New-Look Ingalls Rink to be Unveiled Soon

The Yale hockey teams have moved back into Ingalls Rink as work on the multi-million dollar renovation progresses. Dramatic differences are already apparent, as everything from the lighting to the seating to the ice surface has already changed. Many more improvements are in store. A new photo gallery shows the progress that has been made both inside and outside the rink, which will host its first events this Sunday when the women play an exhibition against McGill (1:30 p.m.) and the men scrimmage Dartmouth (5:00 p.m.).

The project is currently in the first of three phases planned between now and the fall of 2009. As part of Phase I, the wooden bench seating has been refurbished to a lighter color and concrete surfaces inside the rink have been cleaned. The bathrooms at the North end of the rink are being re-built based on a new design and layout, and there will be a new concessions area located there as well.

Other improvements in Phase I include renovations to the existing press box on the home side of the rink, the addition of a new press box on the visitors’ side of the rink, refurbished exit doors on the south and east elevations, and the addition of lighting in the soffit that lines the ceiling along the perimeter walkway around the rink.

Fans will notice the difference that these improvements make immediately.

With a new concrete slab poured in August, a new ice surface is in place for the 2008-09 season. A new entrance to the ice has been built behind the visitors’ bench, near the Yale women’s ice hockey team locker room. That locker room will eventually be the varsity visiting team locker room, though the Yale women will continue to use it this year while their new locker room is being built.

Outside the rink, work is progressing rapidly on the 14,000 square-foot underground addition underneath the parking lot on the Mansfield Street side that will house both Yale varsity hockey teams along with lockers for other teams that use the rink. The site has been excavated and concrete now shows the outline of the new facility. The top of the structure has recently been sealed so that it can eventually be covered over. The parking lot above it will eventually be restored.

Additionally, Ingalls’ existing roof is being replaced with similar materials and the exterior concrete is being cleaned.

In Phase II, which will take place from the fall of 2008 through the spring of 2009, the interior of the underground addition will be fitted out. The men’s and women’s varsity locker rooms, a new strength and conditioning room and public locker rooms are included in this addition.

In Phase III, which will take place from the spring of 2009 through the fall of 2009, includes further work on the interior of the main building. There will be a “hockey heritage area” inside the main entrance on the upper and lower levels. This area will showcase Yale’s hockey history, dating back to the first intercollegiate hockey game in America -- Yale vs. Johns Hopkins in 1896. The lower level renovations will also include new bathrooms, a concessions area and a renovated Schley Room for receptions.

As part of Phase III a new rink speaker system will be installed and new light fixtures will be installed over the ice surface. The remaining exit door restoration will be completed on the west side of the building.

Outside the rink, Phase III includes the restoration of the exterior concrete face of the building. Work on the underground facility will be finished, and the parking lots on the east and west side of the building will be completed. There will also be new landscaping work.

All of the renovations are designed to preserve Ingalls’ distinctive architecture and charm while adding substantial capacity for all who use the facility. Named after former Yale men’s ice hockey captains David S. Ingalls ’20 and David S. Ingalls Jr. ’56, the rink was designed by famed architect Eero Saarinen ’34 and built in 1959. Gifts from the Ingalls family provided the bulk of the funding for its construction. Its famous arched roof, 76 feet high at its zenith and featuring a 300-foot backbone, earned it the nickname “The Whale”. It has been the home of the men’s team since 1959 and the women’s team since 1977. Ingalls is also used for recreational skating, the Figure Skating Club, intramural hockey, high school playoffs and Yale Youth Hockey.

The Yale women host St. Lawrence in the regular season home opener on Nov. 7 at 7:00 p.m., and the men host Brown in their regular season home opener on Nov. 15 at 7:00 p.m.