On Monday, Capital One Arena built the ice surface for the Capitals’ 2018-19 season. The ice, when finished, will be maintained for the rest of the rest of the hockey season, which begins with Tuesday night’s preseason game against the Bruins.

I was on the scene along with RMNB’s Cara Bahniuk for a sneak peek of the ice.

Photos

New to the ice surface are four ad placements below the goal, two on each end: the logos of Capital One and Laborers’ International Union of North America. The NHL only recently permitted teams to sell advertising in these four locations, which NHL Chief Revenue Officer Keith Wachtel called “the most valuable real estate in all of sports.”

The center ice ads remain the same as last season, representing Capital One, Red River, Leidos, and M&M’s.

These four new ad placements, which double the current number of on-ice ads, are the league’s first addition since the 1990s when the ads at center ice were permitted. In minor leagues and in European leagues, this restriction on advertising has not been as strict, which can lead to some, well, cluttered ice surfaces.

Halli täynnä Oulussa. PuLaAho kiinnosti selkeästi. pic.twitter.com/4Ee0lbYLqk

— Ilari Savonen (@ilarisavonen) August 11, 2017

The new ads are expected to drive significant revenue for the teams and the league (the four ad spots revert to NHL ownership during the playoffs), due to their key positioning and increased TV screen time compared to center ice ads. Citing two marketing executives, Sports Business Daily reported that the new ads could drive between seven to eight-figures in incremental revenue to the teams.

Photos: Elizabeth Kong