Zamboni drivers wanted

From today's Minneapolis Star-Tribune.  

Wanted: Zamboni drivers ... for real

Go ahead, picture yourself at the wheel of a Zamboni

By JANA HOLLINGSWORTH janah@startribune.com

Admit it, it's been your dream. The Duluth convention center can make it come true.

DULUTH - Duluth's convention center and ice arena is experiencing the nationwide worker shortage in a very Minnesota way: It needs Zamboni drivers, lots of them.

Until recently, the work of resurfacing the ice at the Amsoil Arena, cleaning the facility and moving hockey nets fell to a full-time and a part-time employee at the home to University of Minnesota Duluth Bulldog hockey.

Now with the hockey season closing in, the facility needs eight Zamboni drivers to refresh the ice.

"On September 1, we get really busy," said Steve Rankila, internal operations director for the Duluth Entertainment Convention Center (DECC), which operates the arena. "We run a full shift, especially when you start at 6 a.m."

If there is some good news, the facility last week needed 12 part-time drivers, but since has filled four slots.

The COVID-19 pandemic caused the driver shortage, Rankila said. With no events or revenue, the DECC furloughed or laid off 400 employees, and many, including the Zamboni drivers, found other work or went on to full-time work after college graduation.

U MD student Sebastian Sullivan has driven a Zamboni at the DECC for three years. It is not hard to drive , he said, but it takes some training and getting used to, especially being out in front of a crowd during a Division I hockey game.

"You don't want to get stuck and ruin the whole rink," Sullivan said.

The job is not all Zamboni driving glamour and cheering and jeering fans. It involves locker room cleaning, scraping ice and general maintenance work. New hires will earn $14 an hour and receive training, Rankila said.

"It's a unique job," he said.

"Not everyone can say they can run a Zamboni."

If I was young I would do it just to put on my resume. 
 

I have looked at many resumes over the years and that would definitely catch my eye. 

I had a friend in college who was the zamboni driver for Bridgestone Arena during the Nashville Predators games. He said it was great. He got to watch the hockey games for free and he then joked that he got his own half-time show all to himself as he drove around on the ice.

I've always regretted not taking this job when it was offered to me. I'm sure I could walk into just about any local rink and get the job, but I don't have the time now. Maybe if I win the lottery...

Wait, I can put this on my resume?  Cool!

$14/hour! All of our rinks here are city employees and make much more than that doing the same tasks, I guess there won't be a brain drain of zamboni drivers heading south for better jobs lol.

adam525i said:

$14/hour! All of our rinks here are city employees and make much more than that doing the same tasks, I guess there won't be a brain drain of zamboni drivers heading south for better jobs lol.

$14 USD = $17.70 CAD. Plus, between benefits and taxes, I don't think you can make a straight comparison. 

Holy crap, even Baltimore needs Zamboni drivers.

Fun Fact - Zambonis are manufactured in Long Beach, CA.

KyAllroad said:

Wait, I can put this on my resume?  Cool!

Seriously. I bet you could some kind of support or sponsorship from a hockey team somewhere with it. Imagine doing donuts on rock hard worn out Hoosiers on the ice. A great half time gimmick. 

In reply to nocones :

Weirdly it's tough to find co-drivers sometimes.  I'll be at NCM Sunday for a TN region event, co-drive is unclaimed at this time.  If you want it, come on down.

Adrian_Thompson (Forum Supporter) said:

Seriously. I bet you could some kind of support or sponsorship from a hockey team somewhere with it. Imagine doing donuts on rock hard worn out Hoosiers on the ice. A great half time gimmick. 

Too bad the Charlestown Chiefs aren't real, they'd be the perfect team.  

mtn said:

adam525i said:

$14/hour! All of our rinks here are city employees and make much more than that doing the same tasks, I guess there won't be a brain drain of zamboni drivers heading south for better jobs lol.

$14 USD = $17.70 CAD. Plus, between benefits and taxes, I don't think you can make a straight comparison. 

Come to Waterloo and there's two seasonal Arena and Facility Attendant positions right now at $26.22/hour plus shift premium but to your point it's probably not a straight comparison.

And yes, I've always wanted to drive the Zamboni. I'd always make sure to pay attention in between periods to watch their technique when we were there to watch a game. It was a highlight as a kid when they'd kick the back end out just a little.

KyAllroad said:

In reply to nocones :

Weirdly it's tough to find co-drivers sometimes.  I'll be at NCM Sunday for a TN region event, co-drive is unclaimed at this time.  If you want it, come on down.

adam525i said:

And yes, I've always wanted to drive the Zamboni. I'd always make sure to pay attention in between periods to watch their technique when we were there to watch a game. It was a highlight as a kid when they'd kick the back end out just a little.

I've watched hours upon hours upon hours of the Zam. It is mesmerizing. But mostly nowadays, I seem to be complaining about drivers who are too slow or putting down too much water. The two rinks I ref at most have some problems...

In reply to stuart in mn :

You should point out that Duluth's in the Northern part of Minnesota and here is a large percentage of the population making minimum wages. So $14/ hour is actually decent.