena is one of the more unique arenas in the NHL. Opened in the fall of 1999, it’s the home of the Atlanta Thrashers and Hawks. It sits on the same footprint as the old Omni Coliseum, which plays a big part in its unique design.

Three quarters of the Phillips Arena looks like every other new arena. But the fourth side of the building is almost completely vertical. The suites are located on this vertical or flat side of the building with about six levels all directly on top of each other.

Imagine you’re at the Nassau Coliseum and looking at the penalty box side of the building. Leave the ¾ of the lower bowl of the 100s and 200s sections and then above that is five levels of suites and a press box on top of that. The view from the suites are close and on top of the action.

The Arena was built this way because the developers needed to fit a 20,000 seat building with 100 luxury boxes where a 15,000 seat building with 16 boxes was previously. Using the same footprint that Omni Coliseum sat on, Phillips Arena was squeezed into. Developers figured out if one side of the building was more vertical then the others, they could build it. And it was built.

It’s one of the more unique/newer buildings in the NHL and it’s a real nice place.

NYI: 10 New Things You’ll See Tonight at the Coli

We finally have hockey back at the Nassau Coliseum tonight as the Islanders faceoff against the Rangers.

Here are ten new things that you’ll see when you get to the Coliseum tonight.

1) DP’s new pads – Ricky re-designed the goalie pads he’s worn for the last season and half.

2) Team Apparel – From hats to shirts to pucks, you’ll find all new NYI apparel from the 2007-08 season.

3) All White Dashers – What now? The NHL has a new rule that all dasher board signage must have a white background. Everything will look a bit crisper on the boards now.

4) New Halo Graphics – The NYI Game Ops. crew designed the graphics for penalties and whistles.

5) New Jersey’s – The Islanders will wear blue tonight and it’ll give most fans the first opportunity to see them in game action.

6) Picnic Zone – One of the older smoking areas has been transformed into a picnic zone of sorts. Along with the open air and an additional bathroom, fans can buy food and drink before and during the game.

7) Bossy and Potvin – Those two legends have new banners hanging in the rafters. Nothing change, they’re just new. The old ones were getting yellow and they couldn’t be cleaned anymore.

8) TV’s on the Concourse – In one of many upgrades on the concourse, new flat screen TV’s have been installed all throughout the concourse.

9) Signage – Along with the signage, new gate and concession signage has been added to show you where to go. Again, all in Islanders décor.

10) Paint Job – The Coliseum finally painted the concourse Blue, Orange and White. The walls are still tight, but they look a whole not nicer.