When the owner of the Clearwater Ice Arena wanted to expand the current building, hoping to lure the local National Hockey League team into a state-of-the-art practice facility, constructing an energy-efficient building was among the top considerations.

Insulated metal panels (IMPs) from Metl-Span provided the solution with the desired R-value, while offering single-pass construction to help erect the building quicker and with less expense. Metl-Span also had color options available to match the color scheme of the original building.

“Typically, we use precast concrete for ice arenas,” says Tom Moorse, partner at HTG Architects, with offices in Minneapolis, Tampa and Bismarck, ND. “We took a look around the site with the general contractor and there wasn’t a lot of room to work with tip-up concrete. It was decided that using the structural framing of a pre-engineered steel building with insulated metal panels would make the construction a lot easier.”

HTG has been a part of numerous ice arena projects and Moorse has specialized in designing them for 10 years. Most are community-owned facilities for school or youth program use with a seating capacity of 1,000 to 1,200. This project was an addition to an existing rink and training facility to be used by the community and area schools. In addition to hockey and figure skating programs and camps, the new NHL-sized ice rink will be available for private parties. The owner hopes to have the NHL’s Tampa Bay Lightning use the facility for training. Among the amenties added within the walls of the addition are a spacious “pro” locker room and weight training area.

“This project will be a valuable resource for us,” Moorse says. “We will definitely be using insulated metal panels again. In addition to being a time saver for the installer, we learned that insulated metal panels are cost-effective, which is a big consideration for privately owned or community owned facilities.”

Moorse says the variety of color options made it easy to match the colors on the existing building. Almost 23,000 square feet of insulated metal panels from Metl-Span were installed vertically on framing from Ceco Building Systems. The insulated metal panels were 4 inches thick with a Polar White exterior and an Almond interior.

“Using insulated metal panels offered an upfront savings because of the efficient erection,” Moorse says. “The savings continues with the energy efficiency of the insulated metal panels. We’re basically building a big refrigerator, so having energy benefits is an important consideration, especially in Florida."

The insulated metal panels were installed by Seven M Construction of Oldsmar, FL. The project was completed in August 2016.

To learn more about metal building systems from Ceco, click here.