CLEVELAND, Ohio – Things are going to light up a little bit more this season when the Cleveland Monsters take the ice.
The Monsters skate in Rocket Arena for their home opener tonight – Friday, Oct. 17 – on fresh ice that was installed this week. But a pair of high-tech LED dasher boards also were put in, allowing more frequent messaging options at games.
Dasher boards line the rink’s perimeter, keeping bodies and pucks in play. The two 12-foot panels are positioned near each team’s benches. Ontario-based company Athletica Sport Systems handles the technology.
The LED boards will provide “dynamic advertising, in-game elements and presentation ads – whatever message you want can be programmed akin to our LED ribbons,” said Mike Ostrowski, president of franchise properties for Rock Entertainment.
The boards are big in Europe, he said. The Monsters are starting with two of the new boards. A couple of teams in the American Hockey League utilize full rink LED panels, he said, “but we wanted to walk before we run.”
The boards are on the same side of the ice, facing television cameras. In-house messages touting upcoming concerts, events, themed nights and performances are all fair game. The arena’s video-game presentation team will control the new level of rotational signage.
They must remain static during play, and hockey is full of bursts – starts, stops, whistles and faceoffs.
Between bodies flying and pucks caroming, boards get banged up during a season, so individual boards are subbed out three to four times a season, Ostrowski said.
Advertisers who use the boards to promote their company or product mostly sign multi-year deals, he added, and the new ones allow the arena to cycle through more partners, which adds to the revenue stream.
“We want to see how it goes here,” said Ostrowski, who bears a resemblance to former Ohio State football coach Urban Meyer. He is one of many folks working in behind-the scenes support roles for Cleveland teams.
“Maybe one day you see the whole rink with LED boards,” he said.
For those who don’t know, the ice remains while most events take place at the arena. So when Donovan Mitchell powers up a three-pointer or fans cheer the Jonas Brothers, there’s a good chance a sheet of ice is underneath them.
This season, the ice will come out twice – when Monster Jam trucks roll through in February and when the NCAA Division I men’s wrestling championship takes place in March. They take it out when the circus comes to town, but that’s been a few years.
Ice installation is done in shifts over the course of more than a day. A “super busy October” delayed ice installation until this week, Ostrowski said. (If you are wondering, the team practices in Strongsville.)
It takes 15,000 gallons of water, with 600 to 1,200 gallons an hour being sprayed, said Sherman Cartwright, manager of operations who oversees the changeover crew at the arena. Workers must efficiently top the ice with a basketball court, for instance – extra challenging when the Monsters have a matinee and the Cavs play at night (which will happen on two Saturdays this season, Nov. 8 and Dec. 6).
A few years ago the ice-installation process switched from painting logos within the ice to laying in stenciled script and designs in specific areas. This season, Coca-Cola and Cleveland-Cliffs will be among several advertisers in place on the ice for the 72-game season.
While the stencils came in, something else was removed: The goal judge. Until last season, hockey games relied on one very focused person, tucked in a box behind each goal, whose job consisted of one thing: Hit the red light when a goal was scored. The long-standing tradition has evolved and is now handled from the in-game presentation crew. The bonus here is about 10 seats were added to each end.
Related: Goal judge at hockey games is lonely job that requires single-minded focus
Creating ice is a technical science that involves a close eye on the temperature, but it’s a process that can be controlled. When the Browns installed a rink at their stadium for a series of games in February 2023, an additional challenge cropped up: Mother Nature. Specifically, late-afternoon sun, which deteriorated the conditions and caused a 5.5-hour delay for one of the games.
The arena crew is used to handling the ice construction and deconstruction, as well as other projects. Rocket Arena holds between 170 to 200 events annually. March in particular is a very busy month when 33 to 38 events typically are held. But for now, the ice is in and ready when the 2-0 Monsters skate against the Lehigh Valley Phantoms tonight.
“It’s definitely a much involved process to be sure,” Ostrowski said.