How Arenas Transform Overnight

[@ross7406]

I’m an arena manager and I guess could be considered an expert in this topic. This video is the best depiction of how arena conversions work that I’ve ever seen. Some of the details and nuance that are mentioned really surprised me as they’re often overlooked by people that don’t do this work every day. Incredible job. If Wendover ever wants to cover any other topics in the live entertainment / sports / venue world, hit me up! Id be happy to assist or point you in the right direction.

[@awibs57]

I have mad respect for your job. I've had stints in event planning and stage management and the scope of arena management is mind boggling to me.

[@Homer-OJ-Simpson]

Not sure if I’m confusing Wendover (Sam) for someone else but I think he did an episode on the logistics of tours including the arena. If he didn’t, it would be great if he did and your input would be appreciated! Sam and his team have to start somewhere on the research so getting in contact with someone in that business is a great start!

[@apcolleen]

What is some of the nuance in edge cases that you think could be included in a video?

[@keegandecker4080]

It’s…beautiful. It’s like a ballet

[@ThatsPety]

Oh perfect, i have a question about this and maybe you know. I dont fully understand 8:03. I dont understand them marking the location of the court on the plywood with chalk. Arent those squares refused for future games? And arent they placed somewhat randomly (besides the edge peices)? If both of these things are true, i would think there would be a bunch of now-incorrect chalk lines on the plywood squares, making it confusing. How do they prevent this?

[@tommyVCE]

I used to work for the Sacramento Kings, and I was always blown away by how quickly they could bring in tons of dirt, to completely transform the arena for monster jam shows and bull riding tournaments! And then a couple days later you would have no idea the entire arena floor was completely covered in dirt. At one point some production companies would also rent out our arena, not to play a show, but to practice setting up a specific artist's very bespoke stage/lights/props and so on, and they would keep practicing transforming the arena over and over again until they could do it in just a few hours. And that was always impressive as well

[@jonathanbott87]

Congrats on a fact I didn't know! I never thought about practicing a setup (I mean HAI never covered it in their tour logistics vid) but it totally makes sense, when there's so much pressure to do these conversions.

[@AddaeAkono]

I work for the Atlanta Hawks and we have a Monster Truck event and Ringling Bros. coming in February 2025. It's amazing seeing how the conversion crew setup for various events, but those guys come in when my shift is over.

[@washyourhands]

The Peoria Civic Center gets rented out for set up/ tear down/ dry run practices all the time. Charlie XCX had the place for the better part of a week this earlier this fall

[@raygunsforronnie847]

My "home" arena also hosts 'production tech' weeks for tours. The Local Crew are building the lights, sound, and video infrastructure (cabling, rigging, power) as the rental companies drop off the gear and the tour designers consult their drawings. Lots of labeling, compensating for undocumented changes (those what the hell? moments), then putting it all in the air, the LX and VDO folks do their programming, Audio does "virtual" sound checks. The artists show up the last 2 days and do full show dress rehearsals and then it's taken down, and we see if it fits in the trucks as planned. Sometimes, it does!

[@Dickinabox]

My shoes are still dirty from a rodeo shift in February lol

[@danirey425]

As tedious as this may seem it's probably better than building and operating a whole new stadium from scratch, a hockey and basketball ground under one roof

[@TheLiamster]

True but teams generally prefer to have purpose built stadiums for their sports. Multi use stadiums and arenas are hardly being built in North America anymore

[@enotdetcelfer]

I mean, is it that tedious if there's a set order to everything and it only takes two-three hours? Hope the pay is good, a heavy month being 20 work days means barely part time hours...

[@theliamcooke]

In London we have a stadium that has a football pitch & an American football pitch and they move the entire pitch with some crazy cool mechanical system!

[@Walterw21]

@@TheLiamsterthey are still being built lmao, every major city that has a basketball and hockey team uses the same stadium for both, and for large concerts

[@JamieElli]

The movable basketball floors are not as good as a permanent one.

[@MysteryMii]

2:07 In case anyone is wondering, yes, they do remove the ice during the summer months as soon as the NHL season is over for the team (wether it be at the end of the regular season or after being eliminated during the playoffs). During that time, they use the bare concrete floor for concert/comedy setups, but they do lay down the ice again prior to the first preseason games.

[@berttorpson2592]

This was the most shocking part of this video and I haven’t even finished the video. How doesn’t it melt? Is the ice refrigerated from below? I played hockey when I was younger and the rink was essentially a huge refrigerated room.

[@MentalEdge]

@@berttorpson2592 Yes. Most permanent rinks have heat exchange circuits laid into or below the ice. This works even more efficiently as the ice gets covered in the insulated cover. The ice can stay quite cold with only a bit of refrigeration when almost no heat bleeds into it through the cover.

[@joshbbglover]

​@berttorpson2592 Most, if not all, rinks will have refrigerant lines running beneath the ice

[@erikutter9464]

​@berttorpson2592 well most rinks are cold they still rely on cooling under the ice

[@Lumbergo]

I wonder if this is true for all hockey arenas? I remember going to some concerts in Tampa (Lightning) and Sunrise (FL Panthers) and the floor was always bare concrete. It's possible it may have been the off season but not 100% sure on that as that was many years ago.

[@jasonwerth1751]

I have been searching my whole adult life for this in-depth of a video about arena conversions. Up until today, I had to settle for three minute time lapses, with no narration. Thank you, thank you, thank you!

[@AZaqZaqProduction]

That's an oddly specific thing to have as your metaphorical white whale. How did that come about?

