It’s the final countdown.

The keys to Rogers Place, your correspondent has learned, will be presented to the Oilers Entertainment Group by PCL Construction Thursday.

The ice is in. The lines have been painted. The ads have been positioned. The Zamboni has been out for hundreds of laps to get it to an exact inch and a half.

It’s ready to go.

But a skate blade has yet to touch the ice yet. Not one. And not one will take a stride on the new freeze until Thursday when the building is turned over to the team.

A special first skater and a group of first test skaters has been selected to perform the honour.

Following the ceremony, expect a flood of skaters to take to the ice.

In the coming days expect a closed-to-the-public game involving the neighboring Grant McEwan Griffins and U of A Golden Bears and all sorts of skaters to take to the ice before the WHL Oil Kings open their season Sept. 18 against the Red Deer Rebels and the NHL Oilers play a split-squad pre-season game Sept. 26 against the Calgary Flames.

“In general you want people skating on fresh, or green, ice whether it’s the first time it went in or the 41st time. Green ice is not as durable as it will be once it gets skated on,” said Rogers Place assistant GM Mike McFaul.

“You have to get people out to skate on it, to put in all the skate marks and grooves. When you go and resurface that ice, it allows for a harder surface, a tougher surface, more bonded,” he added.

“We do the same thing with the Brier,” said Jason Rimmer. “We make sure we get the club curlers to come out and throw rocks before the event starts.

“Randy Ferbey has been lobbying hard to let him come out so he can say he was the first to throw the first curling rock at Rogers Place,” added ice maker Rimmer, who throws third rock in a Tuesday midnight league with the six-time Brier champion.

Not McFaul, chief engineer and director of ice operations Andrew Higgins, assistant chief Rimmer, supervisors of ice operations J.J. Straker and Kyle Lamkey and other back of house teammates Steve Morgan (electyrical) and Matt Ruptash (plumbing) have gone out for a twirl on their creation.

Not one has given in to the temptation of sneaking out and being the first.

They’ve been forbidden.

“Everybody is itching,” said Straker.

“They’ve asked us not to step on there. They’re saving that for something special. They’ve asked us not to step on there with skates,” said McFaul.

The icemakers are excited enough with the way the installation of the ice went to be happy.

“It went really well. Everything is painted and built up and we’re ready to go,” said McFaul.

An arena doesn’t look like an arena until the ice is in and the lines are painted.

“That’s a very exciting feeling,” said Rimmer.

“Even putting that white paint down, it starts to look like a rink. Then you start putting those lines in and then it really looks like a hockey rink in there. And when that Oilers centre logo goes in, it’s for real. It’s very exciting,” he added.

“We looked like a bunch of giddy school kids out there,” said Straker.

There is no new arena in the world where there is so much interest and attention on the ice than in Edmonton, where for most of its history the Northlands Coliseum, a.k.a Rexall Place, was famed worldwide for having the best ice in hockey.

It would be a shame if they built an arena which is being called the ultimate on the planet and the ice was second-rate.

They’re pretty confident that won’t be the case.

“Our chief engineer and director of ice operations Andrew Higgins has put together a phenomenal team of technicians,” said McFaul.

“I can tell you that I think we have a dream team in terms of ice operations. We don’t know how the ice is going to be until we do get the Oilers and Oil Kings out there but I expect we’re going to have some of the best ice in the league. Andrew has put together this great team and they’re doing everything right. We fully expect to have some of the best ice in the league,” added McFaul.

“We have lots of power, lots of control and we’re even expanding the ice plant even more,” said Rimmer of the ice plant that also serves the ice surface in the connected community arena that had ice installed at the same time.

“We have eight temperature sensors distributed throughout the ice, so we’re going to have pretty tight control.

“To say I’m excited about it is an understatement. We have high hopes for it. Everything is set up top-notch.”