There will be new glass and boards at Sandman Centre ahead of the next Kamloops Blazers season this fall.
The upgrades are unrelated to last night’s Blazers game, where two panes of glass shattered after being hit by a player’s stick.
Civic Facilities Manager Jeff Putnam says the upgrades will cost $960,000.
“The old technology which is in place, it’s basically tempered glass so very much like your windshield in your vehicles,” Putnam said.
“My staff told me the new graphite sticks also are very hard on the ends and they do chip away at the glass and occasionally, create a weak spot.”
Putnam adds the new acrylic vinyl glass will only shatter under very extreme circumstances, noting it’s unlike the glass that’s currently at the arena.
“What this new glass and board system will allow us is a much easier changeover from, for example, hockey to a concert event and then back to hockey the next day,” he added.
“It’s much lighter, it’s much safer to use as well and much quicker to replace.”
There were no reports of any injuries last night, and Putnam noted he’s proud of the way his staff handled things in front of a sellout crowd.
“It would be nerve-wracking for anyone when you have that many people watching you do your job, but I’m extremely proud of how they did it,” noted Putnam. “They did it as quickly as they could.”
“If you talk to any arena operator in North America, it’s one of those things that we practice for those very occasions. So when it does happen, everyone is ready to go and they have all the equipment they need.”
This series has everything… including a broken pane of glass.
Paging @Putsky88 – where do you guys keep the spares?#kamloops pic.twitter.com/Zqqx4CDTBf
— Victor Mario Kaisar (@supermario_47) April 2, 2019
#BREAKING – the glass at Sandman Centre. Again. #Kamloops #VICvsKAM pic.twitter.com/Q2lhSY0cpX
— Victor Mario Kaisar (@supermario_47) April 2, 2019
We have a little bit of a delay here in Game 6…#VICvsKAM | #WHLPlayoffs pic.twitter.com/jWTU2hQYgh
— The WHL (@TheWHL) April 2, 2019
