Workers began laying the frozen surface Saturday at T-Mobile Arena, the home of the Las Vegas NHL expansion franchise that will enter the NHL for the 2017-18 season. The first hockey game there will be a preseason game between the Los Angeles Kings and Dallas Stars on Oct. 7. The Kings will play the Colorado Avalanche the following day.

NHL hockey in Las Vegas is coming, and the first step of the process, creating an ice rink, is officially complete.

Tweet from @VegasHockeyNHL: Morning Milestone: @TMobileArena has begun to install its ice for the first time. pic.twitter.com/bwrZHHGx97

Tweet from @VegasHockeyNHL: The next step of the process = one step closer to a full sheet of ice at @TMobileArena pic.twitter.com/7UzOa0stCg

After the ice was put down, arena workers painted the rink's blue lines, center-ice logo with the NHL shield,red line, faceoff circles and goalie creases. The entire process took several hours.

Tweet from @VegasHockeyNHL: .@TMobileArena looking very sharp this afternoon���� pic.twitter.com/1DFBPksaYG

Los Angeles has played preseason games in Las Vegas, dubbed "Frozen Fury," every season at MGM Grand Arena since 1997. Frozen Fury XVIII will be the first at T-Mobile Arena, which opened April 6, and will be the last such game in Las Vegas before the NHL expands there.

The NHL voted to expand to Las Vegas on June 22, and the team named George McPhee its general manager July 13. Las Vegas is hoping to have a nickname, logo, color scheme and uniforms in place some time in September.

The team will hold an open house at the arena on Monday and Tuesday.