University of Minnesota Athletics
MHK: Minnesota Hockey to Receive Zamboni No. 8000
6/20/2005 12:00:00 AM | Athletics
The University of Minnesota will receive the machine, a Zamboni Model 540, this month. The very first Zamboni machine in Minnesota (No. 37) was originally delivered to the St. Paul Arena in 1956 and now resides in the Xcel Energy Center as is another memorable Zamboni machine - Machine No. 7,000 which was delivered to the Minnesota Wild of the National Hockey League. Machine No. 4, a Model B, is currently on loan for a display at the United States Hockey Hall of Fame in Eveleth, Minn.
“We are excited about adding ice resurfacer No. 8,000 to our fleet of Zamboni ice resurfacers supporting Minnesota’s Pride on Ice," Mariucci Arena and Ridder Arena Facility Manager Craig Flor said. "Our Zamboni ice resurfacers are a key part of maintaining the ice where champions play. A great ice surface is a small but important factor in both our two men’s and two women’s hockey teams’ NCAA Championships in the past four years. We look forward to No. 8,000 to be an important part of a championship team.”
“We’re proud to have the opportunity to deliver Machine No. 8,000 to the University of Minnesota," Richard Zamboni, president of the Zamboni Company, said. "They have a real appreciation for ice hockey and the state of Minnesota was home to some of the earliest Zamboni ice resurfacing machines.”
Zamboni’s 8,000th machine is another milestone for the Zamboni Company, which introduced the world’s first ice resurfacing machine in 1949. The Model 540 is built in Paramount, California at the Zamboni Company’s factory. There are two Zamboni factories: one in Paramount, and the other in the City of Brantford, Ontario, Canada.
It was in Paramount, California where Frank Zamboni, his brother and a cousin built the Iceland rink, which is celebrating its 65th anniversary in 2005. While Frank managed the rink, he realized that to be successful in the ice business, he would need to reduce the amount of time required to resurface the ice sheet. Frank spent nearly a decade developing a workable machine. The resulting Model A ice resurfacer was the world’s first self-propelled ice resurfacing machine.
