Mother Nature recently shared her

wintry mix with the Tri-Cities, but the Three Rivers campus wants to be able to

create its own ice year-round.

Construction of a new $3.4 million ice

plant is underway at the Kennewick campus, which is home to the Toyota Center,

Toyota Arena and Three Rivers Convention Center.

The Toyota Center is home to the

Tri-City Americans hockey team, while the arena is used by amateur hockey

teams, public skating, Zamboni school and a figure skating club. The center and

arena have ice-making equipment, but Corey Pearson, executive director of

VenuWorks, said business is being held hostage by the 30-year-old ice system.

“There was a new chiller put in about

20 years ago, but the system is outdated, so we’re replacing all that

equipment,” Pearson said. “During a (Tri-City Americans) game last year, a

couple of shiny lines showed up on the ice. You lose a hockey game or two

(because equipment is down), and it hurts. With new equipment, we’ll be able to

save that sheet of ice and operate no matter what happens.”

VenuWorks is contracted by the city of

Kennewick and the Kennewick Public Facilities District to manage the facilities

on the Three Rivers campus.

VenuWorks hired KDA of Yakima to

design the 30-by-70-foot building. Kennewick-based O’Brien Construction Co. is

the general contractor. Pearson is the project lead.

Oregon-based Apcco will provide and

install refrigeration equipment.

Construction began in December and was

ahead of schedule until the cold snap at the beginning of February slowed down

work.

“The masonry walls were three quarters

up but they had to stop when it got cold,” Pearson said. “It’s scheduled to be

done in June.”

Once completed, the building will

house a system that will create and maintain ice in the arena and center. There

also will be room to add a compressor, which would cost an additional $100,000

but would allow for operation of a third rink.

“So if we ever need to expand, we can

take care of it right there,” Pearson said.

The cost to operate the current system

runs about $14,000 a month. By upgrading to more efficient equipment, he

expected the bill to be significantly reduced.

“We’re still waiting on the numbers to

come in, but it looks like it will cut the bill in half,” he said.

The project, which includes design and

construction, is funded by the city of Kennewick’s capital budget. 

Along with lower maintenance costs, the

quality of the ice will improve. Poor equipment leads to warm spots on the

surface of the ice, and Pearson said those spots can be harder to scrape and

smooth down. Pockets in the ice can cause safety issues for skaters.

Amateur hockey player Brian Mashburn

said it also can affect the way the puck moves in a game.

“During games, there can be puddles in

the ice that aren’t freezing. Just like in soccer, water can cause the puck to

stop or slow down. It makes for bad game play,” said Mashburn, who’s said he’s

excited about the improvements. “The staff works hard to make it the best they can,

and we’re thankful for them.”

Before the new ice plant project,

Pearson said workers replaced all of the old lighting, upgrading to a fully

programmable LED light system in 2018 at a cost of about $400,000.

“We can change colors and lights

instantly, and dim them from zero to 100. It’s changed the atmosphere,” said

Pearson, who believes these types of improvements can make a big difference in

attendance. “We feel like attendance has gone up. It’s hard to tell with games,

but we’ve had more games sell out or come close than we have in quite a few

years,” he said.

The next project on the horizon is to

replace the video board at the Toyota Center. Right now, the board being used

is not for video but for text, and if parts fail or break, they have to send it

out to be refurbished.

“That’s because they’re not making

parts anymore. It’s antiquated,” he said.

New video boards have better pixel

pitch, which is the density of LED clusters on a display and correlates with

resolution.

VenuWorks has yet to ask for bids for

the new video board. He expects it to cost about $750,000 to $900,000.

The Kennewick City Council still will

need to approve the expenditure, but Pearson hopes to have it installed this

summer after the new ice plant is up and running.