Winter Classic ice-building process remains on track

WASHINGTON – At 1 p.m. Thursday, the sun hung above home plate at Nationals Park during the fourth day of rink building for the 2015 Bridgestone NHL Winter Classic, flooding most of the soon-to-be-completed playing surface with light. The temperature hovered in the mid 40s, made chillier by a noticeable breeze.

With puck drop scheduled for that time on Jan. 1 between the Chicago Blackhawks and Washington Capitals, such weather on New Year's Day would suffice, though a few tweaks would be preferred.

"I would say a perfect day is 30 degrees and overcast, a little bit of snow," NHL Executive Vice President of Events Don Renzulli said.

Game-day forecasts call for partly sunny skies and temperatures in the mid 20s to mid 30s, according to Renzulli, though it is too early for those models to be concrete.

On the field, the construction crew, headed by senior director of facilities operations Dan Craig, continued to place the aluminum trays that will eventually maintain the ideal 22-degree temperature of the ice.

The 53-foot, 300-ton capacity refrigeration unit, situated behind the Nationals bullpen near right field, can pump as much as 3,000 gallons of glycol coolant into the aluminum trays in order to ensure an optimal sheet of ice.

The boards are scheduled to be installed Friday, with the ice-building process set to begin Saturday. Water is added as slowly as possible in a fine mist for a better-quality surface, which will be two inches thick compared to the roughly 1-inch thick sheet used in arenas throughout the League.

Nationals Park will be the fourth baseball stadium to host the NHL Winter Classic, joining Wrigley Field in Chicago (2009), Fenway Park in Boston (2010) and Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia (2012).

Each venue presents its own unique challenges, from the sloping of the field (though that is neutralized by the rink's subfloor) to creating optimal sightlines. Renzulli mentioned the method in which the crew funnels the refrigeration piping into the stadium.

"In Philadelphia, we actually took out a window and came through a window into the stadium, scaffolding up over and into the bullpen and down," Renzulli said. "Last year in Ann Arbor, we had one shot into the field. Everything came through there. It just really depends on where you are and you've got to deal with what they throw at you."

If preparation goes according to schedule, lines and logos will be painted starting on Dec. 28. The Capitals and Blackhawks will practice at Nationals Park on Dec. 31.