SKATING RINK SHAPING UP FOR WORLD OF ICE

Keith Campbell says his crews can make ice anywhere in the world at any temperature.

To be sure, the crews test their ice-making equipment and portable rinks at their shop in Dening, N.M., where it can be 120 degrees outside.

"We can make it as cold as you want for as long as you want," Campbell said.

Considering the capabilities, erecting a temporary ice rink at the Show Me Center is about as easy as making ice cubes in a freezer.

Workers Tuesday began the task of constructing the rink for the Walt Disney World on Ice performances that will take place in Cape Girardeau's Show Me Center Friday through Sunday.

At 60 feet wide and 120 feet long, the skating area will be much smaller than those in most North American stadiums containing permanent rinks. Those rinks usually are 200 feet long. Regulation international-size rinks used for figure skating are even larger.

Campbell, who originally hails from Panama City, Fla., works for Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus, which puts on the ice shows under the leased Walt Disney name. He said performers have little trouble adjusting despite having to perform their many shows on rinks of varying sizes.

The Show Me Center rink actually totals 140 feet in length, but a stage area takes up almost 20 feet of it. The biggest one used is 150 feet long and the smallest yields a skating area 90 feet long. The size of the rink depends on the size of the arena. The flexibility allows the show, which travels worldwide, to visit more areas.

The smaller rinks are particularly used when the show tours Asia, where indoor auditoriums generally are limited in size.

"Everything is shrunk over there so the rink is smaller," Campbell said. "The skaters adjust from city to city."

The first step in putting together an operable rink is to lay 120 metal, floor panels. The panels are hooked to a circulation system through which a super-cooled antifreeze solution is pumped in to freeze the plates.

"It is a lot like regular antifreeze, but it holds cold much better than that in your car," Campbell said.

After the plates get cold, a fine mist of water is sprayed to seal the cracks in between them. Then a substance called base-ice is added to give the ice a white color. To finish it off, a garden hose is used to flood the surface.

The entire process, which began at 8 a.m. Tuesday, should be completed by early Thursday.

Taking up the ice is an even more arduous process than creating it. While permanent rinks simply turn off the refrigeration equipment and let the ice melt, the Disney crew doesn't have that luxury because it takes too long. Workers take heavy metal icebreakers to chop up the surface. The pieces are hauled out in dump trucks or wheelbarrows.

Campbell said the ice is made as cold as possible so that it is more likely to crack under pressure.

"In the ice department we're here first and leave last," Campbell said.