OGDEN -- The concrete has set, the ice is down, the paint is on and the curlers are coming back.
All of which means a $275,000 project to upgrade the Weber County ice sheet by laying a new concrete floor -- at the expense of the Salt Lake Organizing Committee -- is now finished.Cathleen Dressler, county community services director, said the concrete floor will provide a more level and stable surface that curlers require for Olympic grade curling competition.
The Weber ice sheet will be the curling venue for the 2002 Winter Olympics.
The previous floor was formed over a sand base, and local curlers had complained of a slope in the ice that made it more difficult to direct their 42-pound granite stones to the target or "house."
"This floor gives us more flexibility in using the facility," Dressler said. "And the ice will be of better quality and more consistent."
Dressler said the ice sheet will be opened on a limited basis beginning next week for private user groups and rentals.
The ice sheet is being brought gradually back into use, she noted, and public groups won't be able to use the facility until Aug. 2.
A grand reopening of the sheet will be scheduled in late August or early September.
"The floor came out beautifully," Dressler said. "All of the construction went well, and we're actually right on schedule" to complete the work.
After laying down a quarter-inch-thick layer of ice, workers have been painting the hockey and curling markings on the ice this week, she said. Another layer of ice will be place over that surface to "seal" the floor.
"When it's all done, we wind up with 1 to 1 1/2 inches of ice," said Dressler, who also serves as county Olympics planning coordinator.
Meantime, ice sheet staffers are working on user schedules for the facility. Tuesday night curling leagues will begin sometime in September and help generate more local curling competition.
More time also will be set aside for lessons, Dressler said, but curlers should plan on less "drop-in" practice time because the more structured play and instruction schedule will create a greater demand on available ice time.
To promote the new league play, however, she noted there will be some evening drop-in practices scheduled on Tuesday nights during August. Those times and dates will be announced later.
A "Learn to Skate" program for aspiring figure skaters will kick off Aug. 4 at 5 p.m., and freestyle opportunities will be offered during mornings and once or twice a week in afternoons.
Public skating ice times will be scheduled on weekends, afternoons and evenings beginning in August. Those times also will be announced later.
Because schedules are still being developed, Dressler suggests that anyone interested can phone 801-778-6300 for specific information.