[@jasonwerth1751]

@AZaqZaqProduction I suppose it is! Lifelong sports fan, studied architecture in college, so I suppose it is the overlap in the Venn Diagram of two of my biggest interests!

[@ShaneGrogan724]

The LA Kings uploaded a real time (non-timelapse) version of their arena conversion recently! Check it out!

[@jasonwerth1751]

@@ShaneGrogan724 I found it! Thanks. I will check it out later...

[@elixier33]

If you wanted to know that badly why not just write to the stadium and ask?

[@matthewsung3014]

Damn, respect for Wendover to head down to get footage first-hand. You'd think this channel would stay with stock footage, but the quality has been improving, and so has the access!

[@LeafBoye]

We all knew he had it in him gotta master the voiceover before you can really expand I think this channel is gonna keep cooking

[@gamingtime9716]

I was thinking it was odd how much information he had regarding the specific conversion that was filmed, and usually you don't get that kinda info with stock footage.

[@Kanbei11]

I wonder if Amy from HaI got to go

[@mio1260]

as far as we know sam, christine (writes on some wendover projects + production manager) and alex (editor and camera man) were involved - if corinne (non-fiction writer who sometimes assists on wendover projects, but has written i.e logistics of X) and tristan (main wendover writer besides sam) were in chicago, we don’t know. sam posted a story of them filming a while back w/ christine and alex in it. amy would likely not have been involved as she’s pretty exclusively comedy (so HAI, Jet Lag, Getaway + Abolish Everything). non-fiction crew is basically the colorado office.

[@Kanbei11]

@@mio1260 thank you for the answer. I was trying to be funny but learned something 🙂

[@carl6589]

I was once part of a Arena conversion crew as a forklift driver, it was really fun.

[@chrimony]

I love that the comment before you is about it being backbreaking working, while you were having fun tooling around in a forklift.

[@QemeH]

@@chrimony Choose your career carefully, I guess ;)

[@dannydaw59]

Can you make enough money to live a middle class life with that one job?

[@lilgobllinn6127]

But it looks hard

[@IceTTom]

Fun?? 😏

[@wilmer007]

2 hrs for an arena conversion is very impressive. I was expecting an 8 hr shift.

[@matthewboudreau158]

Not mentioned in the video, but sometimes these venues do same-day events. So 1pm hockey, 7:30 pm basketball for example. That's what drives the need for fast conversion

[@wilmer007]

@matthewboudreau158 good to know I always thought one event would rent the arena for the day, would have never thought the arena rent was split into 2+ events.

[@KingdaToro]

@@wilmer007 And then there's Trans-Siberian Orchestra, who rents it for the day and does two concerts in that one day!

[@nemisis1877]

Definitely surprised me. I work in a different NHL arena, that's not as busy as other arenas, and doesn't have an NBA team. From what I've seen, conversions is usually up to 8 hour a night, with about 20 guys, and a couple ladies.

[@Dickinabox]

It’s more like 4-6 hours. I work for the hurricanes and my last two shifts were from 8:30pm-2:00am. Those 2hr conversions are “double days” a basketball game mid day with a hockey game at night. That’s an all hands on deck thing and it’s even worse when there’s a shift that night because of a concert the next day.

[@mikeyblaze]

The ice always being underneath blew my mind

[@adamleblanc5294]

That's awesome! I feel like that's something every Canadian from a small town just grows up knowing, since so many of our venues are primarily hockey rinks and we all have an uncle or family friend that works on these conversions for things like converting a rink for a concert or graduation. Cool to see other people learning about this.

[@Laurabeck329]

Although if the cooling system fails and the ice melts it's going to be a disaster

[@lukaszwodzynskiHNB]

I always thought that it wasn't possible to do this

[@RustedCroaker]

There are whole cities build on ice (permafrost) on this planet

[@izanefe4231]

@@Laurabeck329 it would take many hours for the ice to melt after a refrigeration system failure, and most likely they have early warning systems and probably a whole backup cooling system just in case that happens

[@BurritoKingdom]

Craziest was Staples Center when they had the Clippers, Lakers, Kings and Sparks. It was also the main arena for large concerts that wouldn't pack a stadium. There was one weekend where they had a Lakers game Friday night, a clipper game Saturday afternoon, a Kings game Saturday night, then another Lakers game Sunday afternoon then a concert Sunday night. Hats off to that arena crew

[@counterfit5]

There's a time-lapse video around here of a smaller arena doing two concerts, hockey, and arena football in 4 days. It's seriously impressive

[@ThirdEyeFish]

Thanks. Last season we had two weekends with back to back doubles. It was rough. I think there was even a film shoot after one so it looked like we got a day off after that. Nope.

[@brucehartnell1475]

@@ThirdEyeFishI hope you guys are IATSE

[@ThirdEyeFish]

@brucehartnell1475 The conversion crew isn't, but the entertainment operation are.

[@brucehartnell1475]

@ in my town, the union does both. But they are separate crews. It’s Oregon so we can get away with it because if the lack of qualified workers. /LA native

[@madhavyu]

For those wondering how this relates to airlines.......it is the UNITED CENTER so that is the obvious connection. Well played Wendover, well played.

[@rogink]

It's a logistics channel.

[@madhavyu]

@@rogink It´s a channel about how the world works - with a facination of the airline industry.

[@santumi2298]

@rogink With a debilitating airline fetish.

[@Homer-OJ-Simpson]

@@madhavyu even bigger fascination on BRICKS

[@madhavyu]

@@Homer-OJ-Simpson Just because I don't care doesn't mean I don't understand.

[@georgechlada4868]

My brother is a part of the conversion team! He’s in the blue at 2:53

[@wesleykirkland7150]

That's pretty cool that he accidently ended up in the video!

