Colleen O'Shea - The Hockey Mom

Fundraising for a New Resurfacer

Posted by Colleen O'Shea | Jun 21, 2017 | Fundraising |

When you need a new ice re-surfacer, how do you go about fundraising the money you need? And how can you be sure that what you really want isn’t different from what you really need? Here are a couple of stories that might give you ideas for your own arena. The first is the how one group turned to crowdfunding; the second is selling Zamboni rides in exchange for donations! In February 2016, with their old resurfacer grinding to a halt, the Pittsfield, MA-based Boys & Girls Club of the Berkshires turned to the crowdfunding site GoFundMe to try and raise the...

Challenging Your Ice Makers to be Energy Conscious

Posted by Colleen O'Shea | Feb 2, 2017 | Energy Efficiency |

How the City of Burlington challenged their ice makers to be more energy conscious, how they began to save energy, water and money — practically overnight and how you can replicate it for your own arena staff.

Ice Arenas and Bleacher Heaters

Posted by Colleen O'Shea | Jan 25, 2017 | Energy Efficiency, Management |

Was the addition of bleacher heaters one of the worst ideas ever for indoor ice arenas? Some, like George Bell Arena’s Larry Woodley, think so, and so do I.

Carbon Monoxide and Ice Arenas

Posted by Colleen O'Shea | Jan 23, 2017 | Arena Equipment |

Earlier this month, 19 players from the women’s ice hockey game between the Wisconsin Badgers and the Lindenwood Lions went to St. Louis-area hospitals to be checked for carbon monoxide poisoning. Luckily, all of the players were treated and released. Firemen were deployed to the Lions’ home ice, the Lindenwood Ice Arena in Wentzville, MO., to measure the arena’s indoor air quality where unusually high levels of carbon monoxide were found. All scheduled activities for the twin-pad arena were immediately cancelled as the hunt for the source of the poisonous gas began. Arenas and Carbon Monoxide Prevention Unfortunately, whenever you have equipment run by fossil fuels in an indoor...

Managing Snow at the Arena

Posted by Colleen O'Shea | Jan 13, 2017 | Management |

For many facilities, snow management is routine — a nuisance to be dealt with all winter long, eating up resources and threatening to impact operations in the blink of an eye.

Author: Colleen O'Shea

Fundraising for a New Resurfacer

Challenging Your Ice Makers to be Energy Conscious

Ice Arenas and Bleacher Heaters

Carbon Monoxide and Ice Arenas

Managing Snow at the Arena

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