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& Fabricator& FabricatorVolume 25, Number 2 Reprinted from March/April 2004

Acrylic Shielding Makes Comebackwith Indoor Arenas

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he crash of the boards, the slap of the puck; sightsand sounds that drive hockey fans wild and the onlything standing between them and a 90 mph hockey

puck is spectator shielding. Indoor arena sports have atendency to move fast and hard in a smaller game playarea than outside stadiums. Sports like soccer, arena foot-ball, lacrosse and hockey are quick and exciting games.Much of the speed and excitement ends up crashing intothe spectator shielding above dasher panels.

Arena spectator shielding has been a topic of much dis-cussion over the last few years, involving coach and play-er complaints, clarity issues and impact resistance. A solu-tion to these issues is taking hold with indoor arenas asthey begin to make the switch from seamless glass toacrylic shielding systems. The reasons are to reduce play-er injury and complaints and ease facility changeovers.

Crashing the Boards

An argument being presented in many debates overspectator shielding systems is the rigidity of temperedglass versus that of acrylic shielding. Concerns loomingthroughout the hockey industry have many facilities look-ing at acrylic and many team officials requesting it. Acrylicis approximately 64 percentlighter than an equally sizedglass panel. Acrylic is also 20-25 times more flexible thantempered glass. The flexibili-ty of an acrylic shielding sys-tem is a major factor to con-sider when a player is impact-ing shields at acceleratedspeeds. Both the shieldingand the player will absorb theforce of the impact. Due toplayer and coaching staffcomplaints, some arenashave already made the switchto acrylic shielding.

The NHL requires the useof a 200 pound load to testthe impact on its shieldingsystems. Computer modelsshow that a 200 pound play-er skating at 15 mph will generate 63,553 psi of stresson tempered glass. The reaction force distributed backto the player is 54,820 pounds Under the same condi-tions, if the 200 pound player were to impact acrylic

shielding, he would generate 15,555 psi of stress on theacrylic and only 20,720 pounds of reaction force wouldbe redistributed back to the player. This three-foldreduction in reaction forces significantly reduces theeffects of the impact and the possibility of injury. Thesenumbers show why players are more likely to sufferhead, neck or upper body injuries when impacting tem-pered glass instead of acrylic.

Some venues have found that replacing the large 4’ x 8’glass panels located behind the goal, where most player-to-board contact occurs, makes a significant improvementin player comfort and event changeovers.

Feeling the Impact

When seamless glass systems were first installed in are-nas, it was facility staff that first felt the “impact.”Seamless glass panels, although the same size as acrylicpanels, weigh approximately 100 pounds more. The addi-tional weight on the larger panels behind goals called forexpensive slow moving lifts to perform arena changeovers.Additional facility labor costs are required to break downand set-up facility configurations from event to event.

The popularity and game frequency of indoor sports is atan all-time high, as lacrosse,soccer and arena footballhave captured the attentionof the American public. Withboth soccer and lacrosse uti-lizing spectator shieldingalong with hockey, facilitiesare required to perform morechangeovers per week,staffing for as many as 3events a day. With the addedfrequency of these events,facility management began tonotice the added changeoverburden glass panels carried.In order to cope, some facili-ties, such as the First UnionCenter in Philadelphia, haveimplemented a hybrid shield-ing system where both acrylicand glass are used, whereby

the larger panels behind the goal are made of acrylic. Thishas helped speed changeover time and has eliminatedthe need for specialty lifts, as two or more arena person-nel can easily handle the large acrylic panels.

Acrylic Spectator Shielding

Is Making A Comeback

With Indoor Arenas

Acrylic Spectator Shielding

Is Making A Comeback

With Indoor Arenas

T

“We’re seeing more and more arenas making the switchto acrylic shielding especially in light of the recent devel-opments in specialty coated acrylic products,” commentedJohn Korney, Commercial Development Manager SheetProducts, CYRO Industries. CYRO, based in Rockaway, NJ,has an acrylic product guaranteed to meet ASTM F 1703-96 for spectator shielding, ACRYLITE® RinkShield™ acrylicsheet.

