A sold-out crowd is expected at Scottrade Center on Saturday night for the Blues’ home opener in Dallas, and after a summer of arena renovations, the first new amenity that’s likely to catch fans’ attention is the new 40 x 40 video card. It’s now the eighth largest in the NHL, and that, along with a new audio system, will definitely give in-game entertainment a boost.

But another upgrade that won’t be seen by the more than 19,000 in attendance could give them a reason with less hype and more realistic value to cheer on the Blues.

As part of Phase I of upgrades to the 23-year-old building, Scottrade Center has spent $6.5 million on a new ice plant and floor which, along with an updated cooling system, is expected to create a smoother playing surface and that could mean better results for a club. who wants to play a faster brand of hockey.

The rink received a perfect NHL score after the Blues’ final preseason game, a 4-3 loss to Washington on Oct. 1, a report card in which teams and umpires assess everything from locker rooms to conditions of ice. It was a good sign for a crew that realizes the first full house of the season on Saturday will present a tougher challenge.

“You’re either poor, good or great and our first grade last game was great,” said Doug Waugh, senior manager of construction operations and public safety at Scottrade Center. “It says a lot that we’re on top of the game, and from the perspective of the ice, we’re ready to go from any angle.”

Waugh, 58, who is in his 38th year in construction operations and has been involved in nearly $800 million in renovations in San Antonio, Dallas and now St. Louis, hopes he can have the same success here he had in these previous stops. The AT&T Center in San Antonio was rated the top professional sports venue in the United States by ESPN during his tenure from 1999 to 2005 and the American Airlines Center in Dallas had the highest-rated ice in the NHL when he was there between 2005 and 2010. .

The AT&T Center opened in 2002 and AAC a year earlier, so they’re both newer than Scottrade Center (1994), but now in its second year in St. Louis, Waugh thinks that in some cases the Building age may be insignificant.

“It doesn’t matter how old the building is, it’s how you take care of it,” he said. “I guarantee you three years ago the Scottrade Center was nowhere in the top 100. I’m not saying they didn’t do it right. Our guys are doing a great job, a great job. But they do a great job with the tools given to them.

The city-owned building has been approved for $64 million in renovations, and the first wave will go a long way to improving the ice surface. The new ice plant will create a situation where the surface freezes faster and retains its quality longer, while the addition of new coolers for the air system will allow better control of temperature and humidity levels.

Demolition of the floor, which was “on hold”, Waugh said, began June 10 and once it was transported, 50 trucks brought in 500 meters of concrete which was placed and finished with continuous pouring. Over 10 miles of piping has been installed which being a half inch thicker will allow for greater water flow to help transfer heat and bring the temperature down faster.

The ideal range for an NHL rink is 21.5 degrees, and the Blues were able to stay within one degree with the new system. When asked how well they’ve been able to hold onto that standard in the past, Waugh smiled and said, “It depends on which game.”

Now, when Chief Ice Technician Jim Schmuke, who operates the Olympia at Scottrade Center, floods the ice before the start of a game and between periods, the time it takes for it to dry has been dramatically reduced.

“I stand between periods and time how fast the water freezes,” Waugh said. “When (Schmuke) walks past the door and dumps the water, I look at the clock. I can usually find dry spots, not completely dry but almost, in about 3½ to four minutes. Last year the floor had still wet areas when the referees and players came on. We got rid of that. It’s harder, it’s faster.”

Schmuke also noticed that areas of ice that didn’t freeze well last year have remained solid this pre-season.

“We always had problems just in front of the two benches and along the boards (at the end where the Blues shot twice),” Schmuke said. “There was also a small section near the penalty box which, especially if we had a concert the day before and went back onto the ice, there would be a bit of standing water. We still had to patch these areas, but everything went well.

The other positive development is that the ice has remained in good condition for longer.

“One of the things fans can see is the ice crew would come out four minutes into the game and start cleaning the ice – that’s bad,” Waugh said. “We’re now going 10-12 minutes before they have to come out, and they’re removing less (snow). The longer it takes, the better your ice is, so we’re making improvements as we go.

However, controlling ice temperature is only part of the challenge. Waugh staff also need to stay on top of the temperature and humidity inside the Scottrade Center, which has been made easier inside the 665,000 square foot facility with a cooler system. efficient.

“The ‘sweet spot’ is what the NHL or ice people call it, and it’s 60 degrees, 40 percent humidity,” Waugh said. “When I came here two years ago, we were struggling to keep the building below 70°C and our humidity was around 50-60°C. trying to keep the temperature in the building Most people don’t understand but if I have 60% humidity and 60% temperature it gets hot in the building When I dry out the building and do lower this humidity, it is colder.

“So it’s not that we’ve cooled the building any more than we’ve done in recent years, but we’re now able to control the humidity. That’s what changes, it’s drier, and the drier it is, the colder it gets. We’re now able to handle some of that load where we’ll theoretically hit around 65 degrees in the building and probably 45% humidity at game time. If we weren’t able to do what we’re doing now with the new system to dry it out, it would be a bad playing surface.”

The Blues, who played three exhibition games at Scottrade Center and held part of their training camp there, saw some improvement.

“It’s getting there,” Blues goaltender Jake Allen said. “I think it will take us some time to break it. Any new ice sheet – new plant, old plant – requires 10-20 good hard pads. We played a pre-season game there and it was 95 degrees outside. Once the weather cools down here I’m sure it will be really good. It’s going in the right direction. »

“They’re still working on it, but I’ve definitely noticed – certainly when you first come in and then it looks like you can stay there longer before it starts to deteriorate,” the Blues manager said. Mike Yeo. “When you’re on good ice, the pace is faster. There’s more glide, you don’t have to work as hard to skate as fast. Of course, a good ice cream helps.

The San Antonio Spurs won three NBA championships and the Dallas Mavericks won a Western Conference title when Waugh was in those cities. It was obviously in basketball, not hockey, but he thinks a better building could give the Blues a similar added advantage.

“I’ve always said winning a championship is 70-20-10…70% team, 20% fans and 10% building,” Waugh said. “The team needs to do their part, the fans need to engage and we’re doing our part on the build side. My goal is to turn things around operationally with the support of the city and the property. I I’m passionate about it and my goal is to get that (Stanley Cup) banner, I know everyone here is, and we’re all going to do our part.