[@jamril1936]

Your brother is now a member of the Wendover cinematic universe.

[@manitoba-op4jx]

show him the video!1!!😎

[@yourgooglemeister6745]

What is the pay?

[@georgechlada4868]

@@yourgooglemeister6745 I think around 200-300 dollars per conversion

[@colehanna4040]

There's something so satisfying about seeing a large group of people worked as a well-oiled machine. Every cog knows their single purpose, and it allows for something much bigger.

[@BadWebDiver]

So true!

[@discflame]

I'm IATSE union working a lot in my local arena like this (before and after concerts) and the conversion crews are always incredible. When I had a spare moment (rarely) I would watch them move into a part of the floor we'd just finished loading out of and they could put up hockey glass in like five or ten minutes and then they'd go back to the seats and wait for us to finish again.Most consistent workers I've ever seen

[@spyder027]

I’ve been thinking about joining IASTE. Do you think it’s worth it and would it help to move up to working in production for shows?

[@discflame]

@spyder027 Use it to gain experience in the industry but it'll be years until you land a production role. Definitely a grind but I've had fun so far. There are people that are totally happy just being a stagehand for 40+ years and those that do one shift and realize live music production isn't for them. I'd say go for it because usually the benefits alone are worth it (depending on your local of course) and the experience is transferable everywhere

[@spyder027]

@ I’ve heard good and bad things about it. I’m trying to get into lighting. I’m doing small lighting gigs and I’ve been the head LD at my church for a few years. I have connections at local theaters that might work better than the union but I think any experience would be good and I need a new job. Thanks for the advice

[@PrinceAnt722]

Gotta give the men and women of these crews credit for the work they put in to change these arenas from basketball to hockey, as well as arena football, box lacrosse, UFC, WWE, ice shows, and concerts. It's already a challenge to make the switch during the NBA & NHL regular seasons, but during the postseason, it takes total precision to compete the tasks with a smaller window of time. Bravo. 👏🏿

[@beaniemac]

I live in Chicago and have been to the united center countless times for all types of events. This was fascinating.

[@andyjay729]

Non-Chicagoan here: Do you call it "THE United Center" or just "United Center" like Sam does here? I thought most of the time non-baseball stadiums and arenas always got a "the". Then again, with baseball and football stadiums media usually seem to omit the definite article. TLDR, it seems you mostly hear media refer to "the United Center" but never "the Wrigley Field" or "the Soldier Field".

[@mickayy1]

@@andyjay729On the news you’ll hear “The Bulls took on the Bucks tonight at the United Center”

[@ahadumer418]

@@andyjay729yeah I always say the the United center

[@Ozzie2191]

The United Center themselves had a sped up video showing the conversion they put out years ago, but it was nice to see the detail on all of that.

[@beaniemac]

@ I say either "the united center" or "the UC"

[@Dodger24]

This is the best video I've ever seen on arena conversions. I'm only a Zamboni driver for a community rink, but have aspirations to one day work at an NHL facility and eventually get to work with these types of conversions. I absolutely loved seeing all the small details like where all the equipment was stored, I figured it'd be stored somewhere near the Zamboni room, not on the long side of the building. Thank you so much for this video

[@kirkkerman]

Honestly never thought about it before but I love that even zamboni drivers are hoping to make it to the big leagues. Best of luck!

[@bayareasportsfan04]

You'll make it bro. Just keep grinding away 💪

[@connoromelia4176]

As a fellow Zam driver enjoy your time at a community rink. You get a lot more practice and knowledge of maintaining the ice at a community rink. When you get up to this level there’s a lot less time on the Zam and more time doing these conversions. Maybe that’s what you want but personally I love driving the Zam and doing ice maintenance. When I moved on to a bigger arena I never realized how much ice takes a backseat.

[@jaxonhenrichs]

You forgot the Food & Bev staff member who provides constant fresh coffee and pizza throughout the night!

[@JamesSmith-u3x]

7:30 don't worry, Chicago has nothing to worry about

[@vickaps]

Pain

[@MatthiaGryffine]

Props to you for getting to film this yourself.

[@ratguvnah]

I work at the United Center and it was so cool to see a breakdown of a major aspect of our operations that I didn't know much about! It really does take so many interwoven parts to make an arena like this work. Great video.

[@alectaylor291]

I work there too and actually met him randomly the night they were there filming! Crazy experience and a great video!

[@Ianbassfox]

One additional point-a dirt event was not mentioned. Rodeo, arena cross, PBR, Monster Jam-that adds another layer of complexity and dump trucks.

[@sreside94]

Our AHL team’s arena is also the hall for the agricultural fair. It’s a wild transformation. The arena always has a faint manure smell

[@FuelBoundDaydreams]

Glad to see someone mention Dirt events! I've worked with Monster Jam on a handful of events, so I'd like to call myself a bit of an expert on load in and load out on a MJ event; the amount of logistics that go into one show is incredible- from the plastic and safety holds to the partially burried pod supplies, from painting and lining the track to staging trucks and setting up for pit party... it's absolutely incredible to get a chance to see all that up close and personal, even if I often want nothing more than to not move for a few days when I get home (although, as one of the college kids that occasionally get thrown at Monster Jam and told to work, I still have to get up the next morning and go to class).

[@WritesWithCare]

I came here to say the same thing. The video answers questions we've been asking for years. But I'd still love to learn how they remove a dirt floor dirt or install swimming pools.

