Issue link: https://read.uberflip.com/i/972939
USICERINKS.COM MAY.JUNE.2018 / 33 AS THE SAYING GOES, bigger is better. But there are many instances that prove that's not always true. One case in point is the Orono Ice Arena, in Orono, Minn., which recently employed a new tactic for facility and program growth by downsizing. Built in 1997, the privately-funded Orono Ice Arena housed one 197-foot by 98.4-foot Olympic ice. With budget and space constraints, the initial facility build had four small-size locker rooms which lacked the amenity of showers. The boys' and girls' varsity teams used storage rooms that had been converted into imposter locker rooms, and there was no room for dryland training or even space for teams to warm-up prior to hitting the ice. The facility wanted to do better for its athletes, but had a tight budget. Then they learned that by shrinking the Olympic-sized sheet to a standard 200-foot by 85-foot NHL size, they'd gain additional space at a cost, and be able to give their tenants a sheet to further help and encourage their development. "For us, (the idea of shrinking the rink) I think it was two-fold," said Michael Loop, a board member at Orono Ice Arena who played a heavy role in the resizing and renovations project at the rink. "No.1, for the student-athletes, more of the ice sheets that they play on within the district and in the sections are NHL-size, so part of the rationale was providing consistency in terms of the game. The game is very different on 85 feet versus 100-foot wide. So that was one of the reasons. "The second reason was really more economic. Shrinking the rink lowers operating costs a little bit because obviously you're freezing less ice and what have you. But most importantly on it, it gave us additional space within our current footprint to expand." A 60-DAY PROCESS Meetings about the rink changes began in May of 2017, with $225,000 for the project funded privately by donations. By June construction began. To remove 15 feet of ice, 17 feet of concrete was cut out from the flooring. PHOTOS: COURTESY OF JODI LEWIS/ORONO ICE ARENA Rink Shrink Orono Ice Arena goes for growth by shrinking their rink by Jessi Pierce