SPRINGFIELD, Mass. … The American Hockey League and power management company Eaton today announced the 10 skating rinks that have been selected as semi-finalists 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.
At the start of the 2017-18 AHL season, ice skating rink owners, coaches, and even hockey moms and dads across North America 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 narrowed the field to 33 rinks and then throughout January, more than 40,000 online votes were casts as communities demonstrated how much they love their local skating rink.
The 10 semi-finalists based upon a combination of total votes and judges score of their essay are:
Sunbury Ice Skating Rink & Community Center, Sunbury, PA (Hershey Bears)
Beaver Dam Family Center Ice Arena, Beaver Dam, WI (Milwaukee Admirals)
Oak Park Ice Arena, Stockton, CA (Stockton Heat)
Greater Canandaigua Civic Center, Canandaigua, NY (Rochester Americans)
Oakland Ice Center, Oakland, CA (San Jose Barracuda)
Clinton Arena/Edward Stanley Recreation Center, Clinton, NY (Utica Comets)
Toyota SportsPlex, Wilkes-Barre, PA (Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins)
Griff’s IceHouse at Belknap Park, Grand Rapids, MI (Grand Rapids Griffins)
Riverview Ice House, Rockford, IL (Rockford IceHogs)
Steel Ice Center, Bethlehem, PA (Lehigh Valley Phantoms)
From February 6 through March 2, voting begins again at LightLikeThePros.com. On March 5, four rinks will advance to the finals for two additional weeks of voting. Although vote totals are being reset at the onset of the semi-finals, all votes recorded from February 6 through March 18 will be counted. The winning rink will be selected based upon a 75%/25% combination of their vote totals and essay score.
“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, Marketing and Business Development for the AHL. “It’s obvious from the strong support that these 10 rinks got during the initial voting stage that they are all valued members of their communities.”
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.
