FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: 12/28/2022
CONTACT: Jon Lundin, Lake Placid 2023 FISU World University Games Head of Communications & Media ([email protected]) Tel: 518-637-6885
BY: Meri-Jo Borzilleri, Lake Placid 2023 FISU World University Games’ Organizing Committee
Purchase tickets for the Lake Placid 2023 FISU World University Games men’s ice hockey tournament HERE
POTSDAM, N.Y. – Cheel Arena, the Clarkson University rink where preliminary round games for the Lake Placid 2023 FISU World University Games men’s ice hockey tournament will be played starting Jan. 11, is a model of sustainability. After completing an extensive remodel and upgrade in 2020, Cheel is a great example of the Games’ Organizing Committee’s emphasis on making international sports more environmentally conscious with the goal to mitigate climate change.
“Clarkson, at its core, has had a long-standing push to become a more environmentally sustainable campus. Cheel Arena is a great example of Clarkson’s commitment to sustainability,” said Clarkson University’s athletic director Scott Smalling. “Making the facility more energy efficient, using an electric Zamboni and edger, the switch to LED lighting, and other energy-saving features shows you can have a facility that is among the best in our sport but also leads the way towards a more sustainable campus.”
One of the major upgrades was a new insulated, interlocking floor that helps better maintain the ice beneath, and a separate system to heat or cool the air in the building. When the new floor is used for warmer non-hockey events, like career fairs and ceremonies, the ice no longer gets soft or attracts dirt and sand, which in the past would require extensive shaving to restore competitive-grade ice. The separate air system efficiently maintains a comfortable temperature.
“In the past few years, Cheel has improved energy efficiency in its ice-making, ice maintenance and temperature in the building itself. We don’t need to keep it as cold in the rink, which certainly keeps our fans happy but also saves us having to chill the air that doesn’t really need to be chilled,” said Josh Bartell, the university’s assistant athletic director. “Our facility went from being the top energy-user on campus to the third.”
Other improvements include the renovation of the arena’s leaky roof and adding six inches of insulation, installing high efficiency windows and LED lighting, changing the gas ice edger to electric and even replacing traditional plumbing to low-flow fixtures. Finally, the insulation barrier beneath the rink floor was enhanced between the ice slab and earthen foundation. In the process, planners emphasized limiting landfill waste by re-homing items like former hockey lockers that were installed in Clarkson’s baseball and softball locker rooms.
Cheel Arena, along with SUNY Canton’s Roos House, will host preliminary games of the 12-team men’s ice hockey tournament that opens on Jan. 11 with No. 7 Hungary vs. No. 3 Slovakia. The sixth-seeded U.S. team also opens play on Jan. 11 when they take on No. 10 Great Britain. Other countries vying for the Lake Placid 2023 FISU Games men’s ice hockey gold medal include Canada, Latvia, Sweden, Japan, Kazakhstan, Czech Republic, Korea, and Ukraine.
The top four teams from each tournament advance to Lake Placid’s 1980 Herb Brooks Arena in the Olympic Center for the medal rounds. The Olympic Center has also recently completed upgrades with eco-friendly renovations and practices.
The Lake Placid 2023 FISU Games, an 11-day competition and educational festival, will feature 1,443 collegiate-athletes, ages 17-25, from more than 540 universities across 43 countries. The competition consists of 12 winter sports contested throughout northern New York, including Lake Placid, Saranac Lake, Wilmington, North Creek, Canton and Potsdam.
The Lake Placid 2023 FISU Games, set for Jan. 12-22, is the first in the FISU Games’ 64-year history to make sustainability a major theme. Through its “Save Winter” campaign, Lake Placid 2023 intends to provide a model for all future Games.
Save Winter, powered by Hydro-Quebec and supported by ESPN, Karbon, Microplus and Panasonic, is designed to link the environment with every aspect of the FISU Games. Competitions will be held at venues that have shown a commitment to sustainability and combating climate-change impacts to winter activities.
Fans can follow the Lake Placid 2023 FISU World University Games on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter with @LakePlacid2023, @SaveWinterHQ, #lakeplacid2023, #savewinter.
For more information about the Lake Placid 2023 FISU Games or to purchase tickets, visit www.lakeplacid2023.com.
PHOTO COURTESY: Clarkson University
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