skip navigation

Improvements at the Coliseum

By Bill Berg Jr, 02/28/12, 12:56PM CST

Share

Last year’s promised improvements have started taking shape.

When the WIAA inked its new deal with the Alliant Energy Center in May, lasting through 2017, it was noted that Coliseum officials were planning more than $1 million in improvements to the building.

Now some of those improvements have started taking shape:

  • 3/4 of the seats have been replaced. The last 1/4 should be replaced before next year’s tournament.
  • The concession stands have been refurbished.
  • New scoreboards on either end of the rink show the time, score, etc.
  • There are LED screens at the ends of the rink.
  • The entire Coliseum has been upgraded with very bright energy-efficient lighting.
  • And more than a few coats of fresh paint have been applied.

Not included in the bullets above, because we felt it deserved a paragraph all-its-own is that the old scoreboard was taken out behind the arena and put out of its misery, Old Yeller style.  A new hanging LED video/score board graces the arena, and is a welcome addition.

One of the changes made for the 2011 tournament was to keep the arena cooler to improve the ice surface. This reporter actually had to warm up for the first time in years while taking in the tournament, a welcome change.



We talked about the ice with Wausau West coach Pete Susens who said of last year that the ice held up better than in previous years and Notre Dame Academy coach Corey McCracken who said that last year's cooler arena yielded a noticable difference in ice quality over previous years.