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Syracuse Crunch To Play In Newly Renovated War Memorial War Memorial Updates Coming To An End

The War Memorial now has updated technology throughout the arena.

By Daniel Loftus

A video board with the Syracuse Crunch 25th year logo
© 2018 Dan Loftus

NAT sound, Crunch Hockey players practicing

Dan Loftus: As the Syracuse Crunch hockey team preps for its first home game,

NAT Sound, Construction noise

Loftus: Workers are putting in the finishing touches on the newly renovated War Memorial Arena. Eight-point-five million dollars, of mostly county and state money, refurbished things like bathrooms, video boards and a brand new center home scoreboard. Crunch Chief Operating Officer Jim Sarosy says these upgrades put the War Memorial toward the top of A-H-L home rinks.

Jim Sarosy: This is really second to none we were upgrade a lot of areas but still keep that charm and that heartbeat that not a lot of other arenas have.

Loftus: With the bulk of updates happening over the past month, Sarosy says some of the new technology will take time to master.

Sarosy: We’re not even close to full capacity when it comes to operating all of it.

Loftus: We’ll see if the Crunch can start to learn the new tech when it hosts the Charlotte Checkers this Saturday. Dan Loftus, N-C-C News.

By Dan Loftus SYRACUSE, N.Y. (NCC News) — The Syracuse Crunch hockey team of the American Hockey League (AHL) will play their first scheduled home game this Saturday at the now newly renovated War Memorial Arena.

$8.5 million dollars went into upgrades and additions to the arena’s facilities. Upgrades and changes include new video displays, improved bathrooms, and a new center home scoreboard, among other new improvements.

“That fan experience will be enhanced because of what we can do with these video displays and the bells and whistles that we couldn’t do before,” said Jim Sarosy, Syracuse Crunch Chief Operating Officer. “With a lot of these electronical upgrades we have the ability to make it even that much better.”Picture with a dollar sign reading 8.5 million for the amount spent to renovate the war memorial

These upgrades help bring some of the same features to this 67-year-old building that can be found in more modern AHL  rinks.

“We have so much character and we have a heart beat in this building because it’s so old, it’s so unique,” said Sarosy. “It was important to us, the hockey team, to maintain that charm, but also give it some modern amenities that the fan base can enjoy, and I think we nailed it.”

Sarosy said the team expects there to be a learning curve when it comes to figuring out how to best maximize the use of the brand new technological equipment available.

“We’re going from two cameras to five cameras, we’re going from 400 pounds of equipment to 2,500 pounds of equipment,” said Sarosy. “We’re not going to have this licked for a year — if that.”

Most of the upgrades to the building were added over the last month. Scheduling issues are to blame, according to Sarosy,  for the updates happening so close to the season. The Crunch share the space with other events.

“We wish [the renovation] was done the minute after we were done playing, but when you’re sharing a building… these are some of the challenges you have to overcome” said Sarosy.

The next game for the Crunch is Wednesday against the Rochester Americans in Rochester, then the team comes home to play the Charlotte Checkers to break in the updated facility on Saturday.

 

 

 

Reported by
Daniel Loftus

Daniel Loftus

Dan Loftus is a sophomore Broadcast and and Digital Journalism major at the Newhouse School at Syracuse University. He is originally from Lewisburg, Pennsylvania

Other stories by Daniel Loftus

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