SPRINGFIELD, Mass. … The American Hockey League and power management company Eaton today announced the 33 skating rinks that have been selected as quarterfinalists in the innovative consumer promotion, “Light Like the Pros,” which will award a free Ephesus LED sports lighting system to one community ice skating rink in an AHL market.
Since the start of the 2017-18 AHL season, ice skating rink owners, coaches, and even hockey moms and dads across North America have nominated their rinks by sharing why their rink is deserving of a state-of-the-art LED lighting retrofit solution and the importance of the rink to their community. A panel of judges from Ephesus and the AHL selected the following rinks as quarterfinalists:
Wellington & District Community Centre, Wellington, ON (Belleville Senators);
Alumni Ice Arena, Cortland, NY (Binghamton Devils);
Skate Safe America, Old Bethpage, NY (Bridgeport Sound Tigers);
Extreme Ice Center, Indian Trail, NC (Charlotte Checkers);
Franklin Park Ice Arena, Franklin Park, IL (Chicago Wolves);
Skatium Ice Arena, Skokie, IL (Chicago Wolves);
Alice Noble Ice Arena, Wooster, OH (Cleveland Monsters);
OBM Arena, Strongsville, OH (Cleveland Monsters);
Mentor Civic Ice Arena, Mentor, OH (Cleveland Monsters);
Griff’s IceHouse at Belknap Park, Grand Rapids, MI (Grand Rapid Griffins);
The Rink, Battle Creek, MI (Grand Rapid Griffins);
Bolton Ice Palace, Bolton, CT (Hartford Wolf Pack);
Lancaster Ice Rink, Lancaster, PA (Hershey Bears);
Cedar Rapids Ice Arena, Cedar Rapids, IA (Iowa Wild);
Metro Ice Sports, Urbandale, IA (Iowa Wild);
Steel Ice Center, Bethlehem, PA (Lehigh Valley Phantoms);
Beaver Dam Family Center Ice Arena, Beaver Dam, WI (Milwaukee Admirals);
Kenosha Ice Arena, Kenosha, WI (Milwaukee Admirals);
Ontario Ice Skating Arena Skating School, Ontario, CA (Ontario Reign);
Raynham IcePlex, Raynham, MA (Providence Bruins);
Greater Canandaigua Civic Center, Canandaigua, NY (Rochester Americans);
Scottsville Ice Arena, Rochester, NY (Rochester Americans);
Riverview Ice House, Rockford, IL (Rockford IceHogs);
Janesville Ice Arena, Janesville, WI (Rockford IceHogs);
Ice & Golf Center at Northwoods, San Antonio, TX (San Antonio Rampage);
The Rinks – Poway Ice, Poway, CA (San Diego Gulls);
Oakland Ice Center, Oakland, CA (San Jose Barracuda);
Olympia Ice Center, West Springfield, MA (Springfield Thunderbirds);
Oak Park Ice Arena, Stockton, CA (Stockton Heat);
Lysander Ice Arena, Baldwinsville, NY (Syracuse Crunch);
Clinton Arena/Edward Stanley Recreation Center, Clinton, NY (Utica Comets);
Sunbury Ice Skating Rink & Community Center, Sunbury, PA (Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins);
Toyota SportsPlex, Wilkes-Barre, PA (Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins)
Beginning on January 9th, the rinks will be encouraged to demonstrate how much their community supports them through an online vote at LightLikeThePros.com. In February, the ten rinks with the most votes will be selected as semi-finalists. The winner will be announced in March after additional online voting.
“Numerous AHL teams have benefitted from Eaton’s Ephesus LED lighting and control systems in their arenas, so it’s fitting that we are able to provide one deserving community skating rink in an AHL market with the same great lighting that our players and fans experience at many AHL arenas,” said Christos Nikolis, executive vice president of marketing and business development for the AHL. “We commend all of the rinks that were nominated. It was not an easy job narrowing the field to these quarterfinalists.”
After the refrigeration system, lighting is typically an ice rink’s largest electricity consumer as a typical ice rink uses its lights for more than 6,500 hours annually. Metal-halide lighting systems, which are currently installed at most skating rinks, generate heat that must then be removed from the building by the ice refrigeration system. In contrast, energy-efficient LED lights use less energy, generate less heat and help reduce the load on the rink’s ice plant refrigeration system. An ice rink that makes the switch to LED can typically expect a 70 percent reduction in energy use, as well as a near-elimination of maintenance costs.
“Our Ephesus LED sports lighting solution is well-known for illuminating some of the most famous sports venues in the world, including more than a dozen AHL and NHL arenas. What many people don’t realize is that LED sports lighting is now a reality for fields, arenas and ice skating rinks of all sizes,” said Mike Lorenz, president, Eaton’s Ephesus Lighting business. “We hope that by rewarding one deserving rink with this fantastic prize, we’ll inform all hockey rinks across North America that LED lighting is within their reach.”
Eaton’s Ephesus light-emitting diode sports lighting product line provides optimal lighting that illuminates more uniformly on the playing surface and offers an improved stage for players and fans. The system is easy to install, requires little to no maintenance for years and offers the lowest total operating costs compared to other traditional sports lighting systems.
Hundreds of sports facilities of all sizes have made the switch to Eaton’s LED sports lighting system. Some of the most prominent include: University of Phoenix Stadium (Arizona Cardinals); Hard Rock Stadium (Miami Dolphins); PNC Park (Pittsburgh Pirates); Bridgestone Arena (Nashville Predators); and the historic Martinsville Speedway in Virginia – the first NASCAR track with LED lighting.
For more information, visit LightLikeThePros.com.
Eaton is a power management company with 2016 sales of $19.7 billion. Eaton provide energy-efficient solutions that help their customers effectively manage electrical, hydraulic and mechanical power more efficiently, safely and sustainably. Eaton is dedicated to improving the quality of life and the environment through the use of power management technologies and services. Eaton has approximately 95,000 employees and sells products to customers in more than 175 countries. For more information, visit Eaton.com.
