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" All fluids were drained from the floor. Orono Ice Arena has an indirect refrigeration system, with those materials being reclaimed and stored while concrete was chipped away from the flooring and piping. "In the case of our floor, it was plastic pipes," Loop said. "They'd chip back a couple inches around each pipe and then they'd reconnect the previously used pipes to close the circuit. At the same time we did that we replaced all our headers, mainlines to the rink from the refrigeration, and after that it's basically pour the concrete back in and watch it procure." By the end of July the rink was reopened and ready for use. "So really it was 60 days from start to finish to shrink the rink and get the ice back in," Loop said. SMALLER RINK, BIGGER BENEFITS Next up was the opportunity to reap the benefits of the newly-added space. Orono Ice Arena employed HTG Architects to maximize the use of this new space by creating four new locker rooms with dedicated showers, plus new varsity locker rooms with dedicated showers and shared toilet facilities. A brand-new mezzanine was added on a second floor which can be accessed by an elevator or stairs above the new locker rooms. The mezzanine has a warm viewing club room area for parents and fans, but the majority of the space is dedicated to dryland training. With a wall of glass that overlooks the rink, players now have a dedicated training space and shooting lanes. These improvements effectively doubled the number of athletes that can train in the facility at one time and in turn has become a new revenue source for the rink. "We got to actually build high school locker rooms that were intended to be high school locker rooms," Loop said. "Previously they were kind of sunk in some back corners that used to be storage rooms. We went from four locker rooms to four youth locker rooms plus high school locker rooms for both boys and girls, plus we could build a second level which is a mezzanine with dryland training which the rink never had before. "That 15 feet really resulted in four additional locker rooms and a 5,000-square foot dryland training area inside the same footprint." Orono Ice Arena is still in the midst of its first season with the newly-shrunken rink, but Loop said it's clear costs have lowered, if even slightly. "Utilities have been a little bit lower," he said. "I don't know that we have a perfect run rate yet but utilities have definitely been lower. Obviously we have a lot less surface area to cool. The other things we noticed, at least with our refrigeration system, we've gotten tons and tons of feedback that the ice quality has been better." ONE SIZE DOESN'T FIT ALL Loop admits that while it worked for Orono, going from Olympic-size to NHL- sized might not make sense for every facility. "Everybody's situation is different and the way they run their programs, so I don't know if there is a way to say this is the way to do it or not," said Loop. "For what we were trying to do, I think it's been hugely beneficial to all. "I can see if folks were trying to do figure skating and hockey and a broad base of stuff it might not be as easy of a decision, but our building has been predominantly used for hockey, so it was a less than complicated decision for us and it freed up the space. "Ultimately we were able to add for about half the price that we had gotten bids for outside the footprint so it gave us room to grow." J , Orono's new mezzanine features a dryland training space that has become an additional revenue stream. THAT 15 FEET REALLY RESULTED IN FOUR ADDITIONAL LOCKER ROOMS AND A 5,000-SQUARE FOOT DRYLAND TRAINING AREA INSIDE THE SAME FOOTPRINT." AFTER BEFORE " 34 / MAY.JUNE.2018 USICERINKS.COM PHOTOS: COURTESY OF JODI LEWIS/ORONO ICE ARENA