DENVER — Landon Faber admits he did a double-take when he looked at the Ball Arena calendar earlier this year.
The 23-year-old is part of the conversion team that flips the playing surface inside Ball Arena between basketball, hockey, and lacrosse, and said they’re no stranger to back-to-back turnarounds.
But have they ever taken on 13 events in 13 nights? That's what the conversion crew faces from March 19 to March 31.
Madonna. Bad Bunny. Nuggets. Avalanche. Mammoth. Avalanche. Nuggets. Avalanche. Nuggets. Avalanche. Nuggets. Avalanche. Nuggets.
“I haven’t gotten a whole lot of sleep in the last few days,” joked Faber. “It’s definitely a lot.”
Each conversion begins just minutes after the game ends, as workers sweep the arena to collect trash and recyclables. Once that’s complete, a team of 25-30 people called the “conversion crew” get to work, building the hockey rink walls and carefully removing the Nuggets' wood playing surface and a layer of insulation to reveal the hockey ice below.
The entire process from basketball to hockey takes about three hours, and the flip back takes about four.
“It’s easier to take apart a puzzle than to put it back together,” explained Faber.
Senior director of conversion Matt Mennona said in total, crews must remove 232 pieces of the basketball court and 600 pieces of insulation during the switch-over. He said fans are often surprised to learn the ice remains in place underneath the basketball court all season long.
“There’s like a fairy came in and sprinkled dust and bam there we go, now we’re in hockey, right?” said Mennona. “It’s pretty cool.”
> Watch a time-lapse of the Ball Arena conversion crew bust down the Nuggets' hardwood court to an ice hockey rink for the Avalanche.
Faber said there is one tool the crew uses to get through the night: caffeine.
“Oh, ungodly amounts of caffeine,” he said. “It’s a lot.”
By 3:30 a.m., the arena is completely transformed, with final touches underway.
“Then it’s the final check, do a walk, make sure there’s no tools or anything left around, and then off to go home and try to get some sleep,” said Mennona.
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