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Centennial Ice Arena scores new rink in renovation efforts

By Jose Mergulhao

In Highland Park, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago, Centennial Ice Arena serves as a hub for ice skaters, hockey players and gymnastics enthusiasts. The single-sheet indoor ice rink facility affiliated with four local hockey organizations, serving as a hub for highly qualified staff and progressive programming.

The facility, which features an indoor ice rink and a fully-equipped gymnastics studio, offers Learn to Skate, hockey, freestyle and gymnastics lessons for all skill levels. In addition, Centennial is a member of AAU Gymnastics, US Figure Skating and follows the Learn to Skate USA program. But early in 2020, as the pandemic was taking hold, the ice rink floor was in need of a renovation. Due to the pandemic, the design, bidding and negotiations were all completed over virtual meetings with Stellar, specializing in designing, engineering and maintaining industrial refrigeration systems. It would be the Jacksonville, Florida-based firm's first recreational ice rink floor renovation. The $1.8 million project included the installation of a new ice sheet floor system, as well as the demolition and replacement of the old refrigeration room. The new state-of-the-art refrigeration system utilizes the Chemours Opteon™ solution, the official refrigerant of the National Hockey League (NHL). Stellar officially partnered with The Chemours Company in 2019, with the goal of developing and promoting the Opteon™ product in recreational and industrial refrigeration projects, including retrofits. Today’s industrial and recreational facility owners are seeking refrigeration solutions that are safer and more environmentally sustainable, while still balancing performance and cost. Serving as the general contractor and construction manager for the Centennial Ice

Arena project, Stellar strategically limited the number of team members it sent to the job site during the project in order to mitigate the inherent risks involved with travelling and possibly exposing onsite crew members to coronavirus. To minimize business interruption, Centennial wanted the renovation completed in three months—an ambitious timeline for any ice rink remediation. A cost-effective ice mat floor system

The ice sheet floor system was designed in collaboration with I.B. Storey, the preferred ice rink consultant of the NHL. The floor system itself was already designed when Stellar bid on the project to complete the demolition and renovation. The new floor is an ice mat system, which uses tubing that is rolled out on top of the concrete rink floor, submerged in water and pumped with Opteon™ refrigerant solution to freeze the ice. The use of the ice mat meant the concrete floor would not have to be demolished and replaced—a half-million-dollar venture alone. It also allowed for a faster installation and reduced floor remediation costs by about $400,000. “We designed Centennial’s plant and floor system to provide the best quality ice in compliance with Sustainable Ice Rink Principles for long-term viability of the ice rink while minimizing the center’s project schedule,” says Ian Storey, President of I.B. Storey. “In doing so, we also saved the Park District of Highland Park—which owns the facility—a considerable amount of money—both now and in future operating costs—that can be potentially put towards other projects benefiting the local community.” By nature, ice rinks are energy-intensive facilities, but the new ice rink and Opteon™ refrigeration system are more efficient and environmentally friendly than their predecessors. The non-ozone depleting, non-flammable, low global warming potential refrigerants also require less of an upfront investment than legacy refrigerants, which are more toxic and subject to stringent environmental regulations which can lead to unreliable supply and volatile prices. Chris Maliszewski, Assistant Director of Recreation and Facilities of the Park District of Highland Park, says the collaboration between the Park District, Stellar and I.B. Storey was invaluable throughout the renovation. And while completing a project of this nature during a pandemic was challenging, the entire process was managed professionally and efficiently by Stellar and I.B. Storey. Says Maliszewski, “The positive impact of having a brand new refrigeration system for Centennial Ice Arena not only ensures we will be able to meet the needs of the skating and hockey community in Highland Park for many years to come, but also showcases the Park District of Highland Park’s commitment to environmental stewardship.” CCR