| May Meeting / Tour |
May 14, 2012
5:00 PM - 8:00 PM |
University of Wisconsin-Madison La Bahn Arena
601 West Dayton Street
Madison, WI 53711 |
| La Bahn Arena Tour - Women's Hockey Arena |
|
$20.00 Member Registration
$30.00 Guest (non Madison ASHRAE member)
$0.00 Cafeteria Plan - Local Member
$0.00 Student Ticket |
Tour / Construction Highlights:
A welcome, long-overdue change is taking shape adjacent to the Kohl Center, where modern technology and cutting-edge conveniences are being forged that will affect six UW programs.
LaBahn is the first construction project in the U.S. to use BubbleDeck, a structural integration method that uses steel, concrete and hollow plastic balls to make a more sustainable and cost-effective structure. J.H. Findorff & Son Inc. is overseeing the project, which is on schedule, according to spokesman Nathan Hiles.
In addition to men’s and women’s hockey, the men’s and women’s swimming and men’s and women’s basketball programs are benefitting from the addition, whether it be a new locker rooms, offices, a sports medicine area or a place to serve training table meals.
A 2,400-seat hockey arena — the men will practice there, while the women will play their games there starting in 2012-13 — and an adjoining complex that includes offices for the UW women’s coach Mark Johnson and his staff is the primary attraction.
“There’s a wow factor when you walk in,” Eaves said.
“You almost have to pinch yourself that this is really happening,” Johnson said.
While the roof structure for LaBahn is complete, the seating areas — arranged at an angle that makes it seem you’re right on top of the ice — still are coming together. At the north end, a glass insert in the wall overlooks one of the goals from the concourse.
The rink area, now a sea of sand, will begin its transformation next week into a 200 foot by 90 foot ice sheet. |
