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Carrier Dome Changeover Season Carrier Dome Changeover Season

By Brendan Mortensen

Interior of Carrier Dome with half football field
© 2019 Brendan Mortensen

VO: February 13th isn’t just a busy time for flower shops and candy stores. It’s also a hectic time for Syracuse Athletics.

Stand-Up: It’s the time of year when lacrosse season overlaps with basketball season. And in the Carrier Dome, it’s just known as changeover season. The Carrier Dome has gotta go through some quick changes from the football field to the basketball court. But only one Syracuse legend is up to the challenge.

VO: Pete Sala is the Vice President and Chief Facility Officer and Managing Director of the Carrier Dome. But he’s known for much more to Syracuse students, his monthly construction updates.

PETE SOT: You know, we had taken on a project, it caused a little stir on campus and some people wanted some more information. So what spun off of that was this monthly construction update. I’ve seen some of those things, so it’s kind of funny.

VO: As for the changeover that he runs? A lot less attention, but a lot more work.

PETE SOT: With women’s games on possibly a Monday or a Wednesday, like we have tonight, it has forced a lot of these rollovers, as we call them, or changeovers in the business. We have 19 of them in the month of February and the first week in March alone.

VO: Tonight, NC State comes to the Carrier Dome for a women’s hoops showdown, and the next lacrosse game isn’t until Saturday. But things aren’t always that easy.

PETE SOT: There’s been times when we do a basketball game on a Friday night and then a football game at noon on Saturday. That’s a tough changeover. It’s tougher though to go from football mode to basketball because setting the basketball stuff up is a lot easier than taking the basketball equipment down.

VO: And for Sala and crew, it’s all hands on deck.

PETE SOT: Regardless, we ask everybody to jump in if you can do it. So, you know, 65 or 70 on the basketball side, the big changeover, there’ll be times when we do them with 30, 35. We prefer to have more, a lot of moving parts, and the students are just amazing.

VO: Tonight’s changeover will probably look something like this SU Athletics video from 2016. Fans will be able to enjoy basketball and lacrosse in the span of just a few days, and you have campus legend Pete Sala to thank. Brendan Mortensen, NCC News.

By Brendan Mortensen SYRACUSE N.Y. (NCC News) — Pete Sala is most well known around Syracuse University for his monthly construction updates, and with good reason. Students across the campus seemingly always have a joke for the “Legend of Pete Sala.”

However, when the calendar turns to February, students should be thanking Sala for a lot more than just his monthly construction updates.

February 8th marked the return of Syracuse lacrosse. While that is a joyous occasion for ‘Cuse fans, it is all made possible because of the work of Pete Sala and his changeover team.

Throughout February and into March, the Carrier Dome is constantly changing from the basketball court to the lacrosse field.

“We have 19 of them in the month of February and the first week of March alone,” Sala said. “There’s been times when we have a basketball game at nine at night, and then a football game at noon on Saturday. That’s a very tough changeover.”

The work is long and extensive, taking upwards of seven hours according to Sala. Often times, they are working with a small crew as well.

“We ask everybody to jump in,” added Sala. “There will be times when we do them with 30 or 35 [people].”

Syracuse women’s basketball hosts NC State on the 13th of February, and both lacrosse teams welcome opponents to the Carrier Dome on the 16th.

So while you may know Pete Sala for his monthly construction updates, you should be thanking him for making sure you get to watch your favorite SU sports, too.

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