[@mikeo5657]

I know you guys did a great video a few years ago about touring logistics. How about a video (or series even) covering the in house process of a concert tour? From load in to load out, there is a repeated sequence that happens every day for these shows. Rigging, staging, power, sound, lighting, backline, catering, wardrobe, pyro, video, projection, effects, trucking, crews, stage hands, and more. Each is it's own world, and they need to work around each other on a daily basis. I've lived in that world, I could see you guys doing it justice!

[@jonathanbott87]

I'd love to see the level of detail in this vid, on building/demo'ing the concert set.

[@johnchedsey1306]

I worked for a Canadian punk band for a few years. We prided ourselves in being able to load out in less than 20 minutes when motivated to get to a very fancy Motel 6 for the night! Totally different worlds, obviously.

[@koenven7012]

I think there was something about the set-up of the Rolling Stones concert years ago (where they played in Rio) on National Geographic or Discovery. I remember because they had two full stage sets and they leapfrogged over each other as the set-up and breakdown took too long, especially if including transport to the next city.

[@cvbattum]

@@johnchedsey1306 While a small, even mid size band is interesting, it's also nothing compared to some acts. I'd be really interested how a huge band like Rammstein, also with their insane stage setups and pyrotechnics and costumes do it. Like, they load and unload a few full size trucks worth of setup halfway across countries, often within a single 24 hrs. That is truly mindblowing.

[@mikeo5657]

@@koenven7012 Not uncommon. I remember when Floyd toured in the 90s, or the massive U2 Stadium tour with the claw stage, they had 3 sets at any given time. One being built for the next shows, one being used, and one being struck from the last show. They would leap frog around the planet in that way, always moving. Crazy logistics.

[@kitti-kat]

i worked conversions at "climate pledge" arena (lol) and our procedure was a bit different. we didn't resurface before covering, just yeeted a bunch of MDF boards on top of the ice, and then once the ice was covered we'd come through to remove the glass (those suction cups are fun to play with). also the lower deck seating for the stage was on a mechanical system so nobody needed to physically move any of the seats. we were always min. 4hrs on union contract, but would often get an ice-to-stage setup done in under 2 hours. stage-to-ice was always way worse tho, we had cirque du soleil come thru and it took like 3 hours for loadout before we could even start pulling boards. we also had union stagehands to help with in-house stage setups and they were always chill af loved those guys. anyway idk how accurate this is still its been a bit since i worked there but it was fun and absolutely draining

[@HexagonalMan6]

I wouldn't be surprised if the resurfacing starts happening once Seattle gets an NBA team again, since I imagine the basketball teams are pretty persnickety about their floors.

[@hermosillaignacio]

what other differences where there vs the arena in the video? I got to climate pledge often for concerts and games and I'm really curious.

[@WackoMcGoose]

...Huh. I didn't realize until now that _most_ stadiums probably have to go through this... and yeah, that seems on brand for Key Arena.

[@corduptime]

American Airlines Center in Dallas doesn't resurface either. It's all based on preference.

[@jakeasmith]

Using quotes on "climate pledge" is so accurate it hurts.

[@matthewlewis5631]

8:09 sound to me like they need some laser cross hairs installed into the roof. Set it up once, then flick a switch and there’s your markers.

[@Blackbirdone11]

Or mark the floor tiles in advamce

[@solis1211]

I love this type of content. A detailed behind the scenes look how spaces are transformed to accomodate different entertainment. I would love a detailed look at how city streets are transformed into formula 1 tracks. The paddock, track markings, curbs, grandstands, barriers, signage, media telecoms, lighting for night races, road closures...theres so much work to put those weekends together.

[@YoungZackary96]

I used to work at Allegiant Stadium as a Conversion Technician. Our conversions took over 16-18 hours, and only 4 to 6 to get rid of the UNLV turf. We didn't even get overtime until we unionized with the Teamsters a few months before the Super Bowl. I have mad respect for people who do this job (unless you're lazy or a manager/full-time employee who bullies people), especially the people in this video, because I grew up in Chicago and was inspired by these guys.

[@chrisnolan7657]

I used to do this for the college in my town. And I'm glad you went so detailed cause whenever I explain the process to friends, they get so confused so now I can just send them this.

[@mike51r]

Just went to a noon Hockey game in Cleveland, and by 7pm there was a basketball game. It was crazy. Thats less than 4 hours!

[@jamesknapp64]

And they open doors in under 3 I would guess, amazing

[@metroidnerd9001]

I love how you showed every detail during the conversion. I saw a video a couple weeks back about converting Acrisure Stadium from the University of Pittsburgh Panthers to the Pittsburgh Steelers, but it only talked about the switch without actually showing it, since it was released before the Pitt game. Thank you for going the extra mile!

[@lostinrabbithole12]

That one would have had to be much easier, I assume

[@AzuriteKnight]

Absolutely loved this episode, the on-site footage really made a huge difference in understanding the details.

[@Scottagram]

I saw the length and thought this would be a short topic but it seems you've covered it as efficiently as the stadium staff did

[@RockwellLifeStyle]

One of my cousins is part of the conversion crew for the Delta Center in Utah. With Utah now having an NBA team and an NHL team in the Delta Center, the job keeps him busy.

[@kylepederson9420]

This is a great video! I would love to see one on the logistics how pro sports leagues schedule all the games for a season when dealing with dozens of multipurpose areas like this

[@bordmf12]

im apart of a conversion crew and we do things a little different. We'll usually have a zamboni do a pass through, scrape the ice to get rid of excess snow, then throw the black top down first before removing glass. This way prevents any chance of injury from slipping on the ice and makes it easier to move the glass carts. (EDIT: we properly flood our ice after we pull everything back up for hockey. We'll do it this way for the simple fact that people will spill drinks and other liquids through the cracks in the flooring. that way we arent flooding the ice twice.) Now their crew is twice as large as ours so that may change some things about the order of operations. The other main difference is with the black flooring itself. We'll place the outside ring around the edges of the rink first then follow up by filling in the middle parts. Usually takes us about 3 hours just because of our crew size but all in all its fairly simple work and a lot easier than most would originally think.

