INDIANA FARMERS COLISEUM

The Indiana Farmers Coliseum is the hallmark building found on the Indiana State Fairgrounds. It is a 6,500-seat indoor multi-use arena and special event venue. The coliseum, in addition to the annual state fair, is home to more than 150 sporting and entertainment events each year including the NCAA, IUPUI Jaguars, and the Indy Fuel.

THE OBSTACLE

When the Indiana Farmers Coliseum approached Newpoint Services, they were concerned they may be facing a flooring replacement. In just a few years, they had lost all shine and color to the 60,000 square feet of polished concrete and terrazzo flooring that served as the main navigation of the building.

The building had reopened from a $53 million remodel in 2014 that had taken 17 months of closure to complete, so it was particularly important to save the still new floor and make the building available to the public as quickly as possible.

OUR FINDINGS

In addition to the vast number of events and visitors the Indiana Farmer’s Coliseum expects each year, the location serves as host to several high-impact guests. The building hosts livestock events, boat trade shows, hockey, and public ice skating each year, so the solution provided had to stand up to particularly harsh conditions like bladed shoes, heavy loads, and cold temperatures.

NEWPOINT’S RECOMMENDATIONS AND IMPLEMENTATION:

After an assessment of the coliseum’s needs, Newpoint Services put together a 3-pronged program based in restoration, protection, and maintenance to bring back the shine of the concrete and terrazzo for the long term:

RESTORE

Newpoint began restoration by using a new abrasive pad technology by 3M that lasts twice as long as traditional polishing products to grind an even floor texture while saving materials and labor costs.

PROTECT

After evening out the surface of the floor, Newpoint specialists applied a new high-performance stone floor protector designed to preserve concrete, terrazzo, marble, and other porous stone surfaces. This product leaves a hard surface finish to resist dirt entrapment and yellowing with fewer coats than traditional floor protectors and no burnishing between layers, which saved time and materials costs for the client.

MAINTAIN

Once the protector was applied, the floor was finished with a burnishing, after which the floor was made immediately available to the public. One burnish can also be used to treat scratches on the floor as they appear as opposed to traditional products, which require the full restoration beginning at a polished grind to repair.

Ongoing suggested maintenance for the terrazzo and concrete floors of the Indiana Farmers Coliseum include a burnish three or four times per month and a recoat once or twice each year depending on traffic.

THE CONCLUSION

In the face of punishing treatment, Newpoint Services was able to refinish, protect, and maintain the floors of the Indiana Farmers Coliseum with new stone protection technology that allowed for fewer applications and materials, fewer harsh chemicals, a decreased maintenance schedule, and without closing the building to the public.

All of these choices were made to decrease costs and improve the protection of the floors, which should be in good working condition for decades with regular maintenance.

TOTAL SAVINGS

The Indiana Farmers Coliseum use of Newpoint’s protection plan for reduced maintenance needs, improved restoration technology, and the ability to keep the building open while restoring bring their total savings to $33,000 for the initial resurfacing and up to $209,000 per year in maintenance costs moving forward.