Opened in 2005, the Ice Complex in Monterrey is the first and the largest rink in the state of Nuevo León and Northeast Mexico. The complex houses an NHL-size ice sheet (200′ x 85′, 61 meters long, 26 meters wide) and can house nearly 800 spectators. It is also the only rink in the state that complies with the regulatory measures of IIHF, making it the perfect venue for a range of tournaments- from friendly matches to university leagues to world championships. In fact, in 2010 the International Ice Hockey Federation World U18 Championship was held at the Ice Complex. 

The venue is also the practice facility for Toros Hockey Monterrey aka Monterrey Bulls, an ice hockey club affiliated with the Mexico Sports Federation of Ice Hockey which has participated in multiple national and international tournaments.  

An ideal destination for family fun, the complex offers ice hockey and figure skating classes by National, International, and World Cup figure skating and ice hockey coaches for residents across age groups. Moving with the times, they even offered online ice hockey classes during the pandemic.  

Creating the perfect ice 

“When the facility was being envisioned, the customer’s priority was choosing a refrigeration system which will deliver optimum ice quality and maximum efficiency,” says Luis Escobar, Project Sales Engineer for the US Rec Department at CIMCO and a former Olympian.   

Another key consideration in the scheme of things was the warm weather conditions in the city. Monterrey is one of the warmest cities in the country- where average summer temperatures usually range from 23°C (73°F) to 35°C (95°F) but can rise as high as 45 °C (113 °F).    

Considering the above, the customer decided to tap into the expertise of the team at CIMCO and reached out looking for a solution. “After considering the customer’s needs, we recommended the use of Ammonia as a refrigerant because of its ability to deliver optimum ice quality across a wide range of temperatures, energy efficiency, and its environmentally friendly nature,” Luis adds.  

The System 

Following the client’s approval, the CIMCO Heritage package was installed at the Ice Complex. It comprises a 120 TR Ammonia/CaCl system with an EVAPCO Condenser with Split Coil for Oil Cooling, which offers maximum cooling capacity. The floor of this NHL-size rink is a sand base floor with 3.5" spacing in between the cold pipes. The cold pumps that feed the cold brine liquid to the floor to make those perfect ice sheets are designed for 900 US GPM.  With an evaporative temperature is 8°F and condensing temperature of 95°F, the system has been designed for the ambient temperatures of northern Mexico.  

The Benefits 

The Ammonia/Brine refrigeration system installed at the venue has lived up to the customer's expectations and has been delivering energy efficiency and savings for the last 17 years. Further, because of its environmentally friendly nature, Ammonia has helped the complex stand the test of time and avoid any unpredicted phaseouts.  

“When the facility was being planned and built, R22 was the most commonly used refrigerant in recreational space, but the customer agreed to our recommendation and chose Ammonia. They are very happy with this decision as R 22 was later phased out by many countries across the world because of its ozone-depleting nature,” he says.  

As for the system’s performance and benefits, Luis adds, “I am proud to say that our system has successfully met the customer’s expectations related to both energy efficiency and performance. Because of its ability to offer maximum energy consumption for energy loads and optimum equipment performance, the system ensures long-term savings for the facility and results in a minimum of 5% energy savings every year as compared to an R22 system.”  

The rink has been serving the community for nearly 17 years now, and CIMCO is proud to be a part of this journey.