[@ChicagoLikeALocal]

Brilliant video, love to see my city get featured! Along the lines of this video, the crowd control one, and the concert tour one, I'd be very interested to learn more about the logistics of music festivals, like Lollapalooza held in Grant Park. The sheer magnitude of those events has always blown me away.

[@CarbonSickle]

As an important point, once hockey season is over, they do melt the ice exposing the concrete underneath, however the boards will remain in place as they are permanently affixed to the concrete floor

[@ericlotze7724]

They can also do this for OLYMPIC SWIMMING POOLS! Myrtha has a thing they use like this in event centers for things like Olympic Trials. (Typing this pre-watching the video so sorry in advance if it WAS mentioned)

[@0fficialdregs]

as someone who work in an event center, i enjoy seeing the transformation process. my employer recently had wrestling, hockey, then volleyball, and hockey again within 5 days and i love the crew who help with the setup and everything

[@JonH611]

7:05 Hell yeah, Muse!!

[@Arcanis_07]

As someone who works as a stagehand and does this kind of work, I’ve seen arenas go from hockey rinks, to basketball courts, to concert venues, and back to hockey rinks in the time span of a single weekend. No matter how many times I see it. It’s always impressive and happy to a part of it.

[@menacingcar0449]

8:56 I did changeover at the PNC, now Lenovo Center with the Carolina Hurricanes/NCSU Basketball. One time I remember we screwed up where the first couple of pieces were supposed to be and didn’t notice until we were over half way done. It was a pain, we had to take it all apart, then put it all back. Ended up being there for like 6 hours. We got time and a half past 4 hours, but it was absolutely exhausting. We were lucky the game was the next day and not 2 or 3 hours later.

[@EliteSnake]

This is why I love Wendover productions, a video I’ve always wanted to see and we finally got one with details. It’s really crazy the magic arenas are setup for for various events

[@justineightyone]

It's crazy that they do this all quickly multiple nights a year. I remember one time a NBA game got cancelled due to condensation on the court. I guess they didn't put in the rubber mats in correctly.

[@Dodger24]

The condensation would be due to a failure in the dehumidification system more than the rubber mats being installed incorrectly

[@cvbattum]

The way a process like this comes into being is so fascinating to me. The amount of experience, coordination, design and standardization that goes into setting up a process like this is insane. I work in a smaller store and every morning and every night we have to run through our own process of cleanup and making ready for the closing and opening and just in that small process, carried out by three or four people, so many things go wrong all the time. If any one person is not fully aware of every step that needs doing, it throws a wrench in the machine. Sometimes it's small and quickly resolved but other times the consequences keep carrying over. If one person earlier in the day isn't aware of one small detail that would cost them only seconds to correct, it can mean someone else has to do half an hour of extra work during closeup at night. To scale this up to a process like arena conversion, it's both terrifying and incredible to think about. These crews can work independently, without constant supervision, they know what they have to do and as long as they can trust that everyone else also does their job exactly as they should, preferably in the exact same way every time, even if the crews differ each night, the process can go this smooth and take only 2hrs.

[@mio1260]

i’ve been waiting two whole years for a wendover hockey video. few would get it.

[@GDLenny]

Read the comment before the name but still knew it was you!

[@mio1260]

@ man people are aware of my insanity. good to know.

[@EricMBlog]

I was actually wondering “I wonder if they shot this video, or if it was file footage”. Cool to hear your team recorded it.

[@Mowntandewey]

I was on a changeover crew in Raleigh. It's backbreaking work.

[@dæmnKris]

Just do it while walking backwards, you'll get abs in no time then.

[@Augustso_Spoons]

Me too. Works at the PNC arena

[@andyjay729]

6:11 Maybe Sam should make a t-shirt saying something like "Loading a cargo ship and setting up an NBA court: Just like Tetris!"

[@jamesrbrindle]

I work for various concert/comedy/exhibition events and some TV work. I’m used to an empty arena to build in. The conversion is a side I never get to see as i’m in part way into the build usually around 7/8am till end of show. Fascinating video.

[@HippoOnABicycle]

I remember watching an early episode of The Simpsons when I was a kid, where a rock band was playing an arena show and there were puddles of water all over the stage. The joke was that the venue doubled as a hockey rink, and the staff had done a poor job mopping up the melted ice. Ever since then I assumed the joke was based in fact and that that's how they actually do it. Just learned today that I was wrong lol

[@raygunsforronnie847]

Usually the ice is covered only when there is another sport or event in the arena, so between hockey games the ice is exposed and the air temp is kept low (65°F or so) and the chillers are running. When it's clear the arena and home team won't be in the playoffs, the arena melts the ice. If a concert is the next day after the last game, it's conceivable that there would be some water needing mopped up. Where The Simpsons took liberty is implying the stage is in place with the ice on top.

[@FactsProductions2311]

I'm a professional in the event management industry and could be considered an expert in this topic. This video is one of the best representations of how event transitions work that I've ever seen. Some of the details and nuances mentioned here really surprised me because they are often overlooked by people who don't deal with this on a daily basis. Outstanding work.

