Crews take center stage in rare Pepsi Center doubleheader

DENVER — It was a rare sight at Pepsi Center on Saturday, 1 manager of transformation Matt Mennona calls “coordinated chaos at its finest. ”

For the first time in 13 years, the Avalanche and Nuggets played home games on the same day.  That meant the Pepsi Center conversion crew needed to flip the ground from ice to hardwood in 90 minutes or less.

The Avalanche started things off with a 1 p.m. face-off against the L.A. Kings.  Only minutes after the Avs capped of a blowout win, the conversion group got right to work.

“We now have a terrific crew. There’s a great deal of talented committed people and ’s when they shine,” states Steve Johnston, the executive producer of game presentation.

Exactly like the Avalanche and Nuggets, the conversion crew can’t succeed without teamwork, practice and hustle.

“We practiced two already leading to this to make sure that we have all dialed in and ready to proceed,” states Mennona.

“This is the first time I’ve seen an Avs and Nuggets doubleheader, so I think a lot of those crews are really excited about it since it doesn’t happen very frequently,” adds Johnston.

The stats are staggering: 600 pieces of flooring protect the ice and 233 pieces of hardwood are laid on top. It is all part of a giant puzzle that must come together fast.

“We were really excited for it,” Mennona says of the quick turnaround. “When I shot this spot, it was among those days I was actually looking forward to since a lot of the times the eyes are about the teams, and it’s us. ”

The crew transformed the playing surfaces quicker than expected, with plenty of time to spare before the Nuggets 8 p.m. tip-off from the Cavaliers. But the doubleheader is simply the start of an extremely busy weekend. The hardwood is going to be substituted by a lacrosse field for Sunday’s Colorado Mammoth match, and then it moves back to ice to the Avalanche game on Monday afternoon. The final tally: four games in 48 hours.

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