November 4, 2008

Good as New: The Whale Reopens

The following article appeared November 3 in the Yale Herald.

 

By Trey Chandler

Yale’s athletic facilities can often be summed up in one word: old. The Yale Bowl was built in 1914, Yale Field in 1927, and Payne-Whitney, which includes facilities for the majority of Yale’s varsity sports, in 1932. Yale’s athletics department, however, prides itself in its ability to keep these aged structures in mint condition.

Yale’s latest renovation project, which started this year, will help bring Ingalls Rink, home of both the men’s and women’s ice hockey teams, into modernity. Men’s hockey Head Coach Keith Allain, DC ’80, described the updated structure as “a state-of-the-art facility that maintains the architectural integrity of Eero Saarinen [ARC ’35].” Saarinen, who also designed Morse and Ezra Stiles colleges, put his modern stamp on the Yale sports scene in 1958 with Ingalls, more commonly known as “The Whale” for its distinctive shape. Among the project’s goals were preserving Saarinen’s original design, increasing capacity, and modernizing facilities used by both varsity teams and intramurals athletes.

So far, Yale has completed only the first of the three scheduled construction phases on the rink. Fans entering the arena this year will surely notice the repainted bleachers, improved lighting, an entirely remodeled restroom facility, and a new concessions area. Also added in Phase I were a new press box on the visitor’s side and an entirely new playing surface. In addition, a new concrete slab was poured underneath the rink, which allowed a new sheet of ice to be created.

Complete article can be accessed via the Herald Web site by clicking here.