Ewigleben Ice Arena

• 210 Sports Drive
• Big Rapids, MI 49307
• (231) 591-2880
• Website

When I got the call to go to Ferris State for hockey, I had no idea what I was getting in to.  I have never been to Big Rapids.  I have never watched Ferris State play hockey and I had no idea they were the number eight team in the country.  J was talking to a co-worker who went to Ferris State and he said the place got loud.  Really loud.  That got me a little excited because I love venues where a ton of students show up and they don’t sit on their hands.

Ewigleben Ice Arena (pronouced AY-VAH-glave-in) is on the campus of Ferris State Univerisity.  It’s part of the sports complex on the corner of Sports Drive and State Street in the middle of the campus.  The arena is name for former president Jack Ewigleben who is responsible for Division I hockey at FSU and for building the arena. 

The arena not huge by any stretch of the imagination, but that’s exactly why it’s so great.  There’s a pretty spacious lobby area when you walk in with a pro shop and a couple concession stands.  This area is level with the ice. 

To enter the arena, you have to walk up a few steps.  The seating area is actually level with the top of the dasher boards.  When you standing next to the glass, you are actually looking down on the ice. 

The seating area is all plastic, molded seats.  They don’t have backs, but it’s a little more comfortable than a steel bench.  The seating bowl only holds around 2500 and the night I was there, every seat in the house was filled.  Seating is in both end zones and all along one side of the ice.  There are no seats behind the benches. 

There’s a fairly large press box that runs almost the length of the ice with a suite on either end.  The whole arena has a very modern feel to it.  It definitely doesn’t feel as dated as Munn or Yost.  They recently installed new lights which really light up the ice surface and new heaters that point towards the stands. 

I couldn’t believe how loud the place got.  Since I was working, I had ear plugs in so I could drown out as much noise as possible.  Even then, I was amazed at the decibel level.  At the end of the game when I took my ear plugs out, I thought I was going to go def.  It was incredibly loud thanks in part to the infamous student section, The Dawg Pound.  The students definitely come out in support of FSU hockey.  The Dawg Pound takes up the area of seating behind the goal near the Ferris State locker room.  They came dressed in wacky outfits reminiscent of the Izzone. 

I’ve only been in a few college hockey arenas, but I’m pretty sure Ewigleben Ice Arena is something I’m not going to soon forget.  I had no idea what I was getting in to when I took the job at FSU, but I’m really glad I got to see the place.  There’s a dedicated, hardcore group of fans that make that place rock and there’s not much else you can ask for in collegiate sports.