Who: George Waselenchuk
Age: 43
Job: Operations Manager, Rexall Place
Experience: George Waselenchuk has been with Northlands since the Oilers had the likes of Gretzky, Kurri and Messier on the ice. He got his first job with Northlands when he was 15 years old. “I worked my way up through the organization,” says Waselenchuk.
Over the years, Waselenchuk made ice and even drove the Zamboni between periods at Oilers’ games. He also took some arena operations courses from the Alberta Association of Recreational Facility Personnel so he’d have the credentials to help him move up the ladder. Now, Waselenchuk is in charge of making sure the operations at Rexall Place run smoothly.
According to concert-industry site, Pollstar, Rexall Place is the 26th-busiest arena in the world, not counting hockey games. Add Oilers and Oil Kings home games and you’ve got almost another 100 dates on the schedule.
For concerts, decking is put down on the ice to protect it. After a concert, the ice is expected to be ready within eight hours. But the ice is melted and hauled away in barrels for the summer, as well as for longer events like the Canadian Finals Rodeo. It takes 36 hours to completely build the ice surface from scratch.