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Things I Learned at Ice Install Day at Amalie Arena

Author Geno
The ice going in at Amalie Arena for a new season of Tampa Bay Lightning hockey.

It’s a sure sign that another hockey season is about to begin. Ice installation day at Amalie Arena is tomorrow. The cold front, as short-lived as it was, may have left Florida. But it’ll be nice and chilly inside Amalie for the next few months. I got to take a first-hand look at the Tampa Bay Lightning ice installation process back in 2022.

At 1pm tomorrow (August 19), the ice crew at Amalie Arena will begin their work laying down a base coat of water on the concrete floor. After that they will then paint the ice a base white color sometime Monday afternoon. On Tuesday, the crew will wake up bright and early. At 7am, they will begin to paint the lines, markings and logos.

Wildest thing I learned at Ice Install Day at Amalie Arena

Did you know the ice the Tampa Bay Lightning play on is only an inch and a quarter deep!? That blew my mind. For some reason I always assumed it was at least 3 or 4 inches deep. Let’s head inside and show you how they do it at ice install day at Amalie Arena.

So weird to walk in and see it this empty!
Geno / BBGI
It’s always so weird to walk in and see Amalie Arena completely empty.
Water
This machine is about half the size of the Zamboni. It first lays down water. Then white paint. Then more water.
It sprays the water and paint in a fine mist to keep the ice dense.
It sprays the water and paint in a fine mist to keep the ice dense. That’s how the ice can be so thin I guess. I mean imagine that abuse that ice takes… all those skates, players digging in deep, sticks taking slapshots, and that enormous heavy Zamboni riding on it to clean the surface.
This is what it looks like when the white paint layer goes on before it's covered with more ice.
This is what it looks like when the white paint layer goes on before it’s covered with more ice.
The logos are ready to come out and be put on the ice.
The logos are ready to come out and be put on the ice.
The Zamboni makes its first run a day or so after once everything has set.
The Zamboni makes its first run a day or so after once everything has set.

The Tampa Bay Lightning will play their first preseason game on this fresh coat of ice on September 24th when they face the Carolina Hurricanes. The two teams will meet again when the regular season begins October 11. The first Bolts regular season game at Amalie will be the next night on October 12 against the Hurricanes once again. Tickets for Lightning regular season games just went on sale Friday.

UP NEXT: I tried Tampa’s most expensive ice cream cone

Hear Geno on the air weekday afternoons. Geno's passions include fat guy food, concerts, sports, travel to Europe and South America. He loves 80s and 90s music, from MTV hairbands to old school freestyle, alternative rock to TRL era jams. Geno's radio career began in his hometown of Portland, Maine. Since then he's been on the air coast to coast from Boston to Las Vegas, Tampa to California.

Photos: The Tampa Bay Lightning Win Their First Stanley Cup

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