Wenzel Engineering, Inc. - Structural Engineers

St. Paul Ice Arena

To secure a professional hockey franchise in St. Paul, the city agreed to replace its existing downtown ice arena with a new, expanded facility. To avoid the risk of damaging utlity lines under the arena floor, the city decided to dismantle the arena instead of demolishing it by implosion.

An integrated system of ring trusses that made the roof of the arena self-supporting also prevented it from being dismantled without temporary support. Wenzel Engineering Inc., designed a 68-foot high tower capable of supporting not only the roof itself but the unbalanced loads created during removal of the roof trusses. The firm also determined that the concrete columns forming the exterior wall of the arena would remain stable after removal of the roof trusses, avoiding the need for temporary bracing.