Bird Ice Arena reopens, more construction looms

Bird Ice Arena reopened after being closed for repairs for 10 months and is possibly facing more renovations and repairs.

The arena originally closed to add a new ice plant compressor, update the mezzanine lounge, repair the interior and external roof, repaint the locker rooms and rafters, update the signage and banners and repair the Olympia Ice Resurfacer.

However, while replacing the ice compressor, it was discovered the piping that created the ice was not functional anymore, which delayed the reopening from October to Jan. 2. A temporary solution was put in place to reopen the arena. 

“We're excited about it because the alternative is we're probably not going to have ice in Athens, Ohio,” Barry Schutte, the DI hockey head coach, said. “What's going on right now is a temporary solution, not a long-term plan.”

The university will have to replace the floor to permanently fix the solution. Plans were drafted and a $3.15 million budget was approved at the Jan. 17 Board of Trustees meeting. The floor replacement will begin as soon as the arena closes for the summer and has the goal of being finished by the 2025 Fall Semester.

Schutte said he believes this time the construction will most likely be done in time. He said the delay last time was due to unforeseen circumstances no one could have predicted.

“Let's say the beginning of April, and go through September and Labor Day, hopefully that would be enough time,” Schutte said. “That would be perfect if it's going to get done this summer, but we'll have to look at our schedule for the fall and maybe plan on just being on the safe side and start on the road and not have any home games those first couple weeks.”

Owen Dowler, a sophomore studying electrical engineering and a player for a LUG Sports hockey team at Ohio University, said he hopes the arena will be open for the fall.

“Obviously, it sucks for our league, but I know it's a lot harder for the D1 and D2 guys because they have to make the drive to Columbus and West Virginia early in the morning or late at night, and it sucks not having fans for the games,” Dowler said.

Grace Shah, the synchronized skating head coach, said she is afraid of the arena closing again, especially with next year being her senior year at OU.

“I want it to be our best possible synchro year and to go out with a bang,” Shah said. “But, if it takes that long to reopen again, then I'm really nervous that might not happen.”

The last time the floor was replaced was in the early 1990s. A floor was placed over the original floor that was installed when the arena was built in the 1950s. The new floor will tear out these old ones and build a new one in their place. The last two floors lasted for about 30 years, so the university is predicting to get 30 years out of this one.

In addition, there was discussion of possibly adding another 10 feet to the arena with the floor replacement. A standard National Hockey League rink is 200 feet long by 85 feet wide; the current rink is 10 feet less.

“For competition, the rinks are a lot bigger, and we're used to skating on a smaller rink,” Shah said. “Once we get (to the competition), we have to adjust our scale and make it bigger, which is sometimes a hard adjustment to make in such a quick period of time. I would be really excited to see what we could do with more ice.”

Dowler said he thinks it would make the rink feel more spread out and give players more time to make decisions.

“Everything feels more compacted,” Dowler said. “You have to make decisions a lot faster. You don't have as much room behind the nets, in between the blue line and the tops of the circles.”

Even though more construction is coming in the future, the hockey team, LUG Sports players, synchronized skaters and competition attendees are glad to be able to get back onto the ice, especially since Bird Arena is the only ice arena in Southeastern Ohio.

“I'm most excited to see the people in it,” Schutte said. “I could see the void that was in their life, and they were missing it, especially on the little kids' faces that are standing there when our guys come on and off the ice. Then fast forward to last weekend, when the students were here on top of it and we had two sell-out crowds, you could just see the joy in everyone's life.”

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