Centene Community Ice Center Grand Opening TODAY (Sat. Sep. 7th)

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10:00 a.m. to 11:30 p.m., 750 Casino Center Drive, Maryland Heights

Official Event Page: http://www.marylandheights.com/departme ... nd-opening Includes Schedule and a map of the complex & parking info for today.

More details of the event courtesy of SLPD: https://www.stltoday.com/entertainment/ ... dbb8f.html

SLPD construction photo spread: https://www.stltoday.com/sports/hockey/ ... 0f.html#15

Time-lapse video of prep for one of the four ice rinks (3 indoors, 1 outdoor still in progress) is posted on the CCIC Facebook page.

Re: Centene Community Ice Center Grand Opening TODAY (Sat. Sep. 7th)

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The JMCs spent the first 60+ minutes wandering around the CCIC parking lot (where Mrs. JMC snagged Bobby Plager's autograph on the Blues white jersey she was hauling around), waiting for the opening ceremony to start & finish before the ribbon cutting allowed the very large crowd of hockey fans inside the facilities to have a look around. Charles Glenn sang the National Anthem before all the speeches by development partners & politicians. Then me 'n' the Mrs. looked around inside for about 30 minutes to get familiar with the rinks & layout. Legacy Ice made sure they had some of the concession stands stocked & staffed for this grand opening (as well as a collection of vendors outside). The Stanley Cup was on display at center ice of the "NHL Rink" (Blues practice ice - looks to be ready for use), but direct access to the trophy was limited to dignitaries & paid donors. Seating installation in the "USA Arena" (new home ice for the Lindenwood University Lions ladies & men) isn't quite complete, but the rink is looking very accommodating for players & fans alike with the first games slated for the last weekend in September. The initial batch of pre-registered public skaters were prepping to hit "Plager Rink" (the third indoor ice sheet) when we left.

I plan to return later today to catch a couple of the exhibition games in late afternoon & evening, including the Lindenwood mixed men's & women's match @ 8:45 p.m.. I'll have some photos to post in this thread later today or sometime tomorrow. CCIC is still a work in progress, but it's looking very good so far. :dancingbanana:
Last edited by JMC-STL on Sat Sep 07, 2019 4:26 pm, edited 1 time in total.

Re: Centene Community Ice Center Grand Opening TODAY (Sat. Sep. 7th)

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I attended the final two hockey exhibitions @ USA Arena on Saturday night: Police (7) vs. Fire (2), and Lindenwood University women's & men's teams mixed squads (a 7-4 final in regular play, with a bonus shootout exhibition involving all players). My initial impressions of the USA Arena space follow.
  • The ice seemed to be in very good shape; hopefully that will last.
  • The boards weren't overly lively.
  • Ice surface & seating area lighting were both sufficient, with no noticeable dark spots.
  • Like at every hockey arena in North America (and probably the rest of the world - I haven't gotten there yet), the music volume is too loud. The Arena acoustics are not very good, so announcements & scoring calls weren't easy to understand. Maybe once they get some sponsorship decals added around the boards & walls, the sound reflections will soften & the volume will be attenuated (slightly).
  • Arena air temperature was chilly (usually a good thing for ice conditions), but a marked improvement over the frigid temps out at the former Lindenwood Ice in Wentzville. Mrs. JMC will still have to bring a blanket & gloves to make it thru each of the Lady Lions games we'll be attending.
  • Sightlines from the seating areas aren't too bad; though the seating bowl is a bit shallow, so tall people immediately in front of you could restrict your views.
  • The stairs in/out of the seating bowl have an odd geometry, resulting in more than one person loosing their footing on the way down & up. I'm guessing the risers are slightly shorter than typical arena construction, which would also explain my sightlines observation above.
  • There are folding stadium seats all around the rink, with the end zone seats still being installed. The seats throughout are hard molded plastic & cold to sit on; regular visitors might wanna bring along a seat pad or small blanket to sit on.
  • There remain "finishing touches" and general construction dust cleanup duties to complete around the space, as is true for the rest of the CCIC facilities (inside & outside). I guess the sponsoring parties wanted to stick to their early September grand opening plans despite there being at least a couple of months' work left to do. So Centene Ice remains a work-in-progress, but it will remain open & available for public use as construction and finishing work wrap up. This access will include Blues training camp sessions next Saturday & Sunday, Sept. 14th & 15th.

