mcneal status?

[mviale]

I heard from chicos that Mcneal was limping bad - is  he ok?

Did chicos get kicked out of the stadium?

[ChicosBailBonds]

He tweaked it on the wet floor...a lot of condensation from the ice under the floor.  He was limping noticeably in the second half when he came out.  Obviously he played through it but he was hurting.

I'm guessing it will be fairly sore the next few days.

[Chicago_inferiority_complexes]

How they can justify playing like that, with ice creating condensation on the floor, amazes me.

[rugbydrummer]

so there's ice under the floor why? hockey game there tonight? the AC??  ugh, he did take quite a spill, it was hard to tell from the little screen that anyone was limping 

[ChicosBailBonds]

Because it takes weeks to cure the ice, they don't take the ice down until the end of the season.  They put special thick boards over the ice and then lay the bball court on top of that.

Where dual purpose arenas can get into trouble is if the air temperature is at a point where it causes water to coindense on the floor.

Plus the pond is not used to having bball...they only play 2 games a year there

[Chicago_inferiority_complexes]

what do you mean by "cure the ice"? get it to freeze?

[spiral97]

btw - the bradley center basketball floor is built on top of ice too..

[Chicago_inferiority_complexes]

"on top of" ice? as in, they can put the floor down over the ice? because each time I've been to the bradley center early enough (usually when they let students in early due to weather) they've put the floor down on bare concrete.

[The Lens]

"on top of" ice? as in, they can put the floor down over the ice? because each time I've been to the bradley center early enough (usually when they let students in early due to weather) they've put the floor down on bare concrete.

The you haven't been there that early b/c they're putting it down over ice, always.

[spiral97]

yes - on top of ice.  they put some layer down on top of the ice and before the basketball floor - that kinda looks like concrete which is probably what you're seeing.

[Chicago_inferiority_complexes]

yes - on top of ice.  they put some layer down on top of the ice and before the basketball floor - that kinda looks like concrete which is probably what you're seeing.

that's probable

[rugbydrummer]

so, Honda center needs that sandwich layer, is that what we're saying?  b/c i don't recall anyone slipping in the BC for that reason lately


In other news, DANG BYU why did you blow my bracket!! ugh

[spiral97]

so, Honda center needs that sandwich layer, is that what we're saying?  b/c i don't recall anyone slipping in the BC for that reason lately


In other news, DANG BYU why did you blow my bracket!! ugh

they probably have that layer already.. maybe it's not as good.. or maybe it's just that southern california has higher humidity and temperatures to deal with than the bradley center usually does during basketball season and perhaps their climate control system is not as good.

FYI - the Kohl center is the same way.. in fact, MANY arenas do this.

[TallTitan34]

The boards they put over the ice at the BC are roughly an inch thick and are similar in color to concrete.  Prior to letting people into the arena before games the BC crew will tape gaps in the boards and they fill some of the corners if the boards that get rounded off.  If you look closely you can still find some gaps that go missed and actually touch the ice beneath.  Overall they do a great job though filling in gaps.

[rugbydrummer]

so the Honda center is 1˚ly a hockey venue?  i was wondering who it "belonged" to.  clearly the BC is a vet at rearranging their layouts-- I wouldn't know they had ice except for the fact that the admirals play there

also... was this a problem in San Diego?  i think we played at their own bball court, not a corporate one w/ hockey commitments??  just seems dangerous/irresponsible of the Honda center to me to have a slippery court like that.

[ChicosBailBonds]

The Honda Center (formerly the "Pond") is primarily a hockey arena.  It's about 12 or 13 years old if I remember correctly.  It used to play host to about 10 Clippers games a year, but now it's only for the Stanley Cup Champion Ducks, the John Wooden Classic and CIF (high school) championships.  The globebtrotters and such will play there as well.

Nice arena, great for hockey and not bad for basketball, but they are not used to having the court in there would be my speculation.


The pads they put down are about 3/4" to an inch thick.  The ones I've seen are almost like a styrofoam compound except they are very durable.

As for "curing the ice", when hockey arenas lay the ice they obviously poor water in and then let it set.  Then they paint the lines, logos, etc then add more water to seal in those colors.  When I worked at the Pond they called this "curing the ice" which took, if I recall, 10 days to two weeks.  That way the ice was in usable condition and at NHL quality (that being said, the Pond ice isn't that good by NHL standards because the ambient temperature isn't ideal).

So removing the ice altogether is not what arenas do because of the cost and time to put a new ice surface in.

[mwbauer7]

So is McNeal okay or what?

[rugbydrummer]

So removing the ice altogether is not what arenas do because of the cost and time to put a new ice surface in.

oh, I wouldn't expect that much of them -- maybe better insulation next time around would be nice, though!

[spiral97]

So removing the ice altogether is not what arenas do because of the cost and time to put a new ice surface in.

in fact, 7 of the 8 first round arenas (alltell arena in little rock is the only exception as Arkansans could probably care less about hockey) can accommodate hockey too.. for sure 6 of those build the basketball floor on top of the ice (one arena detailed that they use a 1-inch think panel of fiberglass in between).  the only one of those that I am not sure about is the BJCC arena in Birmingham.. they do ice floors but not sure if they build the other floors on top of it or if they melt the ice down every time.

I am pretty sure I saw a time-lapse video of the MU floor being set up at the bradley center once.. not sure where I saw it though... it was pretty cool.

[muwarrior87]

to cut them a little slack, Milwaukee is 30's or colder outside most of the season with a relatively lower humidity. Anaheim is at least in the 50's most of the season with higher humidity because of the increase in temperature. this is naturally going to cause more moisture than here at the BC. The one thing they could do is thicken the insulation layer but then you have to take into account how the seats, etc that sit on the ice are adjusted by this height difference.  They could probably drop the indoor temperature a little to try and cut down on the moisture but that's about it.