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Vol. 38, No. 18
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3-5-2008
By: Adam King Steve Lind is the man behind the curtain at the Schott
 Steve Lind felt the chill coming off the hockey ice that he and his mostly student staff had just finished reinstalling.
It was 1 a.m. and only about three hours after Lind had found himself looking at the neatly connected hardwood slats of the Buckeyes’ basketball court.
Lind and his staff are both quick-change artists and phantoms at the Schottenstein Center. They can convert a basketball venue into a hockey rink or rock concert setting in less time than it takes to drive to Detroit.
And they’re the only ones who know it happens. The public sees the end result and isn’t privy to the work that goes into remaking the Schott. Frankly, that’s how Lind likes it.
“We’re in here when nobody else is, but what we do determines the success of the event,” said Lind, who became conversion manager in October.
By that he means if something goes awry with the setup, it could mean a slight delay that makes the event less enjoyable, a lengthy stoppage or even a cancellation. None of those are acceptable options for Lind.
Which makes Lind’s job more than just moving things around.
When his crew puts in additional seats for the basketball setup, Lind must check the chairs and railing to make sure they are secure and work properly. The chairs also must be numbered correctly so fans can find the exact seats for which they bought their tickets. They have to be aware if pieces of the floor come loose and perform preventative maintenance.
For hockey games, Lind and his crew are in charge of installing the rink glass, and that includes making sure it is clean. They also have switching out broken glass during a game down pat (about two to three minutes).
Lind also must traverse the catwalks across the Schott’s highest reaches to make sure hockey safety nets are in place.
Lind does 40 to 80 conversions a year — including two to three a week when basketball and hockey seasons overlap.
“We do more conversions because we want to give our teams the opportunity to practice on their home court or home ice,” said Mike Damas, the Schott’s building engineer and Lind’s manager. “And Steve is great at getting it done quickly and safely.”
Lind said basketball is the hardest to convert to because it is the most cosmetic, but it is also his favorite conversion. The college sports junkie and former high school football and baseball player loves the full-crowd atmosphere for Buckeye basketball.
“When you work an event, you get to watch some great games,” said Lind, who most enjoyed this season’s men’s matchups against Florida and Michigan.
Basketball and hockey are both repetitious conversions that Lind and his crew can pretty much do in their sleep, although he says each conversion has its unique set of circumstances. Part of that is the hiccups from equipment wear and tear.
Then there are concerts, which not only require different seating than basketball or Ohio State graduations but setting up a new stage for each act that comes through. Sometimes Lind must consider special arrangements and make sure the facility is capable of handling it.
 During Keith Urban’s recent concert, he used a standard 60-foot by 40-foot stage but also added a 90-foot catwalk going down the middle. The catwalk went right over the hockey ice, and Lind and his crew had to make sure the polar floor covering the ice was extra secure so the surface wouldn’t mar or melt.
Lind cut his facility chops at the Budweiser Event Center in Loveland, Colo., after ending his military service in the Air Force. A friend who was the facilities manager there asked Lind to join him as operations manager despite the fact that Lind had no background in the business.
Coming to Schottenstein Center, Lind said, was like going from a “C” facility to an “A” facility. While the BEC did host collegiate events, it wasn’t part of a university like the Schott.
“The work ethic here is night and day too compared to my first position,” Lind said. “The effort and dedication of my supervisors and part-time crew are vital to the success of each event. And I’ve never seen a facility this nice for collegiate athletics. It’s more like an NHL or NBA arena.”
Since Lind only started in October, there are some events he has yet to experience, such as laying in the inch-thick hockey ice (only happens in September) and painting the logos and lines into it. He also hasn’t done a dirt event, such as a monster truck rally or circus.
For now, he’s happy to have the respect of those few people who do get to see what he does.
“I do feel like a phantom sometimes,” Lind said. “I don’t make all the staff meetings, and this job does wreak havoc with my sleeping habits. And if you told me somewhere in my career I’d be painting ice, I would have laughed at you.
“But this career field offers a lot of job security. No matter how bad the economy, people always show up to watch events in places like this.”
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