On a recent weekday, staff at the Credit Union of Texas Event Center in Allen swarmed over the arena preparing for the Humana Skate America event, set in late October.
It is the first time the facility, one of the most diverse in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, has hosted the Skate America event, though it has hosted smaller, regional skating competitions.
“We’re putting in ice as we speak,” says Bill Herman, the center’s general manager, just over a week out from the event. “We put down two sheets of ice. The first is for ice hockey with the lines, logos, and everything. Then we’ll put in the Skate America sheet, which involves painting over those lines with white and adding their logo.”
It’s a time-consuming process that requires the proper equipment and expertise. But it’s one Credit Union Center staff knows well.
“We’re very adept at making a good sheet of ice. We have ice hockey, as well as a lot of local skating events,” Herman says.
The venue, which is owned and managed by the City of Allen, hosts about 130 events each year ranging from concerts to school graduations. It is also home to the Allen Americans, an affiliate of the NHL’s Ottawa Senators. Additionally, the Event Center hosts Disney on Ice each Thanksgiving and is home to the Allen Community Ice Rink, which offers skating programs and recreational hockey.
“They are looking for a pristine ice-skating surface,” Herman says. “It’s going to be a fresh sheet of ice—without anything being played on it.”
Creating the perfect ice
The slightest variation in the quality of ice can affect skaters—it can mean the difference in a medal-winning performance or an injury. The technology that creates indoor ice rinks is the same
as refrigerators and air conditioning, just on a much larger scale, according to the Howden Company, which installs such systems.
It takes between 12,000 to 15,000 gallons of water to form a hockey rink surface, which is between three-quarters of an inch and one-and-a-half-quarter inches thick.
For figure skating, the ice must be thicker—at two-and-a-quarter inches deep. Herman says it takes a few days of work to get the ice that deep, and it’s more than the time and effort to prepare the ice.
A large event such as Skate America requires technical expertise with lighting and sound, and training the local staff to be ready when the doors open.
“We’re hoping for upwards of 2,000 to 2,500 people for each of the five sessions,” says Herman. “It’s a big international skating competition.”
It’s great visibility for the Credit Union Center with NBC broadcasting the event and making it available on its streaming services, including Peacock, which has around 24 million members.
In January 2024, the top skaters in the world will converge when Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio, hosts the Toyota U.S. Figure Skating Championships.
“A sport grows when more people have the chance to see it, to play it, and to experience it,” says Linda Logan, CEO/president of the Greater Columbus Sports Commission. “This is where skaters become stars, and we want to supercharge that experience for U.S. Figure Skating and the Columbus community.”
The high-profile event takes place Jan. 22-28, 2024, with OhioHealth Chiller North hosting a high-performance development camp, also in Columbus.
“Hosting the championships has been a goal for our city since the early days of the Sports Commission,” Long says. “Our local organizing committee and figure skating community are passionate about elevating the profile of this event by creating memorable experiences for athletes, fans, and everyone who comes
to visit.”
Figure skating’s perennial draw
It shouldn’t be surprising that a figure skating event is a draw. About 9.5 million Americans ages six years and older ice skate each year, according to Statista.
U.S. Figure Skating, the national governing body, has about 223,000 members and sanctions more than 500 competitions and programs each season. Athletes compete in singles, pairs, and ice dance at the senior and junior levels. The organization also operates more than 1,000 Learn to Skate programs in 49 states.
U.S. Figure Skating events are bid out to local cities and figure skating clubs. Interested hosts can obtain a request for proposal (RFP) at usfigureskating.org.
The organization spends $16.4 million each year on direct and indirect athlete funding and assistance, sending skaters to international competitions, athlete programs, collegiate skating programs, and synchronized skating programs, as well as giving out performance bonuses.
A wide array of talented skaters will take part in the seven-day event, which helps determine national champions across several disciplines while showcasing the best the sport has to offer.
Jesse Ghiorzi of the Greater Columbus Sports Commission says, while he doesn’t have attendance estimates yet, the ticket packages are selling well and have surpassed 2023 numbers. For those interested, tickets are available at figureskatingcolumbus.com.
“We’re expecting up to $15 million in direct visitor spending,” says Ghiorzi, basing the figure on what the championships have generated in recent years.
Columbus Arena Management COO and Nationwide Arena senior vice president Mike Gatto says they are “thrilled” to be hosting the event.
“We look forward to hosting this world-class event and once again putting Columbus in the national spotlight,” he adds.
As with the Humana Skate America event, NBC will provide coverage across all its networks.
A must for hosting such a large-scale competition is the availability of multiple rinks, for both the competitions and practice.
“The Nationwide Arena offers the unique benefit of housing two rinks under one roof for a seamless transition from practice to competition for our competing athletes,” says U.S. Figure Skating CEO Tracy Marek. “Plus, its central location in downtown Columbus creates an accessible, fan-friendly, and energetic atmosphere that will make an exciting destination for competitors, coaches, their families, and fans alike.”
Practice sessions for the championships will take place in the OhioHealth Ice Haus.
A home for champions
Columbus is home to three skating clubs: the Columbus Figure Skating Club, the Skating Club of Central Ohio, and the Ohio State Figure Skating Club. It’s an accomplished list of alumni with local ties, including Livvy Schilling (2020 U.S. Figure Skating Championships), Marcy Hinzmann (2006 Winter Olympics), Aaron Parchem (2006 Winter Olympics); Tatiana Ratchkova (1992 Winter Olympics), Valerie Marcoux-Pavlas (2006 Winter Olympics), and Alexie Mieskoski.
Qualifying is still going on for the 2024 Championships and the final list of entries is expected by late November.
“In 2023, there were 120 qualifiers, so we expect a similar number this year,” Ghiorzi says. “In addition to skaters, there will be hundreds of judges, coaches, trainers, and other support staff participating in the event.”
