The War Memorial Arena in Syracuse, NY officially entered “Crunch Time” when it completed the $8.5 million transformation of the newly-renovated Oncenter in 2018. Home to the Syracuse Crunch hockey team and high-profile events ranging from concerts to professional wrestling matches, the 6,230-seat multi-purpose forum is now the area’s state-of-the-art showcase for indulging fans and attendees year-round with luxury amenities. The renovation included the addition of six luxury suites, a premier club level, a new state-of-the-art scoreboard, and updates to the facility aimed at providing fans a great experience and restoring the arena.
And in December 2019, Onondaga County (NY), Upstate Medical University, and the Syracuse Crunch announced an 11-year sponsorship agreement that included naming rights of the Upstate Medical University Arena at Onondaga County War Memorial along with health programming and the continuation of Upstate’s sponsorship with the Syracuse Crunch.
Since the renovation, everyone who enters the upgraded arena are greeted by a new state-of-the-art, high-definition scoreboard, surrounding 15-foot screens, full 360-degree ribbon lighting, and a festive, vibrant environment featuring new seating emblazoned with the Crunch logo and a look and feel that “shouts” Crunch blue. This spirit extends throughout the entire facility — from the building’s rafters to the new stalls in every one of the arena’s restrooms.
Having used restroom partitions from Scranton Products over the years at other venues including the county’s civic center and board of elections building, Amanda Oberlender of the Onondaga County Dept. of Facilities Management & Construction and Office Planning Unit and her team chose the company’s Hiny Hiders™ in French Blue. This new color in the Bold Collection was a great match to the team and stadium’s blue shades. According to Oberlender, this selection was based on aesthetics, proven durability, low maintenance features, and value. In addition, no other partition manufacturer came close to the blue shade that matched their design vision for the arena’s 12 restrooms.
A leading provider of distinctive and attractive interior partitions for 25 years, Scranton Products offers an assortment of HDPE products in a variety of colors and textures. The company’s custom color matching and engraving capabilities are popular features that attract many educational facilities and institutions due to their ability to boldly reinforce an organization’s spirit and team pride.
In addition, Hiny Hiders partitions never need painting. Unlike metal partitions which are subject to rust, Hiny Hiders offer superior resistance to dents, scratches, graffiti, corrosion, mildew and moisture. Another benefit is that they are very easy to clean and naturally resistant to bacteria, while carrying a 25-year warranty.
With regular cleaning, Scranton Products’ full line of HDPE partitions can reduce regular maintenance and long-term replacement costs. Since plastic is a solid composite, it does not allow absorption or retaining of moisture or water. These characteristics eliminate moisture damage and rust, making them ideal for power-washing or hose-down cleaning. Eventually, these partitions can avoid landfills at their perceived end-of-life, as HDPE is 100% recyclable.
“It’s been a really busy year,” said Frank Lefevre, Oncenter’s manager of operations. “The Crunch made the playoffs resulting in quite a few sellout crowds. This normally creates a lot of extra work for my operations and maintenance teams. After an event, we typically generate two to three work orders a day for cleanups and repairs for damaged chairs or faulty products. But since we installed Hiny Hiders, we have not created a single work order for the partitions. They’re easy to clean and perform well night after night. In fact, during the season, no one has even given them a second thought, which is exactly the way we like it.”
Oberlander enjoys hearing feedback like this from the Oncenter’s arena staff. “Serving the general public during events like hockey games is not an easy assignment for any restroom,” adds Oberlender. “Like other sports environments, The War Memorial arena is subjected to punishment. But we are confident we made the right choice given our experience with the durability and performance of Hiny Hiders partitions over the years. They have never let us down under the most intense conditions and we’re certain they will perform for the long haul.”
(The Solvay Bank Box Office at The Oncenter is currently closed until further notice in compliance with the March 20, 2020 New York State mandate to close non-essential businesses, due to the COVID-19 pandemic.)
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