Winter Classic rink build timeline: follow along as the NHL builds a hockey rink at T-Mobile Park
By Charles Hamaker
Seattle, WA – For those who typically visit T-Mobile Park from the Spring to fall months, seeing the ballpark in anything but baseball form can be a bit odd. Obviously, there are concerts that will take over the venue here and there, and “Enchant” the winter village back in 2019, but we’ve never seen something like the Winter Classic here in the city of Seattle. As the rink and the surrounding aspects of what fans will see covering the field at T-Mobile Park is built, here’s a timeline to see how things progress over the course of start date (December 18th is when the NHL first began to work at the ballpark) all the way till the day itself, when our Seattle Kraken battle the Las Vegas Golden Knights in the Winter Classic.
December 20th: First look reveals
The first day of media availability showed off the general “foundation” of this whole set up, as the outline of several aspects of the Winter Classic layout were there, but there was still a way to go before we really got to see things take shape. The big note from this day was that the “ice pans” were being placed where the rink will be, which help to create the ice for the rink. Due to the layout of T-Mobile Park, the NHL’s refrigeration unit truck has to park on the street outside of the left field gates, sending piping through where the ‘Pen is and over the dugouts, then running through left field till it reaches where the rink is located as it spans from where third base is all the way to first base. That refrigeration unit truck is a big aspect as to why the NHL can have this Winter Classic games, but usually they’re able to locate it in a more convenient place than having to run the pipes through a bullpen. In addition to that truck, normally the NHL is used to being able to back other trucks up to bring in its materials for the Winter Classic atmosphere, but because of T-Mobile Park’s proximity to the train tracks just East of the venue, it’s a little harder as the league brings those materials along the back alley and through the gate in the center field fence.
Photos taken during the December 20th media availability at T-Mobile Park, the first time media was allowed to see construction progress ahead of the Winter Classic. (Photos by Charles Hamaker)
December 21st: Roof open, boards up!
The second day of media availability revealed that the boards for the rink itself had gone up, and we were able to take in the ballpark and the growing environment of the rendering we’d been shown in all it’s sunny glory as Seattle’s weather had been merciful on this day. Several structures are also now seen being put together, such as the boardwalks that will lead the teams from the dugouts to their respective benches, the framework for the icehouse in left field that will host the NHL on TNT crew, and the base for the sunken ship being swallowed up by a “Kraken.” It’s an obvious nod of progress in the preparation as the rink itself now has the shaping created by the boards and is a nice place for the build team to be able to leave off at as we approach the Christmas holiday and the NHL’s holiday break.
Media in attendance also heard from NHL Sr. Executive Vice President and Chief Content Officer, Steve Mayer, as he fielded questions. While it’s something that could’ve been inferred and was been somewhat hinted at in the months leading up to this event, Mayer confirmed that the roof here at T-Mobile Park made the venue stick out compared to the other possibilities (Lumen, Husky stadium). Taking that into consideration, as well as how the ballpark and Lumen Field had housed MLB’s All-Star week earlier this year, the NHL was impressed at what they saw.
“To do what we’re doing now, and to prepare for this game, to having the roof is really nice. We’d like to bring this to every stadium, every place we go from now on.”
Photos taken during the December 21st media availability at T-Mobile Park, as the boards of the rink itself had been put up to help give it some structure. (Photos by Charles Hamaker)
December 27th: Preparing to paint the ice!
In the first availability since the holiday break, a big step had been taken in addition to progress made on the surrounding aspects of the field: the ice was getting prepped for painting of the lines and logos. It’s another steppingstone towards the finished product, one that we should partially see prepared by the time that the team practices take place (Sunday, December 31st) and a progression from when we first saw the ice pans going down back on the 20th of December. Tomorrow, the 28th, is when the lines will be drawn out on the ice itself, as the white base coating has already been put down on the ice as we’ve seen it. Andrew Higgins, the NHL’s Senior Manager of Facility & Hockey Operations, said that thanks to the roof the rink build remains on schedule for the set date of Saturday, December 30th.
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Cover photo by Charles Hamaker