When will the Flames correct the terrible ice?

[calgaryblood]

I mean we live in a pretty cold climate yet we've had one of the worst arenas for ice in the last 5 years.

I know we are due for an arena but can we wait 5-8 years? Will it take Gaudreau or Monahan catching a rut and getting seriously injured until something is done.

The ice tonight was atrocious and I could see it from my seats that it wasn't up to NHL quality. I've been in a lot of arenas around the NHL and even California teams have better ice than Calgary.

Matt Stajan alone fell because of the ice probably three times tonight with no one around. Brodie fell at least twice with no one around.

[GranteedEV]

Lost 2004 Game 7 to bad ice. No better way to train for that situation than to have terrible ice in Canada.

[Locke]

When they get a new arena.

[calgaryblood]

Originally Posted by Locke

When they get a new arena.

There should be no excuse for a professional sports team making millions of dollars to risk injury to their players and other players by just saying "meh, we will wait 8 years for our new arena".

[Locke]

Originally Posted by calgaryblood

There should be no excuse for a professional sports team making millions of dollars to risk injury to their players and other players by just saying "meh, we will wait 8 years for our new arena".

Sure there is.

The vast majority of the rest of the league has atrocious ice. No one seems to care.

Have you seen the ice in Carolina or Florida? No one cares.

[Gaudfather]

When they hire Dan Craig away from the NHL head office!

[expatflame]

Just out of curiosity, what causes bad ice?

[Locke]

Originally Posted by expatflame

Just out of curiosity, what causes bad ice?

Tons of things.

1. Crap plant.
2. Whiny people that think its 'too cold' in a hockey arena so keep it at 20 degrees.
3. 19,289 people worth of body heat for 3+ hours that started at 20 degrees.

That kind of stuff.

[Harry Lime]

Didn't they have a special formulation for the ice that they used in the L.A. stadium series outdoor game? Is there a reason that this isn't general issue? Maybe too much cyanide content.

[Locke]

Originally Posted by Harry Lime

Didn't they have a special formulation for the ice that they used in the L.A. stadium series outdoor game? Is there a reason that this isn't general issue? Maybe too much cyanide content.

They change it depending on circumstances, but even then those are short-term formulas.

"We need ice that will suck as little as possible but we only need it for a few hours."

[craigwd]

Originally Posted by Locke

Tons of things.

1. Crap plant.
2. Whiny people that think its 'too cold' in a hockey arena so keep it at 20 degrees.
3. 19,289 people worth of body heat for 3+ hours that started at 20 degrees.

That kind of stuff.

I've read that the Enmax flame after the goals also contributes to the bad ice.

[Locke]

Originally Posted by craigwd

I've read that the Enmax flame after the goals also contributes to the bad ice.

It wouldnt surprise me, but I wouldnt imagine that its addition would be significant. Generally speaking, and I'm no physicist, but I understand that heat travels up ergo Pluto should be reinstated as a planet.

Sorry, I have no idea what I'm talking about other than that I think overall ambient temperature is the culprit here.

[FiveSeven]

I'm gonna go with the temperature in the building.
Tonight was the first game I've been to in about 10 years and I was telling my friend I remember all the times in the past I've gone I'd be a bit chilly.
I used to relish when they scored because the big blast of flames actually warmed you for a moment.
People probably didn't want to deal with being cold in the winter then coming inside a building and feeling cold anyway so they complained.
You could make an argument that poor ice opens up more chances or takes them away, but with today's technology I just don't see not having good ice as acceptable.

[hockey.modern]

Well the Flames are winning at home, so I guess they are using the bad ice to their advantage.

[Oil Stain]

The building temperature is probably the biggest part of it. Did they ever used to keep NHL arenas cooler? 15 Celcius would make the ice much better.

I think another big reason is that the building operators cram so many events into the buildings these days that the ice never really gets a chance to harden up. That's never going to change because the owners want to make $$$.

[BurningSteel]

I hear that we will get new ice next.

[Poe969]

Originally Posted by Locke

Tons of things.

1. Crap plant.

Gross...I have no idea what a crap plant is unless you mean being close to the oilers and their crappyness is causing the bad ice. I mean they do pump out a lot of crap up there in edmonton...

[Erick Estrada]

Go to a game in Jobing.com arena in Arizona and then a Saddledome game. You have to dress up for the Coyotes game as it's cold in that arena and dress down for the Flames game because it's a warm building. I imagine the temperatures are kept high for the fair weather fans in the lower bowl that pay the most $$$ to see the games.

Obviously I don't play on the ice surfaces but from what I see on TV the Flames without a doubt look to have the worst ice of all the Canadian teams as pucks bounce around just as much as the US cities that have bad ice.

[Rhettzky]

Crappy ice plant. But I heard that they got a new one a few years ago because my buddy that works there was all excited.

[AcGold]

I remember reading an in depth interview from the ice crew. Basically they said when we score quick goals the torches are so hot they melt the ice a little and it makes it hard to maintain. So hopefully there's no fire for goals in the new arena, it's a ridiculous problem imo. A silly gimmick risking player safety.