Remodeling HQ

For months, I've been working on the same project at HBIC Headquarters as painting was started on the weekends back in May. I can officially say that today is the last day any wall or ceiling will be painted at HBIC HQ as the job is done! There was a lot of work to be done - patching walls, moving wall-mounted devices, fixing mistakes left by the previous owner - but it's finally done and I'm quite happy about the results! Four months of weekends used for painting and renovations have now paid off!

I have to give a nod to my parents who have been there from the splotch of mud on the wall to the final drop of paint used to colour them, and they've helped move the project along by being a second and third pair of hands. While there were some struggles at times in terms of "do it this way" versus "I've done this a thousand times", the end results are looking spectacular and my weekends are back to being mine! Let me say it one more time: major thanks to the parental units for their help on this project.

Some of you may have noticed that the updates on this blog would lag behind sometimes, and now you know the reason why. There are still more projects to be accomplished before I can call HQ "completely done", but one of the bigger projects - painting two floors of walls and ceilings - can be crossed off the list. Finally.

That being said, there some more renovations happening at Wayne Fleming Arena and, if you happened to glance at both schedules for the Manitoba Bisons and WHL's Winnipeg Ice, it appears that it won't be open to the public until November. The Ice open their 2022-23 schedule with thirteen-straight road games beginning on September 24 in Brandon against the Wheat Kings before finishing the month away from Winnipeg on October 28 in Brandon. The Bisons, meanwhile, are playng October home games out of the The Rink facility at 57 South Landing Drive in Oak Bluff just off McGillvray Boulevard.

Why the long road trip and temporary home for the two teams? Well, there is considerable work being done on the side of the rink where the benches are situated. The WHL has mandated that all WHL clubs use two ice resurfacers during intermissions to allow for more time for the water to freeze, so that's one of the changes being made as the ice resurfacing area simply didn't have the square footage needed to have two ice resurfacers in it. That's one of the changes you'll see this season.

The other major change is that there won't be any high-fives for players heading onto or coming off the ice this season as the dressing rooms for the Ice, Bisons, and their opposition have been moved over to the bench side of the rink. This change will give both squads proper-sized dressing rooms suitable for WHL and U SPORTS programs, but it also means it's easier for training and medical staff to tend to injuries with the dressing rooms right next to the benches while equipment staff no longer have to lug equipment all over the rink for the respective teams.

Aside from that, there will be an updated pressbox for the media to work in while a handful of other improvements to the sound system and speakers that hung above the pressbox are also happening. Expect the Ice to have more branding in the university rink they're apparently never leaving since they're paying for the upgrades to meet WHL standards with the Bisons playing second fiddle to the WHL club in their own barn when it comes to a presence in the rink once again.

It was a summer of renovations both at HBIC HQ and at the home for both the Bisons and Ice, and we'll see how things look once the doors to Wayne Fleming Arena open in November. If the renovations at the rink turn out as well as the one around my headquarters did, it should be a snazzy-looking rink when the teams and the fans return to Wayne Fleming Arena. Let's hope there are championships to celebrate after the new additions this season!

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!