[@ryangurnick]

I have worked these types of conversions in Oregon and basketball floors are REALLY HEAVY, and finicky to pin together. Each of those basketball floor panels gets pinned together and slid together which is intensely tiring. It is still incredible that a group of people can convert a stadium in a matter of hours.

[@NovelNovelist]

Incredible video! So interesting. The in-person footage was great. TBH I'm really glad you didn't opt to include interviews with the team/people involved. I always hate when channels do that when they go onsite for something. Most regular people just don't do very good extemporaneous speaking/interviews -- for good reason since it's a completely different skillset from their day-to-day jobs. I much prefer when the host synthesizes the info instead like here. Excellent!

[@alliejr]

At Madison Square Garden (and likely other hockey arenas), there are 2 or 3 times a year where they have to do this conversation IN THE SAME DAY so there are both basketball and hockey games within a few hours of one another.

[@MysteryMii]

Yeah. If you search “arena conversion” on KZbin, one of the top results is a timelaspe from one of these times where MSG held both basketball and hockey games in the same day.

[@stephenj4937]

They also do this at Lenovo Center (formerly PNC Arena)

[@alexsabs6431]

They did this at TD garden in Boston a few weeks ago

[@MRCOUGAR1218]

They do this same conversion in the same day, a few times a year as well here in Philly at the Wells Fargo Center. Most times the hockey game will begin at 1:00pm, with the basketball game at 7:00pm, but have seen a few times where, the basketball game was in the afternoon, and hockey game at night

[@SRQmoviemaker]

As a huge NHL fan and also an NBA fan (go Bolts and Magic) this is a really neat video. Great work Sam!

[@dbishop4542]

Great video! I work in the Less Than Truckload industry & I honestly think it would be right up your wheelhouse for a video. I’m sure that you’re aware, but basically attach the logistics of package delivery with the addition of thousands of pounds of freight!

[@fastfiddler1625]

My god, Wendover has come so far. I started off because of your aviation videos. But I love these logistics of entertainment videos. It's amazing how much work goes on behind a concert or a sporting event.

[@nekomakhea9440]

> The ice always stays there, no matter what is happening in the arena A whole new meaning to "on thin ice" lol

[@ThreeB_Do]

Great video! Most of similar infrastructure sit idle between games, even though they cost hundrets of millions of dollars to build. Having such a high use rate for a location is great, also allows for better experience for visitors, since the venue is used by much more people.

[@ImNotGam]

2:32 "And maintaining NHL quality ice is no easy feat". You can say that again. I'm a referee so I've skated on so many rinks and there's usually nothing better than an NHL rink. The only other one I've skated on that's as good is the Angel of the Winds arena (Everett Silvertips WHL rink) and NHL practice complexes. It's also not only the ice but also the atmosphere. Skating on an NHL rink gives you such a different view. (And also holy crap if a rink just has a jumbotron and no side-scoreboard it sucks... looking at you SAP Centre, I had to look directly up at the jumbotron to get the time remaining on the penalty. I think they use one during NHL games but didn't let us use one).

[@samschwartz5824]

I thought NHL teams were required to have the clocks on not only the center-hungs, but the side ribbon boards on each end too?

[@ImNotGam]

I haven't read the book, but yeah I think they are during NHL games. I was working at that rink for a youth game and they weren't using them which caused me to hate face-offs after goals.

[@corduptime]

@@samschwartz5824 Not required but it's become standard practice. Some teams will also have them on the ribbon boards at center ice but most do not.

[@CertifiedBenchwarmer]

SAP center ice is so good

[@Kebnekaise.]

It’s so cool that you got the opportunity to film this in person! I was wondering how you got so many detailed shots during the video. Loved it!

[@apcolleen]

1:08 this is one of those situations where you need to move your tool closer to your work. I also like the the storage room is organized by rule of first retrievability

[@techguypaul]

I'm usually on the incoming client side of the setup, but converting a big arena is something I've always appreciated from a tech point of view.

[@marsgal42]

The last big concert I saw (Taylor Swift, Seattle) had so much stuff on the floor - stage, lighting, audio, etc. - that I gave up even trying to figure out how they set it up or how long it took them to do so. “Military precision” would be an understatement.

[@jonathanbott87]

Big shows means more people and more/bigger equipment - they still have very short conversion windows. They may have also reserved the venue an extra night before, for setup. All possible by the large number of tickets (and sometimes their price).

[@KingdaToro]

A major act like her is going to have two whole stage setups and road crews, so that one can be broken down, moved, and set up while a concert is going on at the other. And then there's Trans-Siberian Orchestra, they not only have two entire stage setups and road crews, but TWO ENTIRE BANDS! One tours the eastern part of the country, the other tours the western part. And each will typically do two concerts at each stop, so on any given day of the tour, there will be up to four concerts happening. This is completely necessary to meet demand, as they only tour in November and December.

[@raygunsforronnie847]

@@KingdaToro Ah, TSO and the late, great, "I never met a visual effect I didn't like", Paul O'Neil. The amount of work that goes into a TSO tour stop is amazing and there's a huge amount of "detail" work going on right up to doors opening.

[@FitzyyLives]

I'm gonna say no more than 3 days. The eras tour was massive, but overall the objective is the same. You have crews of like 150-200 per shift and often will have rotating crews, so when one crew gets off, the other crew is coming in. 10 hour shifts with an hour lunch at 5 hours

[@Hummerbird99]

Yeah, I heard Ms. lip sync really puts on a show.

[@RichardPeacock-kp9ox]

I’ve wondered about how an arena is converted from rink to court for years. Now I know--Thanks for the detailed description of each step and the time lapse at the end. Fantastic!

[@Frameton.]

