How does Crypto.com Arena change its floor while hosting three playoff teams?

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When the final buzzer sounded and the Clippers sealed a victory over the Portland Trail Blazers on a recent Saturday, another team was waiting just outside the locker room, ready to play.

Crypto.com Arena employees change the arena playing surfaces from hardwood after a Clippers afternoon game to the ice for an evening Kings hockey game on Saturday, April 8, 2023. (Brian van der Brug/Los Angeles Times)

As the players left the field, a group of 60 Crypto.com Arena employees set in motion a two-hour transformation of playing surfaces from hardwood Clippers to ice Kings, and for only a handful of times, from back to hardwood for a Lakers game. The next day.

Times Photo Editor Kelvin Kuo and I were there to document the show, power the GoPro cameras, and lay out our plan to record the transformation with time-lapse photography.

As the Clippers played the Trail Blazers in the first half of the afternoon game, we toured the arena to scout filming locations and secure cameras at various locations to capture the action.

Crypto.com Arena employees change the arena playing surfaces from hardwood after a Clippers afternoon game to the ice for an evening Kings hockey game on Saturday, April 8, 2023. (Brian van der Brug/Los Angeles Times)

We found a fixed position in a broadcast suite above ground to mount a camera, and moved the others around periodically during the changeover to show viewers the different aspects of what it takes to pull off the feat.

After fans left the building, the floor emblazoned with the Clippers logo was unlocked and removed piece by piece and stacked on rolling racks to be placed in temporary storage. Another team was busy removing rubber mats from the ice to prepare the surface for hockey.

A Crypto.com Arena employee removes rubber mats covering the ice as a team of 40 change playing surfaces from hardwood after an afternoon Clippers game to ice for a hockey game of the Kings on Saturday, April 8, 2023. (Brian van der Brug/Los Angeles Times)

Banners have been removed and others have been put back in place. The plexiglass barriers have been assembled and cleaned.

Just before the Kings fans arrived, it was time for Kelvin and I to get on the twin Zamboni machines to film the preparation of the ice cream.

A Crypto.com Arena employee secures plexiglass panels on a seating area adjacent to the team tunnel as a team changes playing surfaces from hardwood after a Clippers afternoon game to ice for an evening Kings hockey game on Saturday, April 8, 2023. (Brian van der Brug/Los Angeles Times)

A Crypto.com Arena employee washes plexiglass panels as a team of about 40 people change playing surfaces from hardwood after a Clippers afternoon game to the ice for a hockey game of the Kings at night on Saturday, April 8, 2023. (Brian van der Brug/Los Angeles Times)

It was fascinating to be there documenting the highly choreographed work, and a little stressful for us trying to stay away, hoping a battery didn’t fail or a camera didn’t go moved.

But for the workers, the afternoon went off without a hitch. It was, after all, the 250th time the arena had been changed to a doubleheader.

Crypto.com Arena employees gather for a team photo after changing the playing surfaces from hardwood after a Clippers afternoon game to ice for an evening Kings hockey game on Saturday April 8, 2023. (Brian van der Brug/Los Angeles Times)

Their job was done and soon the Kings fans had replaced the Clippers fans, but only for a short time until the ice was covered, the maple wood was back and the seats were filled with purple and gold. ‘gold.

This story originally appeared in the Los Angeles Times.

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