Quick change doesn't slow down Hilton crews

What a busy weekend for Iowa State athletics. Two wrestling duals, two basketball games and changes to Hilton Coliseum’s layout after each one. A daunting task, but as fans file out of Hilton, the work is just beginning for a dedicated group of workers who make sure the experience is just as smooth for the next event.

But the level of urgency ramps up when the changes happen the same day, like on Sunday, Feb. 15. The Iowa State women's basketball team beat Kansas State, 76-72, in a long game that ended after 3 p.m. before the Cyclone wrestlers took to the mat and downed Northern Iowa, 28-6, in a dual that began at 7 p.m. Fans started arriving at their seats at 6 p.m.

The two crews must work quickly and efficiently with a custodial team cleaning concourse areas and bathrooms, vacuuming and picking up in the stands. A handful also must make sure locker rooms are prepared for teams and officials. A production team makes sure the equipment -- basketball hoops, wrestling mat, volleyball net, etc. -- is ready for the next event and the electronics for game staff is in place and working. It's a process that can take two to four hours to complete, associate director for game operations Jason Pyle said.

"This past weekend was kind of wild actually," he said. "We really have to rely on those two crews to make it all happen."

The demanding weekend began with the wrestling team beating West Virginia on Friday night, and the men's basketball team grabbed a victory against Kansas in a game that began Saturday at noon. It takes about 30 custodians and 10 production staff to complete the changes, he said.

"This weekend was a little unique because it involved a wrestling to basketball, back to wrestling and then back to basketball change," said Pyle, who noted the more common transition is from a men's to women's basketball. "The court stays down but we have to get the wrestling mat out. We move some of the tables around on the court and set up chairs and camera positions around the mat."

Once the wrestling finished on Sunday, crews were back at it preparing Hilton for Monday's men's Big 12 basketball showdown with Houston.

Experience pays off

Whether they're putting down a wrestling mat, adding the volleyball team's Taraflex floor on top of the wood court or setting up gymnastics equipment, many crew members are veterans of the process. Led by event coordinators Matt McLeod and Mike Hovey, the crew's experience provides confidence during stressful times.

"We are fortunate that the people that are flipping the court and doing a lot of the tables and chairs here have been here for as long as 20-some years," he said. "They kind of schedule themselves appropriately because it's not an 8-to-5 job. They know how long it's going to take to put the basketball court in or put the wrestling mat down.

"They are critical."

Pyle said the same people help run the audio system at Hilton and take care of some maintenance responsibilities.

Big events at Hilton 

Pyle said a sport-to-sport transition is common enough that it becomes second nature, but when a large career fair or commencement ceremonies use Hilton, it becomes an even bigger undertaking.

"Career fairs require that a lot of tables are set up and carpet is put down all across Hilton," he said. "We also have to prepare to host events like Odyssey of the Mind and FFA conferences after the seasons conclude in the summer."