11:48 is it just me or is he saying “we can afford to fly out to” instead of “can’t”? The subtitles say “can’t” but I hear “can”

[@tsunghan_yu]

T in cant is often dropped in American English. I recommend watching some KZbin videos about it. Can and cant (with t dropped) actually sounds different in a sentence in American English

[@NikolaiWowe]

It's can't, the t is just dropped. Comment above me is right, it's odd but if you ever notice yourself speaking it a lot, you'll notice you probably drop the t in can't a lot too (depending on your region, maybe)

[@moritz_p]

2.5 hours is insane. Also, one shouldn't forget that there is always something unexpected that comes up. They probably have a good routine but something always breaks or needs special treatment in some way. The fact that they can still do it in this short amount of time is crazy.

[@YoSomePerson]

Cool to see a portion of a video I suggested less than 2 weeks ago. :) Would still be cool to see how a stadium gets build (the city logistics) and how it commercially operates.

[@JK-qi7pp]

The speed and accuracy with which these conversions happen is mind-boggling. I've had a summer job as teenager for a travelling market/fair and the fact that after being in town for less than week they would open until midnight on the last day, then clean up, disassemble about 50 stalls, load them, clean up the square, drive to the next city and finish setting up there before noon to catch a few hours of sleep before opening that evening amazed me. I'm handy and I felt very much out of place during the whole process.

[@moldyrefrigerator]

It's not always overnight! I went to a Lakers game last weekend and the LA Kings just finished a playing an NHL game a few hours before the Lakers started!!!

[@jordanmullenhopkins]

I just recently started driving the Zamboni at my local hockey rink and this video is stuff I ABSOLUTELY LOVE. It's really cool to get an inside look at the conversion and everything. Thanks Wendover. Also GO LEAFS GO. 😅

[@SensoryAlliance]

Please bring a video on fire fighting and fire protection

[@metalinyourhead3604]

What an interesting and accurate video. I did this for a living for about 4-5 months at a small arena prior to the pandemic. I did concerts, hockey, conventions and more. Here’s how it worked basketball as that was the busy season: - lay down floor over ice - raise the hockey net - take down plexi glass (this part was tricky) - lay down basketball floor (we did this by hand) - take out side doors separating bleachers and floor - lay down side risers (floor elevation) - set up folding chairs - bring out the nets and set up the barricades and we’re done. Setting these up could take around 7 hours, longer if you were slow and you didn’t leave until the job was done. Longest I worked was 12 hours (pm to am) after Disney on Ice, but by far the worst were Monster Truck shows. Overall it was an ok job, but it was gruelling work, and the guys who worked that job weren’t the nicest people in the world.

[@nicholasharvey1232]

I'm more impressed by how they can put up the stage for the Super Bowl halftime show so quickly, then take it all down (and clear out all the fans) so the second half of the game can begin. Maybe Wendover should do a video on this.

[@Coming4UNext]

Both are impressive in their own rights

[@ostremnomer]

I really appreciate the improvements made from the first on-site video this channel made compared to this one. It feels like the feedback was really taken to heart. Hopefully, this will continue to be the case for future videos of this style!

[@ethanpetersen810]

I’m part of the “crew” at another multi-purpose stadium. Fortunately it’s not a venue where we have to change the floor the same night after a game. ‘Cause we spend three to four hours after each game just cleaning the place up! When I go around just one row of seats, I can barely fit all the trash into one 45 gallon garbage bag. It’s crazy how many people seem to forget their overpriced concessions.

[@justayoutuber1906]

People are disgusting slobs.

[@518adventures4u]

I AGREE! people waste so much money and their overpriced concessions! I clean up, set up, do security, and take down all as part of my job. I do make a good pay vs the avg job in my area. Time consuming but all worth it. lots of happy people (some upset due to security part of my job) but more happy. they tend to "want to come find me" as if I was part of the show! I try to smile and be happy and Thank everyone for visiting and hope they come back. they remember that even if they are mad because they cant bring their beer out.

[@zerodos_02]

This is actually incredibly fascinating! Never knew the ice stays in place the whole season

[@stellacollector]

I'm gonna appreciate your hard work and enjoy this video, even though it is half as long as the usual videos of this channel.

[@dustincochran8314]

But it's TWICE AS INTERESTING 😂😅😂

[@s0l0r1d4]

this process is unexpectedly satisfying...I want a timelapse of these in my life now

[@ProperlyCulturedClips]

This video feels like a short format content video as compared to the ~20 min videos that (I) have come to expect from Wendover!

[@nickbeaton2614]

So glad this video was made. I took my nephew to his first hockey game. His first question was how do they get it set up for basketball the same week. Couldn’t have asked for better timing. Thank you Wendover.

[@fatclumsymountainbiker7930]

1:01 what a pane

[@_DoorStop_]

im going to tickle you

[@IDGplayz]

A pane of glass shave you never played Minecraft If not it’s a thin sheet of glass

[@siborgjed8737]

I see what you did there 😂

[@97letsplayer]

10/10 what I expect from a Wendover productions video! This was brilliant! (Way better than your other shot-on-location video, the theme park fiasco) and no, I wouldn't say that they all need to be this good but it would be nice! Fantastic stuff!

[@BlackCeII]

You seemingly forgot to explain how the basketball court pieces stay together. You'd think with all that running and jumping that they could slide out of position. What keeps them together and keeps them in place?