    • P.S. - If you're a Maryland Heights resident, be sure to visit the MH Community Center to get your CCIC discount card so you can save money on public skating sessions. The JMCs picked up our cards this morning.

Re: Centene Community Ice Center Grand Opening TODAY (Sat. Sep. 7th)

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JMC-STL wrote: Sun Sep 08, 2019 2:40 pm
  • Like at every hockey arena in North America (and probably the rest of the world - I haven't gotten there yet), the music volume is too loud. The Arena acoustics are not very good, so announcements & scoring calls weren't easy to understand. Maybe once they get some sponsorship decals added around the boards & walls, the sound reflections will soften & the volume will be attenuated (slightly).
Thanks for the info! This item was my concern from looking at the photos, because I'm always looking for that since it's what I do for a living. I got to work on the Blackhawks practice facility a few years ago, and it's obvious from the pictures that Chicago had a much bigger budget, but the CCIC looks like they did a nice job with what they had to work with. The first firm I worked at does mostly sports facilities, and I asked my friend back there (also from StL) if he got to work on the Blues facility, and he did not either. From the looks of the photos, no one looked at the acoustics. File a lot of complaints about it and maybe one of us will get hired to fix it!

(On the Blackhawks project we had one site visit planned during construction, and I had hoped to climb above the ceiling of Coach Q's office there and slap a Blues sticker on a beam. But we ended up not making the trip and he's no longer there, so oh well.)

Re: Centene Community Ice Center Grand Opening TODAY (Sat. Sep. 7th)

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big d note wrote: Mon Sep 09, 2019 9:47 amThanks for the info! This item was my concern from looking at the photos, because I'm always looking for that since it's what I do for a living. I got to work on the Blackhawks practice facility a few years ago, and it's obvious from the pictures that Chicago had a much bigger budget, but the CCIC looks like they did a nice job with what they had to work with. The first firm I worked at does mostly sports facilities, and I asked my friend back there (also from StL) if he got to work on the Blues facility, and he did not either. From the looks of the photos, no one looked at the acoustics. File a lot of complaints about it and maybe one of us will get hired to fix it! ...
Another case of complaints falling on deaf ears (figuratively AND literally). Way too much bare concrete around the upper concourse. The best I can hope for is LOTS of advertising on the walls, mounted on acoustic foam backing.

Re: Centene Community Ice Center Grand Opening TODAY (Sat. Sep. 7th)

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I attended both Lindenwood Lady Lions home opening weekend games vs. #1 ranked Wisconsin @CCIC this past weekend, and took in my second public skate this afternoon. The Centene facility construction/finishing is progressing noticeably every time I visit, though there's still much to do.  Sod & plantings were put in around the main parking area sometime last week (replacing the mud we saw on Grand Opening day & after), and quite a bit of trim work & signage installation was accomplished inside the USA Arena before the first LU women's & men's games. They've replaced the folding tables with an actual check-in/info desk at the main entrance, and new furnishings (some still wrapped in plastic) are filling in the main public areas. The "314 Social" bar & grill area is taking shape back by the NHL Rink.
Mercy was installing the weight training equipment today for their on-site rehab center, and the construction team was rolling in the metal detectors.  [I was hoping fans/visitors wouldn't have to suffer that last detail, but I guess that was an inevitable inconvenience.] There were noticeably more new arena management staff on-site today, and a couple dozen corporate types sitting in the new lobby booths & wandering around inside in small groups while dodging ARCO crews & their stacks of materials. The Bauer pro shop is being stocked & looks like it could open by next weekend. Some progress was made inside the public skate dressing space, but much more to go (including firing up the warming fireplace in the middle of the room).

Really good to see the progress made since the premature opening four weeks ago. I hope they can keep up this pace & take a good broom to the floors throughout very soon.