SALT LAKE CITY — The Delta Center may be home to the Utah Jazz but the venue also hosts an NHL hockey game every year, transforming into a dazzling ice arena in a matter of days.
"Once a year, we do an NHL hockey game. So it's, it's a big deal," explained Jaime Galileo, who works with the Smith Entertainment Group and is in charge of the ice transformation.
First, the temperature of the floor is brought down to about 12 degrees. Then, the logistical dance that requires meticulous accuracy can begin to create the ice masterpiece.
“We'll start applying very, very thin coats of water with a 10-foot wide wand," Galileo explained. "It looks like something you'd see off the back of a spray rig, the guys just walking around with a garden hose. And they put about 1/64 of an inch down at a time."
It takes layer after layer of water to build the floor up.
"We'll put three or four coats down, then we'll paint the ice a white color," Galileo said. "And that is so that you can't see the concrete."
The surface is carefully monitored to make sure it's perfect for players.
"You want to make sure the thickness is everywhere the hardness of the ice, [the specialist] can tell pretty much from the drill and then he also has a temperature gun," Galileo said. "So he wants the surface temperature of the ice to be in a specific location."
While the whole process takes several days to build the rink, the process to take it all down is much quicker.
After the game, the team will heat the floor and all that hard work will literally go down the drain.
Galileo said the entire meticulous process is worth it to see the fans enjoy a night of hockey at the Delta Center.
"It's a ton of fun. It's a lot of work. Don't get me wrong," Galileo reflected. "But it is fun to do something once a year that's out of the box."
