Save Mart's flexibility for the bulls

By Kirstie Hettinga
The Collegian

Picture cowboys trying to ride bulls in an ice hockey rink or on a basketball court. In a way, that’s what was happening Friday at the Save Mart Center.

Fortunately for the riders, the bulls they were attempting to stay on were not slipping on the Fresno Falcons’ ice rink, but they were riding on top of it.

The Save Mart Center is a flexible facility. In 24 hours it was a basketball court for the Harlem Globetrotters and a bull-riding ring for the Built Ford Tough Professional Bull Riders Table Mountain Invitational.

Pete Wenzel is the man in charge of the conversions, the changing from one set up to another. He said his responsibilities are two-pronged. He is responsible for all physical aspects of the center, including its Internet and security. He also handles the setup and break down for events.

“We go event to event, the floor is set in a certain way,” Wenzel said.

For the bull riders, the set up actually began on Thursday when the lights were hung. Hanging the lights required that the basketball court be taken up and later replaced so the Harlem Globetrotters could perform.

The ice rink is a permanent fixture in the SMC. “It stays down for six months,” Wenzel said.

Over the ice is a sub floor, which was then covered in plywood for protection. Then comes the dirt. Starting at 4 a.m. Friday, 15 tons of dirt was trucked in to set up for the bull riding competition.

Save Mart Center will provide the stage and some of the lights but stage specifics, such as video screens, are the property of the event.

Wenzel said an average show brings six to 10 trucks with them. One of the largest shows he can recall is the KISS/Aerosmith show, which arrived with 21 trucks.

Among his favorite stage designs was the Rolling Stones who had a secondary stage that rolled across the arena.

Wenzel said he didn’t know if there was any kind of event the SMC would refuse. Basketball games and ice hockey matches don’t worry him. “The stuff here is a known quantity,” he said. Only if a show had some aspect that was too large would it be turned away. Wenzel went on to say this was unlikely to occur because of what the facility can handle.

Available seating may be impacted by the size of show. Thrust stages reduce the number of floor seats. Also, events may alter seating to take visibility into account.

For the recent Run for the Dream track meet the Save Mart Center and Track and Field coach Bob Fraley worked with the Los Angeles Sports Arena to borrow their indoor track.

Wenzel said his team of converters actually had a practice run to work on putting the surface together. The conversion for the track set up took 14 hours and Wenzel said he relied heavily on part time workers.

It was also a rare midday conversion. Most of the changeovers take place at night and average about eight hours for striking and setting. It also fluctuates depending on the number of workers Wenzel has available.

For the bull riding set up Wenzel had a crew of about eight for the initial lighting set up. A crew of 20-25 was responsible for the set up of the arena—taking out the court and some of the risers, setting the sub floor and a layer of protective plastic sheeting.

A company that specializes in dirt shows, such as the Professional Bull Riders, was used to arrange for the dirt. The Save Mart Center used Ohio-based Specialty Tracks to arrange the truck rental. Specific shows require certain textures or consistencies of dirt and depth varies event to event.

Wenzel said one of his favorite shows was also a dirt show. Crusty Demons, a trick motorcycle group, did not have an elaborate set up, but impressed Wenzel with their flips and jumps. The Eagles was one of Wenzel’s favorite musical performances.

From the floor of the Save Mart Center, through the dirt, Wenzel said you can still feel the cold of the ice.

When he used to work in security at other arenas, Wenzel said on the ground you would see people with sensory overload.

The professional bull riders experienced up to eight seconds of sensory overload on Friday. Eight seconds is the target length of time to stay on a bull for a qualifying ride. Some didn’t make it the full eight seconds. But at least they weren’t riding on the ice.

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