[@Cstinson7574]

Where I work we use long screws to hold them together

[@jakoblarok]

Yes, this absolutely was the first time someone managed to scratch my itch on the topic of arena conversions! It's stuff like this that I would ask family and friends, and they'd just say, "yeah, what a mystery... wonder how they do it..." and then change the subject. But I feel like I benefitted from learning the specific logistics, and next time I'm in an arena, I won't be as distracted by this question. Thank you!

[@PikachuV4rS]

Videos of this length is perfect

[@homgrwn]

This was amazing. So cool to see the behind the scenes of everday things. Thanks to everyone involved in this!

[@LeviRobinson270]

The process of trading can be complicated when you have limited knowledge. However, with the right strategy and setups, you can be successful. That's the whole point of investing.

[@MAS_M2]

Assets that can make one successful in life

[@MAS_M2]

I. Forex 2.Stocks 3.Shares

[@MAS_M2]

forex is profitable and lucrative investment online

[@Luisma11q]

​@@MAS_M2You are right.

[@Luisma11q]

But I don't know why people remain poor due to ignorance

[@shad6644]

I’ve wondered about this. In a five day period, I was at the Enterprise Center in St. Louis for a Blues hockey game, a NCAA March Madness first round tournament game, then The Who concert. I was thinking I’d love to see a time lapse of the conversion. The shocker is 2 and a half hours. Well done.

[@captainpoptarts]

They use the same arena for hockey and basketball games?!? I've never seen that here in Phoenix, probably bc air conditioning is required 24/7 for the arena to be covered in ice.

[@goisles29]

NHL rinks are actually cooled from underneath. It’s the humidity in an arena that can really make the ice bad. The Coyotes played their first few seasons in the Suns arena, and there also used to be a minor league hockey team that played there until 2009 I believe. The issue was that the seating wasn’t movable enough, and because it was designed for basketball it led to a lot of bad seats for hockey.

[@joe_del]

The Coyotes used to play at the Suns' arena when they first moved to Phoenix. The biggest issue there is the dimensions of the arena itself. The arena is designed to primarily accommodate basketball, which means that the arena is designed for seats to come much further down (the default state is closer to the basketball configuration shown in the video here). When put into hockey configuration, basketball-specific arenas like the Suns', Nets', and Jazz's arenas, all of which have hosted NHL hockey, have obstructed views, way fewer seats, and other quirks like an off-center scoreboard.

[@captainpoptarts]

@joe_del my dad was mentioning that. He said the hockey team (i believe not the Coyotes) used to play at the fairgrounds arena as well as the suns before that

[@Xelopheris]

It's very hard to take a purpose-built basketball arena and convert it into a hybrid arena like the one seen here. If it's built for it in the first place, it's much easier. The hardest problem is dealing with sight lines. Front row nosebleed level seats in a dedicated basketball arena can be pretty close to the play, if a larger hockey rink was underneath, they often have obstructed views.

[@SeanA099]

This is actually pretty common as far as I know. They do this in DC, Philly, Boston, New York, Salt Lake City, and probably way more

[@STKev88]

It's actually amazing how much work is put converting from hockey to basketball. Details and precision matter. Coincidentally, I went to see the Bulls live the next day when you recorded this. So mega job for documenting this :)

[@bhaskard8405]

The planning and logistics behind sporting and concert events still amazes me. If only governments planned executed things this efficiently.

[@kabirkumar5815]

they don't get paid as well

[@qwertyuiopaaaaaaa7]

Governments do execute things this efficiently-but only when leaders in the government supply bureaucrats with adequate funding and clear processes. Government, like businesses or any community, is just a group of people. Groups of people can work together well or poorly. The outcome is determined by underlying institutions more so than intrinsic properties of the words we use to describe the group.

[@MrFairhill]

Very nice video to show the insights behind how much work is behind converting a court between sports and disciplines. Already shared this to my friends on Facebook. I have been involved with the handball matches for Vipers Kristiansand the last eight seasons and I am impressed to see the work the volunteers and students do to convert an oversized gym room to a match ready court for both domestic and European matches. When they play the European matches for Championes League, they have to lay a separate blue floor on top of the ground floor to make the court clean, while during domestic matches, they just fit the advertisements, LED screens, referee seatings and squad seats on the ground floor measured and matched to the handball specfic markings. This gym room also have those hydralic seats for the audience to sit in and they spend a lot of time using the machine to first move them out from their place almost inside the wall, and then extend the individual rows, before flipping up the backs of the seats. On domestic matches they have about 90 minutes after the last class have left the gym room before the arena needs to be match ready for warmup for the players. During the European matches they have more time because they are usually played during weekends.

[@NicholasHoward]

Ok ive fr wondered about how this works for so long

[@DL-kf7lt]

Being in operations doing all types of shifts from the overnight conversions, concert setups, as well as working backstage during events, the overnight conversions are easily the most time consuming even though it’s the same process setting up a basketball court. There’s always little things that’ll pop up to take up more time, and the end product is always satisfying

[@AndrewPCs]

0:12 I’m from Minnesota 🎉

[@Rothinternaffe]

Well done 👍🏻

[@macrowdz3732]

good job buddy

[@elrm6919]

And?

[@jackeagleburger1456]

I work for the Prudential Center, home of the Devils. The most impressive conversion I’ve seen was devils hockey in the morning into a Seton Hall basketball game at night. It took the conversion crew about 4 hours to lay down the floor so my teach (in house AV, scoreboard crew) had about an hour to build all of the sideline tables and monitors for referees, stats, and radio. The fact it all got done in one day was a miracle.

[@Fr3nchFlag]

Damn the bots are fast

[@Vichewy]

I’ve been DYING for a detailed arena conversion video. I always find them so intriguing, but most are reduced to only short (but admittedly still very cool) timelapses