Photos posted online Sunday by the Edmonton Oilers show staff painting the lines on the rink and installing a large piece of public art.
The photos of the line painting also give a clear view of the arena bowl, where the seats are protected by plastic tarps. The blank boards have yet to be covered in advertisements, and the giant scoreboard — the largest in the NHL — towers over centre ice.
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The photos also show workers painstakingly installing a tile floor art piece.
Janvier was selected from a list of Canadian and international artists to create the large piece. The aboriginal muralist’s mosaic is one of four major public art pieces in the arena.
Edmontonians will get a chance to see it all for themselves at an open house on Saturday, Sept. 10. Tours will include a look at the Ford Hall artwork, the massive high-definition scoreboard and the arena concourse.
Those who wish to tour the facility must sign up for tickets, which are now available through Ticketmaster. Tickets are free, but people must book a scheduled entrance slot between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m.
There is a limit of four tickets per email address. Initially 28,000 were released at 2 p.m. Monday, but due to high demand an additional 14,000 were released. As of 9 p.m. Monday, over 29,000 tickets had been spoken for.
The city said it will monitor demand on Tuesday. If necessary, action will be taken to ensure everyone is accommodated and the time slots are not over-crowded.
On Wednesday, “due to a phenomenal response from Edmontonians,” another time slot – 4 p.m. – was added for the open house.
As of noon Wednesday, 47,298 tickets had been snapped up. All time slots from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. had been fully booked.
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People who attend the open house will be given a souvenir booklet with maps that will help them through their self-guided tour. The tour is expected to take 60 to 90 minutes.