Target Center Floor Refurbishment
MCDA
Minneapolis, MN

The Target Center is a multi-use arena located in downtown Minneapolis. The refrigerated arena floor has 98 screw-type jacks designed to raise the floor 60.5 inches. Ice hockey is played in the raised position and basketball is played in the lowered position. The system is designed so that all of the jacks support an equal percentage of the load. If any jack fails due to excess loading, the system becomes inoperable. The lack of proper lubrication and maintenance over a period of years, caused the system to become unreliable.

Alltech Engineering was awarded a contract to refurbish the system. First, an in-place inspection of the jacks was performed. This included a check of the following: gear lube leakage, grease leaks, condition of the bearings, amount of metal in the grease, condition of worm gears and safety nuts, and a visual inspection of the entire system.

The second phase of the project was to rebuild the jacks. It was necessary to keep the floor operable at all times, and to schedule repairs when they did not interfere with arena events. The jack rebuilding process included removal of the jack assembly, disassembly of the jacks, cleaning and inspection of all parts, replacing seals and worn parts, reassembly, lubrication and greasing, and reinstallation. The jack transducers were then reset to accept proper loading, and the jacks were integrated into the computer control system.

Alltech Engineering's contract was completed over the course of approximately 1-1/2 years, and no events were affected by this project.