Breaking Through

While shielding stiffness and player complaints remain amajor issue, shielding impact strength has not been anissue because both glass and acrylic have proven to beeffective, incurring a comparable amount of breakage. Thefact to consider is that when glass panels break they shat-ter into tiny fragments as opposed to acrylic, which breaksinto large pieces. It is not a common occurrence but if apanel breaks, acrylic facilitates faster clean up andreplacement over glass panels. Two facility personnel couldchange panels in a timely fashion without the need of spe-cial lift equipment.

Seeing the Difference

Clarity is an important issue, predominantly with somany sporting events being televised and broadcast glob-ally. Glass has long been thought to offer ideal optical con-ditions but in actuality acrylic offers better light transmis-

sion for improved optical clarity. Acrylic panels can also bespecialty coated to resist scratches and puck marks toimprove game viewing.

“Manufactured to ASTM specs for hockey arenas,RinkShield acrylic sheet holds up to puck and playerimpacts, provides softer impacts versus tempered glass,clear viewing for fans and easier, quicker changeoveroperations for facilities,” commented Korney.

While acrylic supported dasher systems absorb impactwell, it has also been said that they provide louder andmore exciting impact sounds for fans and spectators. Asplayers wrestle for puck control against the boards, fansare able to hear the on-ice excitement better with acrylicdasher systems due to the shock absorbing movement ofthe system. Because of the impact absorption, movementimpact volume is amplified and grabs fan attention,enhancing the level of excitement of the game.

With NHL and player concerns regarding shield-ing and dasher systems, changeover benefits andlighter weight, acrylic shielding is making a come-back in arenas across the country.

For additional information regarding ACRYLITE®RinkShield™ acrylic sheet, contact Carmen Mammoliti,CYRO Industries, 100 Enterprise Drive, Rockaway, NJ07866, 800-631-5384 / 973-442-6128, Fax: 973-442-6117, Web: www.cyro.com.

Copyright 2004. Plastics Distributor® & Fabricator magazine is published six times per year and is available free ofcharge to qualified U.S. and Canadian distributors, fabricators and manufacturers of plastic rod, sheet, tube, film, pipeand fittings and others allied to the field. For a free subscription see our "Visitor’s Center" at www.plasticsmag.com orcall 708-447-0001 for more information.

© 2004 CYRO Industries, Parsippany, New Jersey 07054. All rights reserved.3184-0404-2PDF

For more information on ACRYLITE® acrylic sheet productsvisit www.cyro.com or call 800-631-5384.

Order RinkShield by NameMade in the USA, ACRYLITE

® RinkShield™ acrylic sheet is guaranteed

to meet ASTM standard F1703-96 for spectator shielding. No moreaggravation caused by metric/imperial equivalents or “acceptabletolerances”. For hassle-free ordering simply ask for “RinkShield” by name!

Product Offering2 Thicknesses:

Full-gauge .500” for rink sides and bench areasFull-gauge .625” for rink ends

2 Sizes:4’ x 8’ sheet5’ x 8’ sheetCustom sizes available upon request

2 Surface Choices:Coated for additional abrasion & chemical resistanceUncoated for economical installations

Overall PerformanceOutstanding impact resistance for increased safety– does not shatter like glass

Enhanced optical performance for improved spectator viewing

Abrasion resistant for less marring

Ease of UseWeighs 100 lbs. less per pane than glass

Faster changeovers save time & reduce costs by 50% or more

Easy to clean with commercial cleaners

Simple on-site fabrication for camera portals and rink entrances

Player Safety and ComfortFlexible and “forgiving” for increased player safety and comfort

The only acrylic engineered to meet ASTM and NHL regulations

Significantly outperforms NHL deflection benchmarks